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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8617
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 22, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee 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:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Mohawk River Basin management act".
3 § 2. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new
4 section 11-0306-b to read as follows:
5 § 11-0306-b. Mohawk River Basin management program.
6 1. There is hereby established a Mohawk River Basin district which
7 shall include the Mohawk River from its headwaters in Lewis county to
8 its mouth at the Hudson River at Cohoes. The district shall include the
9 Mohawk River's watershed, including all tributaries and lands that drain
10 to the Mohawk River, and any adjacent areas on which the integrity of
11 the basin depends, including the portion of the New York state Barge
12 Canal that is in or connected to the Mohawk River.
13 2. The department shall establish and maintain a Mohawk River Basin
14 management program for the Mohawk River Basin district, in order to
15 conserve, protect and restore the environmental quality of the Mohawk
16 River, and to promote the integrated and coordinated management of envi-
17 ronmental resources in its watershed, with consideration to the Mohawk
18 River's influence on the Hudson River and estuary, as well as the influ-
19 ence of the New York state Barge Canal.
20 3. The commissioner shall appoint a Mohawk River Basin management
21 advisory committee to provide guidance on regulatory, policy, and other
22 matters affecting the management, protection, and use of the Mohawk
23 River Basin district and to assist in the development of a Mohawk River
24 Basin management program. The committee shall consist of members repres-
25 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
A. 8617 2
1 including but not limited to representatives of drinking water supply,
2 recreational fishing, recreational and commercial boating, tourism,
3 research, conservation, natural resources management, agriculture and
4 regional planning. The Mohawk River Basin management advisory committee
5 shall also include ex-officio members of relevant state agencies and
6 authorities, and others, such as representatives of federal agencies, as
7 determined to be needed by the commissioner by invitation.
8 4. The commissioner shall appoint in the department the position of
9 Mohawk watershed coordinator to assist the commissioner and the advisory
10 committee in the implementation of the Mohawk River Basin management
11 program.
12 5. The department, in cooperation with the Mohawk River Basin manage-
13 ment advisory committee, shall publish a management strategy for the
14 Mohawk watershed and an action agenda to implement ecosystem-based
15 management goals. The action agenda should be updated by January first,
16 two thousand twenty-seven and on a regular basis thereafter, at inter-
17 vals not greater than ten years. Subject to consultation with the Mohawk
18 River Basin management advisory committee, the management strategy and
19 action agenda shall include, but not be limited to strategies to address
20 issues related to climate change and resilience, land use and develop-
21 ment, fisheries and habitats, point and non-point pollution, drinking
22 water, recreation and canal infrastructure. Subject to consultation with
23 the Mohawk River Basin advisory committee, the management strategy and
24 action agenda shall include, but not be limited to the following goals:
25 improving water quality to reduce risks to human health, safeguard water
26 supplies, provide safe recreational opportunities and protect aquatic
27 habitats; enhancing fisheries and habitats to increase populations of
28 desirable fishes, mitigate the spread of invasive species and support
29 recreational angling opportunities; supporting community planning and
30 the sustainable use of working landscapes to enhance the resilience of
31 Mohawk River communities and their ability to recover from extreme
32 weather events and disturbances; and improving and increasing recreation
33 and stewardship by creating and fostering partnerships and stakeholder
34 engagement through education, outreach and collaboration.
35 6. Within one year of the effective date of this section, the Mohawk
36 watershed coordinator appointed pursuant to subdivision four of this
37 section shall develop a plan for the prevention of the proliferation of
38 all taxa of aquatic invasive species in and through the Mohawk River
39 Basin district, in consultation with the department, the New York state
40 canal corporation, and the Mohawk River Basin program advisory commit-
41 tee. Such plan shall be submitted to the commissioner and the chair-
42 persons of the assembly and senate committees on environmental conserva-
43 tion no later than one year after the effective date of this section.
44 The plan shall identify strategies to prevent the passage of aquatic
45 invasive species across historical watershed divides connected via the
46 New York state Barge Canal. Such plan shall then be implemented via the
47 action agenda developed under subdivision five of this section.
48 7. On or before January first of each year, the Mohawk watershed coor-
49 dinator shall report on the progress of the Mohawk River Basin manage-
50 ment program, including via a report submitted to the chairpersons of
51 the assembly and senate committees on environmental conservation on or
52 before March first of each year.
53 8. The Mohawk River Basin management advisory committee shall report
54 to the commissioner from time to time, and at least annually on or
55 before December first of each year on its activities, concerns, and
56 recommendations for the Mohawk River watershed.
A. 8617 3
1 9. The Mohawk watershed coordinator shall consult with the Mohawk
2 River Basin management advisory committee regularly in preparing and
3 implementing the watershed management strategy and action agenda under
4 this section, as well as relevant regulatory or policy changes affecting
5 the Mohawk River watershed.
6 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
7 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
8 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
9 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
10 completed on or before such effective date.
