NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7970

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 15, 2025	referred to environmental conservation

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8617
Current Committee:: Senate Environmental Conservation
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Add §11-0306-b, En Con L

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes a Mohawk River Basin district and Mohawk River Basin management program for management of such district to conserve, protect and restore the environmental quality of the Mohawk River.

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7970

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
enacting the "Mohawk River Basin management act"

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To establish the Mohawk River Basin district and direct its management
for the district and management of invasive species within the district.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1:

a) Amends the environmental conservation law by adding a new section,
11-306B, entitled "The Mohawk River Basin Management Program." The
Mohawk River Basin Management Program establishes the Mohawk River Basin
District, which shall include the Mohawk River from its headwaters in
Lewis County to its mouth at the Hudson River at Cohoes. The district
shall include the Mohawk River's watershed, including all tributaries
and lands that drain to the Mohawk River, as well as any adjacent areas

on which the integrity of the basin depends, such as the portion of the
New York State Barge Canal that is in or connected to the Mohawk River.

b) Directs the Department of Environmental Conservation to maintain the
Mohawk River Basin Management Program and promote and protect the envi-
ronmental quality of the Mohawk River, taking into consideration its
connection to the Hudson River and the New York State Barge Canal.

c)Establishes a "Committee", known as the Mohawk River Basin Management
Advisory Committee, to advise on management for the Mohawk River Basin
District. The Commissioner, or the "Commissioner" of the Department of
Environmental Conservation, will appoint the committee.  It shall have
relevant experience required, including, but not limited to: knowledge
of best practices for drinking water supply, recreational activities,
natural resources management, agriculture, as well as experience in
state agencies.

d) Establishes a new position of the Mohawk Watershed Coordinator, the
"Coordinator", to assist the committee and the Commissioner.

e) Outlines the management strategy and action agenda that the Committee
shall utilitze to implement ecosystem-based management goals. The agenda
shall be updated by 2027 and regularly, at intervals not greater than 10
years.

f) Requires the development of a plan to prevent the proliferation of
all aquatic invasive species in and through the Mohawk River Basin
District. The plan shall be developed within one year of the passage of
this act and shall be submitted to the Commissioner and the chairpersons
of the Assembly and Senate committees of environmental conservation.

g) Requires annual reporting from the Coordinator, as well as reporting
to the chairpersons of the Assembly and Senate committees of environ-
mental conservation.

h) The Committee shall report to the Commissioner regularly, and at
least annually on or before December first of each year.
i) The Coordinator shall consult with the Committee regularly in prepar-
ing and implementing the management strategy and action agenda of the
Mohawk River Watershed, as well as relevant regulatory or policy changes
affecting the Mohawk River Watershed.

Section 2: This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day
after it shall have become a law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Mohawk River, its estuaries, and its river basin spans a region of
nearly 3,500 square miles with 14 counties, 172 municipalities, and over
600,000 constituents who depend on the region's economic contributions
from agriculture, manufacture, storage, and shipping. Beyond the impacts
to residents, the Mohawk River Basin has a significantly sized ecosystem
including 6,600 total miles of rivers, canals, and streams, and 135
lakes, reservoirs, and ponds. The Mohawk River Basin is responsible for
roughly 25 percent of the entire Hudson River drainage area. The Mohawk
River Basin has numerous native aquatic species that need protection
from invasive aquatic species such as the Round Goby due to recent
capture of invasive species samples in the Mohawk River as well as in
the connected Hudson River. The Mohawk River Basin experiences pollution
from numerous sources, including sediment, nutrients, and bacteria from
agriculture, construction, and eroding banks. According to a 2024
report, gaps in environmental regulations enabled 89 million gallons of
landfill leachate, chemically laced water runoff, to be dumped into the
Mohawk and Hudson Rivers annually from 2019 to 2023.

This bill would allow for the continued addressing of these concerns and
long-term planning and preservation of the Mohawk River Basin District.
The established management program, combined with the efforts of the
appointed committee and coordinator will be best-equipped to guide
ecosystem-based watershed management, updated at least every 10 years.
This oversight will provide for a new focus on identifying flood-vulner-
able communities and implementing strategies for resilience, as well as
the monitoring of pollutants and the suggestion of new policies to
address new conservation issues. Finally, an invasive species management
plan that addresses aquatic invasive threats will better address inva-
sive species and native species' interactions with the Canal and histor-
ic watershed divides.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7970
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FAHY  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
   enacting the "Mohawk River Basin management act"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "Mohawk River Basin management act".
   §  2.  The  environmental  conservation law is amended by adding a new
 section 11-0306-b to read as follows:
 § 11-0306-B. MOHAWK RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
   1. THERE IS HEREBY ESTABLISHED A MOHAWK  RIVER  BASIN  DISTRICT  WHICH
 SHALL  INCLUDE  THE  MOHAWK RIVER FROM ITS HEADWATERS IN LEWIS COUNTY TO
 ITS MOUTH AT THE HUDSON RIVER AT COHOES. THE DISTRICT SHALL INCLUDE  THE
 MOHAWK RIVER'S WATERSHED, INCLUDING ALL TRIBUTARIES AND LANDS THAT DRAIN
 TO  THE  MOHAWK  RIVER, AND ANY ADJACENT AREAS ON WHICH THE INTEGRITY OF
 THE BASIN DEPENDS, INCLUDING THE PORTION OF THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  BARGE
 CANAL THAT IS IN OR CONNECTED TO THE MOHAWK RIVER.
   2.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A MOHAWK RIVER BASIN
 MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE MOHAWK RIVER  BASIN  DISTRICT,  IN  ORDER  TO
 CONSERVE,  PROTECT  AND  RESTORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF THE MOHAWK
 RIVER, AND TO PROMOTE THE INTEGRATED AND COORDINATED MANAGEMENT OF ENVI-
 RONMENTAL RESOURCES IN ITS WATERSHED, WITH CONSIDERATION TO  THE  MOHAWK
 RIVER'S INFLUENCE ON THE HUDSON RIVER AND ESTUARY, AS WELL AS THE INFLU-
 ENCE OF THE NEW YORK STATE BARGE CANAL.
   3.  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  APPOINT  A MOHAWK RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT
 ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON REGULATORY, POLICY, AND  OTHER
 MATTERS  AFFECTING  THE  MANAGEMENT,  PROTECTION,  AND USE OF THE MOHAWK
 RIVER BASIN DISTRICT AND TO ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MOHAWK  RIVER
 BASIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. THE COMMITTEE SHALL CONSIST OF MEMBERS REPRES-
 ENTING  INTERESTS  DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE MOHAWK RIVER BASIN DISTRICT,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13076-01-5

 S. 7970                             2
 
 INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO REPRESENTATIVES OF DRINKING  WATER  SUPPLY,
 RECREATIONAL  FISHING,  RECREATIONAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  BOATING, TOURISM,
 RESEARCH, CONSERVATION, NATURAL RESOURCES  MANAGEMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND
 REGIONAL  PLANNING. THE MOHAWK RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
 SHALL ALSO INCLUDE EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS OF  RELEVANT  STATE  AGENCIES  AND
 AUTHORITIES, AND OTHERS, SUCH AS REPRESENTATIVES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES, AS
 DETERMINED TO BE NEEDED BY THE COMMISSIONER BY INVITATION.
   4.  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL APPOINT IN THE DEPARTMENT THE POSITION OF
 MOHAWK WATERSHED COORDINATOR TO ASSIST THE COMMISSIONER AND THE ADVISORY
 COMMITTEE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE  MOHAWK  RIVER  BASIN  MANAGEMENT
 PROGRAM.
   5.  THE DEPARTMENT, IN COOPERATION WITH THE MOHAWK RIVER BASIN MANAGE-
 MENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, SHALL PUBLISH A  MANAGEMENT  STRATEGY  FOR  THE
 MOHAWK  WATERSHED  AND  AN  ACTION  AGENDA  TO IMPLEMENT ECOSYSTEM-BASED
 MANAGEMENT GOALS. THE ACTION AGENDA SHOULD BE UPDATED BY JANUARY  FIRST,
 TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-SEVEN AND ON A REGULAR BASIS THEREAFTER, AT INTER-
 VALS NOT GREATER THAN TEN YEARS. SUBJECT TO CONSULTATION WITH THE MOHAWK
 RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THE MANAGEMENT  STRATEGY  AND
 ACTION AGENDA SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS
 ISSUES  RELATED  TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND RESILIENCE, LAND USE AND DEVELOP-
 MENT, FISHERIES AND HABITATS, POINT AND  NON-POINT  POLLUTION,  DRINKING
 WATER, RECREATION AND CANAL INFRASTRUCTURE. SUBJECT TO CONSULTATION WITH
 THE  MOHAWK  RIVER BASIN ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND
 ACTION AGENDA SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING  GOALS:
 IMPROVING WATER QUALITY TO REDUCE RISKS TO HUMAN HEALTH, SAFEGUARD WATER
 SUPPLIES,  PROVIDE  SAFE  RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND PROTECT AQUATIC
 HABITATS; ENHANCING FISHERIES AND HABITATS TO  INCREASE  POPULATIONS  OF
 DESIRABLE  FISHES,  MITIGATE  THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES AND SUPPORT
 RECREATIONAL ANGLING OPPORTUNITIES; SUPPORTING  COMMUNITY  PLANNING  AND
 THE  SUSTAINABLE  USE OF WORKING LANDSCAPES TO ENHANCE THE RESILIENCE OF
 MOHAWK RIVER COMMUNITIES AND  THEIR  ABILITY  TO  RECOVER  FROM  EXTREME
 WEATHER EVENTS AND DISTURBANCES; AND IMPROVING AND INCREASING RECREATION
 AND  STEWARDSHIP  BY CREATING AND FOSTERING PARTNERSHIPS AND STAKEHOLDER
 ENGAGEMENT THROUGH EDUCATION, OUTREACH AND COLLABORATION.
   6. WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION,  THE  MOHAWK
 WATERSHED  COORDINATOR  APPOINTED  PURSUANT  TO SUBDIVISION FOUR OF THIS
 SECTION SHALL DEVELOP A PLAN FOR THE PREVENTION OF THE PROLIFERATION  OF
 ALL  TAXA  OF  AQUATIC  INVASIVE SPECIES IN AND THROUGH THE MOHAWK RIVER
 BASIN DISTRICT, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT, THE NEW YORK  STATE
 CANAL  CORPORATION,  AND THE MOHAWK RIVER BASIN PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMIT-
 TEE.  SUCH PLAN SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSIONER  AND  THE  CHAIR-
 PERSONS OF THE ASSEMBLY AND SENATE COMMITTEES ON ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVA-
 TION  NO  LATER  THAN ONE YEAR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION.
 THE PLAN SHALL IDENTIFY STRATEGIES TO PREVENT  THE  PASSAGE  OF  AQUATIC
 INVASIVE  SPECIES  ACROSS HISTORICAL WATERSHED DIVIDES CONNECTED VIA THE
 NEW YORK STATE BARGE CANAL. SUCH PLAN SHALL THEN BE IMPLEMENTED VIA  THE
 ACTION AGENDA DEVELOPED UNDER SUBDIVISION FIVE OF THIS SECTION.
   7. ON OR BEFORE JANUARY FIRST OF EACH YEAR, THE MOHAWK WATERSHED COOR-
 DINATOR  SHALL  REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE MOHAWK RIVER BASIN MANAGE-
 MENT PROGRAM, INCLUDING VIA A REPORT SUBMITTED TO  THE  CHAIRPERSONS  OF
 THE  ASSEMBLY  AND SENATE COMMITTEES ON ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION ON OR
 BEFORE MARCH FIRST OF EACH YEAR.
   8. THE MOHAWK RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE  SHALL  REPORT
 TO  THE  COMMISSIONER  FROM  TIME  TO  TIME, AND AT LEAST ANNUALLY ON OR
 BEFORE DECEMBER FIRST OF EACH YEAR  ON  ITS  ACTIVITIES,  CONCERNS,  AND
 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE MOHAWK RIVER WATERSHED.
 S. 7970                             3
 
   9.  THE  MOHAWK  WATERSHED  COORDINATOR  SHALL CONSULT WITH THE MOHAWK
 RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE  REGULARLY  IN  PREPARING  AND
 IMPLEMENTING  THE  WATERSHED MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND ACTION AGENDA UNDER
 THIS SECTION, AS WELL AS RELEVANT REGULATORY OR POLICY CHANGES AFFECTING
 THE MOHAWK RIVER WATERSHED.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
 completed on or before such effective date.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S7970

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S7970

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Patricia Fahy

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S7970 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments