Sponsor: LAVALLE / Committee: FINANCE
Law Section: Resolutions, Legislative
J631-2011 Actions

Mar 1, 2011: ADOPTED
Mar 1, 2011: REPORTED TO CALENDAR FOR CONSIDERATION
Feb 24, 2011: REFERRED TO FINANCE
J631-2011 Text

 LEGISLATIVE  RESOLUTION  urging  the New York State Congressional deleg
 ation to repeal those provisions of Public  Law  110-329  requiring  the
 sale  of  Plum  Island  and  to  oppose  any sale of Plum Island for any
 purpose
 WHEREAS, Plum Island, so named due to the abundance of beach plums grow
 ing there, is an 843-acre island situated off Long Island's  North  Fork
 in the Town of Southold; and
 WHEREAS,  Plum  Island is owned by the U.S. Government and is the site
 of the Plum Island Animal Disease Control Laboratory at  which  research
 is conducted on contagious animal diseases, first under the aegis of the
 Department  of  Agriculture but since 2003, under the supervision of the
 Department of Homeland Security; and
 WHEREAS, The facilities of the laboratory take up approximately 10-15%
 of the Island, entirely in the northwestern corner of the  Island,  with
 the remaining areas of the Island occurring in its natural state; and
 WHEREAS,   Plum   Island   contains  nationally  significant  natural,
 cultural, historic, and scenic features and resources; and
 WHEREAS, More particularly, these natural resources include  over  140
 bird  species  which occur in and around Plum Island including federally
 endangered and threatened  species  such  as  the  federally  endangered
 Roseate Tern and federally threatened Piping Plover; and
 WHEREAS, The fields, forests, wetlands, and shoreline habitats of Plum
 Island provide habitat essential to migratory songbirds, waterbirds, and
 birds-of-prey  including  the  presence of an active Bank Swallow colony
 and eight active Osprey nests; and
 WHEREAS, Plum Island contains the largest winter  haul  out  site  for
 marine  pinnipeds  in  southern New England, typically involving several
 hundred harbor and grey seals that utilize the rocky  coastline  of  the
 Island's east end for this purpose; and
 WHEREAS,  Plum  Island  contains  significant  natural communities and
 plant species including an extensive wooded freshwater  wetland  in  the
 southwestern  section of the Island and a maritime dune community, a New
 York State Natural Heritage Program ranked community which  collectively
 provides  habitat  for  a  number  of  rare and endangered plant species
 including seabeach and  slender  knotweed,  blackjack  oak,  and  spring
 ladies' tresses; and
 WHEREAS,  More  particularly,  these  cultural  and historic resources
 include the Plum Island Lighthouse situated on the western edge  of  the
 Island,  serving  to warn mariners of the dangers in traversing Plum Gut
 and Fort Terry, a fortification built for the Spanish-American  War  and
 for  which remains are scattered throughout the Island including several
 extant batteries and a toy gauge railroad system once used to move arma
 ments to these batteries; and
 WHEREAS, Due to Plum Island's existing network of trails and roads and
 extensively undeveloped character and remoteness  and  location  of  the
 North  Fork  at  the point where the Peconic Estuary, Long Island Sound,
 and Atlantic Ocean meet, the Island provides unparalleled  opportunities
 to  the general public for passive recreational activities such as bird
 watching and hiking and enjoying the scenic landscapes of the East  End;
 and
 WHEREAS,  Plum  Island  is  situated  where  the Long Island Sound and
 Peconic Bay meet, each being estuaries that are  part  of  the  National
 Estuary  Program,  thereby  reflecting each natural system's nationally
 significant environmental and economic values to the  region,  and  into
 which the federal government has invested hundreds of millions of feder
 al  dollars  over the last two decades for long-term improvements in the
 conservation and management needs of each; and
 WHEREAS,  Despite  all of the nationally significant natural, ecologi
 cal, historic, cultural,  scenic,  and  recreational  values  elaborated
 above,  in 2008 Congress approved and the President signed P.L. 110-329,
 part of the Consolidated Security, Disaster  Assistance  and  Continuing
 Appropriations  Act,  a  provision of which (Section 540) authorized the
 Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to "liquidate the  Plum
 Island asset" if he determines the National Bio and Agro-defense facili
 ty (NBAF) be located at a site other than Plum Island; and
 WHEREAS,  Part  of the rational for disposing of Plum Island is to use
 proceeds from the sale of the Island, after  decommissioning  costs,  to
 help  reduce  the  costs of site acquisition and construction of the new
 proposed NBAF facility proposed to be sited in Manhattan, Kansas; and
 WHEREAS, The Federal Department of  Homeland  Security  Secretary  has
 made  the  requisite  determination,  thus  initiating  the  process  of
 disposal of this  publicly-owned  Island,  that  at  the  current  time,
 involves  the General Services Administration preparing an Environmental
 Impact Statement pursuant  to  the  National  Environmental  Policy  Act
 (NEPA); and
 WHEREAS,  The proposed disposition of Plum Island runs counter to past
 dispositions of federal property which  have  led  to  the  creation  of
 several  National Wildlife Refuges in proximity to Plum Island including
 No Mans Island National Wildlife Refuge in  coastal  Massachusetts,  and
 Block  Island  and  Satchuest  Point National Wildlife Refuge in coastal
 Rhode Island; and
 WHEREAS, This proposed disposition runs counter to the several  decade
 long effort by state and local government on Long Island expending near
 ly  $1 billion to acquire parkland possessing ecological, environmental,
 cultural, historic, recreational and scenic value in the New York metro
 politan area; now, therefore, be it
 RESOLVED, That the New York  State  Congressional  delegation  be  and
 hereby  is  respectfully memorialized by this Legislative Body to repeal
 those provisions of Public Law 110-329 requiring the sale of Plum Island
 and to oppose any sale of Plum Island for any purpose, in recognition of
 the extraordinary ecological, wildlife habitat, environmental, cultural,
 historic, recreational and scenic values possessed by Plum  Island;  and
 be it further
 RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause further to support trans
 ferring the underdeveloped portions of Plum Island to the National Wild
 life Refuge system and  dedicated  as  "Plum  Island  National  Wildlife
 Refuge", or in the event the Plum Island Animal Disease Control Facility
 is  permanently  closed and the buildings and associated infrastructures
 are not adaptively re-used the entire Island be so dedicated; and be  it
 further
 RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran
 smitted to each member of the Congressional delegation from the State of
 New York.
J631-2011: Urging the NYS Congressional delegation to oppose any sale of Plum Island

J631-2011 Actions

J631-2011 Text

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