§195D-22 Safe harbor agreements. (a) To encourage landowners to voluntarily engage in efforts that benefit endangered, threatened, proposed, and candidate species, except as otherwise provided by law, the board, upon approval by not less than two-thirds of the board's authorized membership, after a public hearing on the island affected, may enter into a safe harbor agreement with one or more landowners to create, restore, or improve habitats or to maintain currently unoccupied habitats that threatened or endangered species can be reasonably expected to use, if the board determines that the cumulative activities, if any, contemplated to be undertaken within the areas covered by the agreement are environmentally beneficial. In the event the board votes to enter into a safe harbor agreement for which the majority of the endangered species recovery committee recommended disapproval, the board may not enter into the safe harbor agreement unless the agreement is approved by a two-thirds majority vote of both houses of the legislature. The board shall notify the public of the proposed safe harbor agreement through the periodic bulletin of the office of planning and sustainable development and make the proposed agreement available for public review and comment not less than sixty days prior to approval.
(b) A safe harbor agreement may authorize the take of an endangered, threatened, proposed, or candidate species incidental to an otherwise lawful activity in or affecting the created, restored, maintained, or improved habitat; provided that based on the best scientific and other reliable data available at the time the safe harbor agreement is approved, if these data are applicable:
(c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the board shall suspend or rescind any safe harbor agreement approved under this section if the board determines that:
(d) The rights and obligations under any safe harbor agreement shall run with the land for the term agreed to in the agreement and shall be recorded by the department in the bureau of conveyances or the land court, as may be appropriate. [L 1997, c 380, pt of §2; am L 1998, c 237, §3; am L 2003, c 35, §5; am L 2021, c 152, §16 and c 153, §9]