Senate Bill S5958A

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5958a

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the canal law, in relation to the general powers and
duties of the canal corporation

 
PURPOSE:

This bill expands use of state drydock facilities for commercial vessels
such as tour boats to include Coast Guard drydock inspections and winter
storage, and formally adopts in statute a Canal System navigation season
that supports optimum use of the Erie Canal.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Article II of Canal Law to create a new paragraph 6-a
under Section 10 requiring the Canal Corporation to operate the Canal
between May 1 and November 15 annually, and amends paragraph 14 to
permit commercial boat companies such as tour boats to utilize state
drydock facilities for Coast Guard drydock inspections and winter stor-
              

age, at rates prescribed by the Canal Corporation's Rules and Regu-
lations.

* The A-print specifies the dates of canal operation and clarifies
drydock usage. *

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 1992, then-Governor Mario Cuomo signed legislation establishing the
Canal Corporation and assigning it the rights and obligations resulting
from or arising out of the planning, development, construction, recon-
struction, operation or maintenance of the New York State canal system.
This same legislation also established the Canal Recreationway Commis-
sion to, in part, develop, maintain and periodically revise a statewide
canal recreationway plan; evaluate and make recommendations for new
operational, maintenance and capital initiatives or projects to enhance
the canal; identify opportunities for achieving the economic development
potential of the recreationway and to make recommendations for specific
implementation of these opportunities, including recommendations for
marketing and promotion designed to attract tourists; meet quarterly in
support of the above goals, and report annually on its activities to the
Governor and Legislature.

For over two decades, these two statutorily-created entities worked
together to operate and maintain, and promote and develop, respectively,
America's most iconic manmade waterway the Erie Canal - and the entire
New York State canal system. The creation of the Erie Canalway National
Heritage Area and Commission in 2000 added a new, federal component to
work with the Canal Corporation and Canal Recreationway Commission on
these common goals.

In 2017, the oversight of the Canal Corporation was transferred intact
from the New York State Thruway Authority to the New York Power Authori-
ty (NYPA). Since that time, NYPA has advanced important new initiatives
like the Reimagine the Canal, implemented new safety measures, and moved
forward on much-needed capital construction and rehabilitation projects,
including completion of its portion of the Empire State Trail. The inno-
vative new thinking and more sophisticated engineering and operational
thinking provided by NYPA's stewardship has helped provide many benefits
to the canal system, and the three-year legacy of its administration of
the Canal Corporation is overwhelmingly positive, with important
exceptions.

Since the transfer to NYPA, the length of the navigation season has been
drastically reduced, including in 2020 when COVID-19 related
construction and maintenance shutdowns delayed the opening date. In
2017, the navigation season ran from May 15 to October 11, a reduction
of two months, causing immeasurable harm to businesses such as tour boat
companies and marinas, and reducing the positive economic impact of the
canal in communities all across the canal corridor.

On February 2, 2021 the Buffalo News reported that NYPA was contemplat-
ing an even shorter navigation season in 2021, running from later May
(Memorial Day) to mid-September. A navigation season of plus or minus
one hundred days would mean that NYPA would have reduced the length of
the season by half from 2016, further reducing the important economic
benefits the canal provides.

Numerous guidebooks, state and federal publications, websites and other
sources refer to the canal system operating from "early May through
November", informed by decades of state policy on canals and efforts to
maximize their benefit. The lock operated by the Army Corps of Engineers
at Troy, through which traffic entering or leaving the canal system at
the Hudson River passes, operates from May 1 to November 30 annually,
and the Black Rock Lock at Buffalo through which traffic entering or
leaving the canal system at Lake Erie passes, operates from mid-May
through December annually.

To complement and truly maximize the benefits of the innovative new
programs like Reimagine the Canal implemented by NYPA, and to build on
three decades of state and federal policy progress designed to increase
the economic contributions of the canal system, the traditional economic
benefits that so many businesses and communities have enjoyed must be
protected.

Clarifying and codifying the operating dates for the canal system -
subject to necessary restrictions and exceptions due to major projects,
emergencies, or weather events beyond NYPA's control, will provide the
necessary confidence for canal businesses to continue to expand and for
communities to continue to make the canal the cornerstone of their
economic and community development efforts.

The New York State Barge Canal System received National Landmark desig-
nation in 2017 by the National Park Service. This designation placed New
York's operating canals among the unique historic sites in the United
States and classified the waterway with Landmark status. The National
Historic Landmark designation includes the 450 miles of navigation chan-
nels and 552 contributing structures and buildings that operate today
largely as they did when the system went into operation in 1918. The NYS
Canal System's navigation channels, locks, lift bridges, dams, power
houses, and maintenance shops together represent a significant, distinc-
tive, and exceptional entity.

Another policy development under NYPA's stewardship of the canal has
been the restriction of access to drydock and travel lift facilities
under its jurisdiction by commercial boat companies. For decades, these
companies have had access to state drydock facilities to make repairs,
perform Coast Guard drydock inspections, and for winter storage. Unlike
coastal areas and larger maritime communities on the Great Lakes, the
canal system lacks the larger private facilities that can accommodate
larger tour boats, a large reason for the long-standing practice. These
new restrictions have contributed to a least two tour boat companies
ceasing operations on the canal system, and if continued, may result in
the elimination of this important tourism-related industry on the canal.
Tour boat companies currently operating on the Erie Canal have been
vocally critical of this new policy, and have suggested that it may
threaten the future of their businesses.

Though canal law currently prescribes these facilities be available for
"emergency" repairs, it does not specifically require them to be made
available for period Coast Guard drydock inspections, and for winter
storage. Safe winter storage on a space-availability basis, and access
to these facilities for repairs and safety inspections, were provided
without issue for decades prior to the canal system's transfer to NYPA,
and can be instrumental in continuing - and building upon - the impor-
tant economic benefits a vibrant canal system provides.

These small but important steps will prevent any further erosion of the
economic benefits related to annual operation of the canal system from
early May through November, and ensure that tour boat companies can
continue to introduce visitors and new generations to one of America's
most iconic navigable waterways into the third century of its operation.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021: REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.