Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature had decided to include reforms to the NYS Freshwater Wetlands Act in the SFY 2022-23 Budget. The Save NYS Wetlands Coalition praises this historical and essential legislation that will allow the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to protect more than 1 million acres of freshwater wetlands critical for millions of people. Moreover, this major reform will save millions of migratory and nesting birds.
This agreement has enormous importance for New York State’s wetlands. Prior to this reform, larger wetlands in NY had to be included on official state maps, which left room for the filling, dredging, and draining of unmapped wetlands. This arbitrary requirement is now terminated with the legislation ratified in the budget. The DEC will have the power and autonomy to protect the 1 million acres of freshwater wetlands currently unmapped. In addition, this bill expands the DEC’s authority in protecting wetlands larger than 7.4 acres and smaller wetlands of ‘unusual importance’ by requiring special permits for activities that directly impact those types of wetlands. This provides substantial benefits to both environment, including mitigation of flooding, providing habitat for wildlife, decreasing the impact of climate change thanks to increased climate resilience, carbon sequestration, and maintaining a higher amount of clean drinking water.
Reforms included in the SFY 2022-23 Budget will:
- Allow the Department to protect wetlands that are 12.4 acres or greater in size or of “unusual importance” and will eliminate the existing state freshwater wetland maps in 2025 that are authoritative and incompatible with the wetland’s nature.
- Decrease the verge of mandatory freshwater wetlands permitting from 12.4 to 7.4 acres in 2028.
- Include concise criteria for permitting smaller wetlands of ‘unusual importance,” including wetlands that attenuate significant flooding, filter drinking water, provide habitat for rare species, or are located in an urban area, among other criteria.
- Create a rebuttable presumption that freshwater wetlands should always be subject to regulation and permitting until the competent authorities do not prove otherwise.
- Increase fees and fines regarding wetland violations which haven’t been changed since the1980’s.
- Remove prohibitive red tape and agency costs related to wetlands protection.
- Provide funds for wetland management and local mapping of freshwater wetlands through the Climate Smart Communities Program in the NYS Environmental Protection Fund.
- The Department also received a direction to create educational resources on the process of identifying freshwater wetlands to inform landowners and local governments.
- This bill includes a requirement for the Department to consult with the federal government, colleges and universities, environmental organizations, and other entities to create more accurate freshwater wetlands maps, which will be maintained as an online informational resource.
Wetlands constantly succumb to shifting federal protections, including court decisions that significantly reduced the types of waters protected under the federal Clean Water Act. These profound changes have pressurized federal protections for many important habitats across New York State and alarmed the urgent need to reform the New York State Freshwater Wetlands Act.
Source:
Passed! Historic Wetlands Protections Included in New York State Budget. (2022, April 8). NY Audubon. Retrieved from https://ny.audubon.org/about-us/passed-historic-wetlands-protections-included-new-york-state-budget.