Month: August 2024

Public Comment Hearings – Wetland Rule Changes

Posted on by Michele Wunderlich

By Aaron McKeon, Environmental Program Manager, CNYRPDB

New York’s 2022-2023 budget included landmark amendments to the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Act (Article 24 of the Environmental Conservation Law) which contained three fundamental changes:

  • Existing maps depicting freshwater wetlands will no longer be regulatory beginning on January 1, 2025. After that date, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) will be relying primarily on available aerial imagery and available remote data to determine whether there are state-regulated freshwater wetlands on a parcel.
  • Smaller wetlands of “unusual importance” will be regulated beginning on January 1, 2025, if they meet one, or more, of 11 newly established statutory criteria.
  • The default threshold for regulated wetlands will decrease from 12.4 acres to 7.4 acres in 2028. Implementing these statutory changes requires replacing the existing Freshwater Mapping and Classification regulations

One of the motivations for this change is the fact that, according to the DEC, “Inadvertent omissions and inaccuracies in the department’s original mapping efforts meant that an estimated one million acres of unmapped wetlands, meeting State jurisdictional criteria for protections, were left unprotected from development pressure and other impacts.”

More information is available at: https://dec.ny.gov/nature/waterbodies/wetlands/freshwater-wetlands-program

Informational Webinar

An informational webinar will be held on August 27,2024 and will cover:

  • the need for the regulatory changes,
  • the contents of the draft regulations,
  • how the comments received earlier in the year were incorporated, and
  • the next steps in finalizing the regulations.

Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Time:  1:00-2:00 p.m. on WebEx

Conservation and Land Use Webinar Series
Register to attend. (This webinar may fill up; capacity is limited to 1,000).

Public Comment Hearings

The State is holding two virtual public comment hearings in September: Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at 1:00 pm and 6:00 p.m. Register by September 8th.

Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/g/cqEDZA2A5b
Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/g/cqEDZA2A5b

In addition to the virtual public comment hearings, an in-person public comment hearing for the proposed rule will be held on Thursday, September 12, 2024, at 1:00 pm at the DEC Central Office at 625 Broadway, Albany, NY which is reasonably accessible to persons with impaired mobility:

 Date: Thursday, September 12, 2024

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/g/j7CkFeJNRU

Hydrilla

Posted on by Michele Wunderlich

By Liz Kreitinger, Steward/Executive Director, Cayuga Lake Watershed Network

Managing invasive Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) in Cayuga Lake requires a combination of sustained chemical treatments, public education, and cooperative efforts from lake users to prevent further spread. Since its discovery in the inlet in 2011, each Hydrilla infestation location has been targeted with herbicide treatments which have reduced plant density and slowed its spread.

However, preventing the spread of Hydrilla by local boat traffic remains a significant challenge. In June, for the first time this year, Hydrilla was detected by a Finger Lakes Partnership for Invasive Species Management (FL-PRISM) Watercraft Steward at Cayuga Lake State Park who was inspecting a motorized kayak exiting the lake. This is the furthest point north in Cayuga Lake that Hydrilla has been detected to date. Preventing Hydrilla from spreading into the shallow northern shelf of Cayuga Lake and the canal  system is a top priority due to its vigorous growth which can choke waterways for recreation and crowd out other species.  In response to the finding, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and FL-PRISM have put additional effort towards surveys in areas surrounding the park. As of the beginning of August, no established fragments of Hydrilla have been found in the area.

Public awareness campaigns urging lake users to “Clean, Drain, Dry” boats and equipment, along with voluntary inspections by Watercraft Stewards, rely heavily on public cooperation, especially at private docks and informal launch sites. The Cayuga Lake Watershed Network’s education activities continue to focus on these activities and invasive species awareness.

Coordination with local partners is facilitated through the Cayuga Lake Hydrilla Task Force which now includes members from Tompkins, Cayuga and Seneca Counties. As part of an ongoing effort to manage Hydrilla in Cayuga Lake, herbicide treatments administered by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and DEC continue this summer in all three lakeshore counties. Surveys to monitor treatment effectiveness, plant community response, and possible new patches are ongoing. For details on treatment schedules and extent, water monitoring for herbicide levels, and herbicide information sheets visit our website: https://www.cayugalake.org/resources/hydrilla-information-action/.