Declaring it one of the most productive legislative sessions for the environment in recent years, the New York League of Conservation Voters gave lawmakers a “B” grade overall for their efforts in 2011 in a report due to be releaed later this morning.

The Legislature received a “C” grade last year after layoffs were approved at the Department of Environmental Conservation — but the organization noted at the time that their was room for significant improvement.

This year, there were not cuts to the Environmental Protection Fund and lawmakers approved the Article X siting law for power plants — major break through after eight years of gridlock.

The Legislature also received a “B” grade for its handling of hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking, the controversial natural-gas extraction process. In particular, the NYLCV was pleased with the Democratic-led Assembly passing a measure that labels fracking waste as hazardous, but the bill did not make it out of a committee in the Republican-led Senate.

Here’s the report:
HIRES Legislative Progress Report FINAL

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