Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 11, Number 3 • Summer 2003
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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By Karen De Vito
Beginning this July, Environmental Advocates of New York (EANY) began serving as the New York Hub of the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund. Environmental Advocates of New York is a 501 (c)(3) statewide advocacy organization that serves the people of New York as an effective and aggressive watchdog and advocate on nearly every important state environmental issue. Through advocacy, coalition building, citizen education, and policy development, we work to safeguard public health and preserve our unique natural heritage. For 34 years, EANY has sought to represent the environmental and public health concerns of all of New York State and to advocate for solutions to the most critical statewide ecological concerns.
EANY currently has programs in the following areas:
As part of our initiative to achieve a stronger presence in western New York, EANY recently created a Western New York Advisory Board. Through the Board, we hope to gain a clearer understanding of the most important environmental issues in western New York and provide better representation for these issues in Albany.
Since our creation, we have consistently been involved in water and aquatic habitat issues. As the New York State affiliate to the National Wildlife Federation, we have been actively advocating for support of the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act, which would reaffirm historical jurisdiction of the 1972 Clean Water Act. We are currently active participants in the Great Lakes Annex project and have recently become more involved in wetlands protection as a result of the SWANCC decision and federal threats to the Clean Water Act. Our efforts concerning increased protection of wetlands at the state level are described in greater detail below.
If you would like to receive any additional information about Environmental Advocates of New York and our work as the New York GLAHNF Hub, please contact Karen De Vito at (518) 462-5526 ext. 235, or kdevito@eany.org.
Until recently, wetlands in New York State have been protected by both a federal wetlands program operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a state program operated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Wetlands that are at least 12.4 acres are regulated under the New York State program and the federal program addressed wetlands that fell below the 12.4-acre threshold. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration’s interpretation of the January 2003 SWANCC ruling has drastically curtailed the federal wetlands protection program, creating a gap in the protection of New York’s wetlands.
In an attempt to fill this gap, and ensure continued protection of New York’s valuable wetlands, new legislation was introduced by the chairs of the Environmental Conservation Committees in both the NY Assembly and Senate in April of 2003. If passed, this legislation (A.7905/S.4480) would lower the threshold for jurisdictional wetlands to one acre or larger. It would also provide protection to those wetlands that are adjacent to water bodies, or of significant local importance. The bill goes on to change the basis for jurisdiction from one of presence on the state wetlands maps to a determination of whether or not the lands in question meet widely accepted criteria for wetlands. The mapping process would also be streamlined, allowing DEC to create more accurate maps, while preserving the ability of municipalities and private citizens to have input in the map development process. Other important aspects of the bill include: the elimination of the current classification system; the addition of “subdivision of property” to the list of land uses that DEC has the authority to regulate; and the removal of a provision grandfathering subdivisions and other actions in wetlands that were permitted prior to the passage of the law in 1975.
The bill has received wide support from environmental groups such as EANY, Environmental Defense, Great Lakes United, Natural Resource Defense Council, and Sierra Club. Numerous cosponsors have signed on in support of the Assembly version of the bill and it is EANY’s hope that the bill will move out of committee during the 2004 legislative session.
For more information about the wetlands bill contact Karen De Vito at kdevito@eany.org or John Stouffer of the Sierra Club at sierraNY@kick.net.
Karen de Vito |