Requires that regular dredging of navigable waterways is scheduled in order to plan and finance to ensure the safe navigability and reliability of waterways in this state; requires a scheduled plan to be filed with DEC.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6277
SPONSOR: Durso TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to sche-
duled dredging of navigable waters
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To require the development of a regularly scheduled program of dredging
the navigable waters in New York State.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 is the title. Section 2 states the legislative intent.
Section 3 requires New York State and any municipality with jurisdiction
over a navigable waterway to develop a schedule of routine dredging.
Such schedule is to be posted on the DEC website. Provisions are also
included for inter-jurisdictional coordination between state, federal,
and local governments. Section for is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Dredging is a critical maintenance activity to ensure the environmental
health, economic usefulness, and safe public enjoyment of our state's
navigable waters. A regular dredging schedule avoids the expensive,
crisis-driven, ad hoc dredging, projects that are all too common today.
The costs of regular dredging are more than made up by avoiding the far
higher costs of flood clean-up, personal injury, damage to vessels, lost
economic activity, and environmental degradation caused by neglect of
our waterways.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6277
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 3, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DURSO -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to sche-
duled dredging of navigable waters
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act may be referred to as the "Desludging Requirements
2 for Every Designated Geographic Environment Act" or the "DREDGE Act".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares that the
4 maintenance of our navigable waterways is critical for public safety,
5 the environment, and the economy. Most experts agree that regular
6 dredging of navigable waterways ensures that each of these metrics are
7 maintained. The legislature further finds that, on average, most naviga-
8 ble waterways should be dredged every eight years, but without proper
9 planning at the federal, state and local level, those years can quickly
10 come up without the funding, resources, or a schedule in place. For
11 example, the Browns River in the Town of Islip has not been dredged in
12 nearly 17 years--more than double the recommended time dredging should
13 take place. This legislation is necessary to ensure that regular dredg-
14 ing is planned and financed to ensure the safe navigability and reli-
15 ability of our pristine waterways.
16 § 3. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new
17 section 15-0506 to read as follows:
18 § 15-0506. Regularly scheduled dredging of navigable waters in the
19 state.
20 1. The state and each municipality that has a navigable waterway with-
21 in its jurisdictional control and maintenance shall develop a schedule
22 for regular dredging of such waterway that shall be filed with the
23 department. Such schedule shall be updated at least annually and shall
24 be made available on the department's website.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05776-01-3
A. 6277 2
1 2. If a waterway is under the control of more than one level of
2 government, or requires more than one level of government to work
3 together to dredge the waterway, the respective levels of governments
4 and/or municipalities shall enter into an agreement as to each level of
5 government and/or municipality's respective responsibilities and an
6 agreed upon schedule for dredging the waterway. Such schedule shall be
7 updated at least annually and shall be made available on the depart-
8 ment's website.
9 3. If the waterway is a federal waterway that requires the state
10 and/or local municipalities to undertake preliminary or concurrent work,
11 including but not limited to, having an available spoil site, for the
12 federal government to begin or complete its work, the state and/or local
13 municipalities shall develop a schedule to complete such work. If more
14 than one level of government is required to undertake such work, the
15 respective levels of governments and/or municipalities shall enter into
16 an agreement as to each level of government and/or municipality's
17 respective responsibilities and an agreed upon schedule to do the work.
18 Such schedule shall be updated at least annually and shall be made
19 available on the department's website.
20 4. Nothing contained in this section shall impair, impede, or super-
21 sede any emergency work in such navigable waterway that must be
22 completed outside of the schedule filed with the department.
23 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
