Authorizes residents of the counties of St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Oswego to collect downed lumber from state owned forest lands outside the forest preserve

BILL NUMBER:S2395

Title of bill

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to authorizing residents of the counties of St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Oswego to collect downed lumber from state owned forest lands outside the forest preserve; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

Purpose

To empower the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation to set forth rules and regulations that allow the residents of St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Oswego counties to collect downed lumber from state owned forest land outside of the forest preserve for a period of three years.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends section 3-0301 of the Environmental Conservation Law by adding new paragraph dd to empower the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation to set forth rules and regulations that allow the residents of St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Oswego counties to collect downed lumber from state owned forest land outside of the forest preserve for a period of three years.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

Justification

New York had approximately 16,000 acres of forest which were eligible in 2011 to be logged under the Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) sustainable harvest plan in the 2011 New York State Best Management Practices Guide. However, New York harvested less than 7,000 acres during that same year. By neglecting forests ready for harvest some of our most precious resources are left to decompose.

The loss of this valuable commodity is compounded by big storms like Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy. In the North Country, forests are especially susceptible to damage because of their age. Thus, these traumatic weather events result in abundant deadfall. Brush and deadfall also make these forests more vulnerable to fire. Neighboring states, including Massachusetts, have planned to lift lumbering moratoriums on hundreds of thousands of acres of forest lands after large storms.

For residents of regions of the state where winters are especially cold, the rising cost of fuel has left rural communities scrambling to find alternate sources of heat. Increasingly, these communities are turning to wood-based heat sources, which have become the fastest growing source of home heating fuel across the United States. According to US Census, the number of households in New York that use wood as their primary fuel source has increased by more than 65 percent, since the year 2000. Furthermore, the percentage of wood-heated homes exceeds the national average in 40 of New York's 62

counties, including some counties with the highest rates of poverty and unemployment.

This bill will empower the Commissioner of the DEC to set forth rules and regulations that allow the residents of St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Oswego counties to collect downed lumber from state owned forest land outside of the forest preserve for a period of three years. The collection of this downed lumber will offset residents' heating costs while protecting the state's wooded land from forest fires.

Legislative history

2011-2012: S.7381 Committed to Rules 2013-2014: S.2114-A Committed to Rules

Fiscal implications

None.

Local fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law and shall expire three years after such effective date when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed repealed. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date.