(a)(1) There is established a Charter Oak open space grant program account, within the General Fund, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. The account shall consist of any funds required or allowed by law to be deposited into the account including, but not limited to, funds from the Charter Oak open space trust account established pursuant to section 7-131s, gifts or donations received for the purposes of section 7-131d. Investment earnings credited to the assets of the account shall become part of the assets of the account. Any balance remaining in the account at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the account for the fiscal year next succeeding. Payments from the account shall be made upon authorization by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection. Neither the proceeds of any general obligation bonds of the state nor the investment earnings of any such proceeds shall be deposited in the account.

(2) At least fifty per cent of the funds deposited in the Charter Oak open space grant program account from the Charter Oak open space trust account shall be used to make grants under the Charter Oak open space grant program established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section to municipalities and nonprofit land conservation organizations. If fifty per cent of such funds have not been used by municipalities or nonprofit land conservation organizations prior to July 1, 2003, then after said date expenditures may be made from remaining funds for the Charter Oak state parks and forests program established pursuant to section 7-131u.

(b) There is established the Charter Oak open space grant program. The program shall provide grants to municipalities and nonprofit land conservation organizations to acquire land or permanent interests in land for open space and watershed protection. All land or interest in land acquired under this program shall be preserved in perpetuity predominantly in its natural and open condition for the specific open space purposes for which it was acquired, provided any improvements or changes to the property shall be supportive of such condition or purpose. No municipality shall be eligible for grants under this section unless the municipality has adopted an open space plan in its plan of development.

(c) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may make grants in accordance with section 7-131d under the Charter Oak open space grant program to: (1) Municipalities in an amount not to exceed sixty per cent of the purchase price not to exceed the fair market value of a parcel of land or interest in land that is proposed to be acquired and permanently preserved that is located in municipalities with population densities of at least one thousand five hundred persons per square mile, and (2) municipalities or nonprofit land conservation organizations in an amount not to exceed fifty per cent of the purchase price not to exceed the fair market value of a parcel of land or interest in land that is proposed to be acquired and permanently preserved that is (A) not owned by a water company, as defined in section 25-32a, but is on a public drinking supply watershed or acquifer area or within one hundred and fifty feet of a distribution reservoir or a first-order stream tributary to a distribution reservoir, or (B) owned by an electric distribution company or electric supplier, as defined in section 16-1. Applicants for grants under the program shall provide a copy of the application to the chairperson of the review board established under section 7-131e. The board shall provide comments to the commissioner on pending applications as it deems necessary.

(d) The program shall expire when the state and municipal open space goal is achieved as provided in subsection (b) of section 23-8. Any moneys remaining in the Charter Oak open space grant program account at the time the program expires shall revert to the recreation and natural heritage trust program established under section 23-74.

(P.A. 00-203, S. 2, 11; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 00-203 effective July 1, 2000; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection” in Subsecs. (a)(1) and (c), effective July 1, 2011.