Plain English Breakdown
The official summary does not define what constitutes a 'species proposed for listing' or an 'at-risk species,' leaving those definitions open until specified in regulations.
Permits for Renewable Energy Projects and Species Proposed for Listing
This law allows the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue permits that let renewable energy projects harm species proposed for listing if specific conditions are met.
What This Bill Does
- Allows the department to authorize by permit the taking of a species proposed for listing if specified conditions are met.
- States that no new approval is needed if a permitted at-risk species later becomes officially listed as endangered, threatened, or candidate, provided specific conditions are met.
- Requires that any take caused by renewable electrical generation facilities was anticipated in a previously issued permit where the proposed species was included as a covered species for incidental take.
- Authorizes the department and project applicants to develop research projects to evaluate specified factors.
- Allows approved research projects to count toward meeting the mitigation requirements of a renewable energy project.
Who It Names or Affects
- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Applicants building renewable electrical generation facilities
- Species proposed for listing under the California Endangered Species Act
Terms To Know
- Take
- Harming, killing, or disturbing a protected species.
- Proposed for Listing
- A species that the government is considering adding to the official endangered list but has not yet finalized.
- Mitigation
- Actions taken to reduce or fix harm caused to a protected species.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law only applies if the take is caused by renewable electrical generation facilities.
- No new permit is needed for future listing changes only if the potential listing was anticipated in an earlier permit and specific conditions are met.
- Specific details about what research factors must be evaluated are not listed in this summary.