ESFPA E-News

The 2025 Albany Legislative Session Kick-off

The State Legislature returns to Albany this Wednesday January 8^th to start a new two-year Legislative Session.  Leadership in the Assembly and Senate will be making new Committee assignments and leadership positions.  Legislative Bills will be reintroduced and new legislation will emerge. At this time we do not expect changes in our key committees (Environmental Conservation and Energy), but one never knows.  There are a number of new faces in both houses so a lot of education to be had.

There is also a lot of fear in New York about the Trump administration and the need to “Trump Proof” New York or Lead New York in areas where the Trump administration will pull back in the environment, climate and immigration. How this ultimately plays out is yet to be seen but there is a lot of chatter and political positioning going on.

Governor Hochul will kick off her agenda for 2025 at the State of the State scheduled for January 14^th.  We have begun to see her unveil some initiatives on affordability ($300-$500 inflation payments to NY families) and housing.  Over the coming days we should see more ideas floated.  The Governor will also release her budget and Article VII bills before February 1^st. 

We do foresee the Governor putting something out in her budget regarding Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for paper and packaging. At a meeting held earlier in December the Governor’s office clearly signaled their interest in moving this program and Legislators Deborah Glick and Pete Harckham have indicated that to get EPR done will take leadership by the Governor.

Environmental groups have also signaled that they will be pushing for an additional $100 million in the Environmental Protection Fund raising the Fund to $500 million/year. If this materializes, ESFPA will be looking for at least $10 million to be devoted to existing and new lines in the EPF which will benefit forests and wood products.

On the climate front we know that DEC is planning on rolling our New York Cap & Invest (NYCI) in early 2025 in an effort to ensure there is funding available in 2026.  The NYCI program will place “caps” on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel sources and then auction off allowances for emissions that can’t meet annual targets to generate revenues for investment”.  They expect the program to generate around $3 billion annually to begin with.  One encouraging thing we have heard is that all energy intensive and trades exposed (EITE) industrial and commercial uses will be eligible for free allowances.  Originally, EITE status was going to be granted to manufacturers who generate 25 million tons/year on GhG emissions.  This will be good for our sawmills who generate much smaller amounts of emissions but are no less EITE.

We also know that New York is not on track to achieve the emission reductions targets for 2030 or the electric generation targets for 2040.  This has positioned business associations well into demanding and “all of the above’ options in the State’s efforts to achieve its ambitious climate goals.  We expect to see efforts to smooth out transition to an all-electric economy and to get serious on projecting the costs and affordability of this transition.  We will be working with our state association partners on the State Energy Planning process and on projecting affordability of this clean energy economy.

We are also working on having the Governor delay the Advanced Clean Truck rule to 2027 as opposed to 2025.  This rule would impose strict quotas on vehicle registrations for internal combustion engines trucks unless or until a certain percentage of electric vehicle trucks are registered. We signed on a request for delay that was led by the New York State Truckers Association.

In 2025, we will see the roll out of Freshwater Wetland regulations, Forest Tax Law regulations and Endangered Species regulations.  That’s what we know of but can expect more.

2025 will be an interesting year and holds many opportunities and challenges for us.  As always, if there is something you are interested in learning more about or something you think we are missing please call or email us.

Other key dates in this Legislative Session are:

• March 4^th Forestry Awareness Day in Albany
• April 1^st or shortly thereafter New York’s Budget is due
• June 12^th or shortly thereafter the Legislative session for 2025 ends

Since there are no state level elections in November, there is no crunch to get everything done, but this should be a busy session.

Freshwater Wetlands Regulations Adopted

On December 31, 2024, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) published a Notice of Adoption for the new Freshwater Wetland regulations that will add an estimated one million additional acres of wetlands to their regulatory program. These regulations are a step toward preserving biodiversity, improving water quality, and protecting communities from flooding. These regulations are from the 2022 legal amendments adopted in the budget which also included a crucial silviculture exemption that ESFPA secured and continues to fight for.

To facilitate a transition to the new regulations, DEC will host a series of informational webinars beginning January 15, 2025, at 2 p.m. This session, titled "Navigating Change: Insights into the Finalized NYS Freshwater Wetlands Regulations," will provide stakeholders with crucial insights into the updated Freshwater Wetlands program: Register here. A recording of the webinar will be made accessible on DEC's website afterward. We encourage our members to participate, as this is an excellent opportunity to clarify any questions you may have regarding the jurisdictional status of smaller wetlands and the streamlined classification process outlined in the new regulations. There will be more webinar opportunities, plus recordings of the webinars will be made available. 

The final regulations, link to the webinar mentioned above, and additional resources, including maps and information, is available on DEC’s website. 

Additionally, DEC proposed a statewide general permit for various activities in State-regulated freshwater wetlands and adjacent areas, protected waterbodies, and navigable waters.

The Freshwater Wetlands General Permit (GP-0-25-003) would be for a five-year term to allow for the repair, replacement, or removal of existing structures and facilities; construction or modification of various residential, commercial, industrial, or public structures; temporary installation of access roads and laydown areas; cutting trees and vegetation (which we are continuing to clarify that does not apply to silviculture); drilling test wells; and routine beach maintenance and replenishment in areas under DEC jurisdiction. The draft permit can be found on DEC’s Freshwater Wetlands General Permit website. Public comments will be accepted through Jan. 27, 2025, and can be submitted via email to DEPPermitting@dec.ny.gov or via mail to NYSDEC Division of Environmental Permits, Attn: Kristen Cady-Poulin, 4th Floor, NYSDEC 625 Broadway, Albany NY 12233-1750.

DEC is also developing additional draft freshwater wetland general permits in 2025. ESFPA is preparing comments on this General Permit.