BILL NUMBER: S43
SPONSOR: WALCZYK
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
shoreline hardening
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To implement a shoreline hardening plan for residents with property
along the Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River, in order to help prevent
future damage from flooding.
The Department of Environmental Conservation, working side-by-side with
homeowners with damaged shorelines would design a plan that meets shore-
line resiliency criteria to rebuild and fortify property shoreline. The
measure also requires the state to reimburse up to 50 percent of project
costs.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends the environmental conservation law to
provide for implementation of shoreline hardening procedures to resi-
dents who live on a shoreline on Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River.
Defines shoreline hardening and the location of targeted flooded shore-
lines, requires the department of environmental conservation to work
with impacted property owners to design and develop specific-shoreline
hardening plans. If property owners meet the department of environmental
conservation's guidelines for shoreline hardening, this new section
allows such owners to be reimbursed by the state of New York for up to
fifty percent of project costs.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
For the second time in three years, property owners along Lake Ontario
and the St. Lawrence River have suffered from record flooding. This
legislation tasks the Department of Environmental Conservation with
working closely with homeowners along these waterways to develop
and execute shoreline hardening projects, to not only rebuild from
previous flooding damage, but to also put homeowners in a position
to better withstand future flooding events. In addition, this legis-
lation will allow property owners to be reimbursed for up t o fifty
percent of the costs associated with the hardening of shoreline.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A8561/S6741 (2019): Referred to Environmental Conservation
A4371/S1859 (2021): Referred to Environmental Conservation
S4178 (2023): Referred to Environmental Conservation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.