Substitute House Bill No. 5433 (File No. 459) outlines a procedure for the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) to assess the environmental effects of activities on historic structures and landmarks within the framework of the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA). The bill defines key terms and mandates that the SHPO must make an initial determination on the potential impact of a project within 30 days of receiving the necessary information. If the SHPO concludes that an activity will significantly affect the environment, they are required to collaborate with the relevant parties to develop a mitigation plan and formalize it in a mitigation agreement. Should the parties involved choose not to execute the agreement, they have the option to seek a review and recommendations from the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. Additionally, state funding recipients are given the choice to pay mitigation costs to satisfy environmental effect mitigation requirements. The bill is set to take effect on October 1, 2024, and it does not have any fiscal impact as it formalizes practices already in place by the SHPO.

The bill also includes provisions for public scoping by the sponsoring agency if a mitigation agreement is not reached, allowing for input from other agencies and the public regarding the environmental effects of the proposed action and the need for an environmental impact evaluation (EIE). The Commerce Committee has reported favorably on the bill with a vote of 22 to 2 on March 26, 2024. The legislation aims to ensure that the potential impacts on historic structures and landmarks are properly considered and mitigated in state project planning and implementation.

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