**Editor’s Note: Letters to Gov. Cuomo and President Trump Attached

Following another tour of the flooding along much of Lake Ontario’s southern shore Tuesday, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) has joined a delegation of assemblymembers who represent communities impacted by flooding in writing to Gov. Cuomo asking for a relief package to be implemented before the end of session.

“The lake levels are a foot and a half higher than they were last year at this time…Like Hurricane Sandy destroyed downstate property, the continuous Lake Ontario devastation deserves the same response of funding and assistance,” Hawley wrote to Gov. Cuomo.

“As we witnessed firsthand on Tuesday, flooding along the shoreline is reaching disastrous proportions and we need to act now to secure a relief package for our homeowners and businesses,” Hawley said. “I applaud state leaders for taking preliminary steps to mitigate flood damage, but the reality is that the lake will likely exceed 2017 water levels in the near future and sandbags and barricades are becoming useless. Securing a flood relief package is my top priority in these last few weeks of session.”

In addition to efforts at the state level, Hawley has asked President Trump to renegotiate Plan 2014 that many believe is the root cause of much of the lake’s flooding. The treaty was signed into law by President Obama only a short time before he left office.

“I am writing, once again, imploring you to renegotiate Plan 2014 and also make available mitigation assistance funding for residents, businesses and municipalities…I repeatedly fought the IJC’s Plan 2014 believing that it would threaten property…I am deeply disheartened, seeing first-hand, another year of destruction of homes, businesses and property, due in no small part to the IJC’s Plan 2014,” Hawley wrote in the letter to President Trump.

“Plan 2014 is a debacle that has perpetuated much of Lake Ontario’s disastrous flooding, and I have written to President Trump asking him to renegotiate this plan immediately. This was signed into law by President Obama during the waning days of his presidency and we need to address the root cause of flooding to prevent these conditions from occurring in future years,” Hawley concluded.