Albany Bill Would Open Cattaraugus County Forests to Solar Developers Without Local Approval

Cattaraugus County contains portions of 19 New York State reforestation areas totaling 33,597 acres. Those are public forests owned by all New Yorkers and managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). These lands are currently used primarily for forestry, recreation, and watershed protection.

Senate Bill S4408, sponsored by Rachel May (D-Syracuse), would allow the state to enter into leases and easements on these lands for renewable energy infrastructure, including transmission lines and potentially renewable energy installations.

The bill does not require approval from county or town governments before these agreements are made.

During the Senate debate on February 26, 2026, Senator May explained the policy rationale behind the bill:

“Local people often organize to make sure [energy projects] are not in their view shed or on their prime farmland… so there is a push to put these kinds of facilities in places that are out of the way. And that means figuring out a way to get transmission lines through… often through state reforestation lands.”

The bill passed the New York State Senate on February 26, 2026 by a vote of 42–15.

It is now in the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, where similar versions of the bill have stalled without a vote in previous legislative sessions.

What the bill requires

S4408 authorizes the DEC to enter into agreements “such as leases or easements” for renewable energy siting and transmission across reforestation lands.

The bill does not:

• Require approval from county or town governments
• Establish a minimum royalty or compensation formula in statute
• Prohibit the use of herbicides on these lands
• Ban battery storage facilities
• Specify environmental review standards within the bill itself

Existing law contains older provisions governing activities like mining that include very small fees (such as a $1-per-tree provision), but S4408 does not establish a specific payment structure for renewable energy agreements.

The bill states that any project must not:

“interfere with the operation of such reforestation areas for the purposes for which they were acquired.”

Determining whether a project meets that standard would be left to the DEC.

Why the Assembly vote may never happen

Under normal circumstances, S4408 would need to pass the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee before reaching the Assembly floor.

That committee has blocked the bill without a vote in every session since 2019.

Budget agreements in Albany are typically negotiated by legislative leaders and the Governor and finalized in late March or early April, often without individual committee votes.

If provisions similar to S4408 are included in the final budget, Assembly members may never cast a direct vote on the policy.