Amd §§139-a, 139-b & 139-c, Can L; amd §3, Chap 448 of 2017
 
Designates the director of the upstate flood mitigation task force; relates to assessments of Erie Canal system operation procedures related to flood mitigation and management.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A9177C
SPONSOR: Stirpe
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the canal law, in relation to designating the director
of the upstate flood mitigation task force and assessments of Erie Canal
system operation procedures related to flood mitigation and management;
and to amend chapter 448 of the laws of 2017 amending the canal law
relating to the upstate flood mitigation task force, in relation to the
effectiveness thereof
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this legislation is to make technical changes to the
Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force and remove the repeal of such task
force.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends subdivision 5 of section 139-a of the canal law to
clarify that the task force will focus its study on areas that the Erie
Canal passes through.
Section 2. Amends subdivision 2 of section 139-b of the canal law to
designate the director of the canal corporation as the Chairperson of
the task force.
Section 3. Amends section 139-c of the canal law to require the task
force to produce a report on or before July first, two thousand twenty-
three.
Section 4. Adds a new subdivision 6 to section 139-c of the canal law to
require the task force to meet four times prior to the report being
published, and once a year after the report is published.
Section 5. Pushes out the sunset of the task force from July first,
twenty twenty-three to. July first, twenty twenty-four.
Section 6 is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force has yet to meet since its
Creation in 2017. Therefore, the last study on this issue was done by
the Army Corp of Engineers in 1999. This legislation will make changes
to the task force to ensure that the Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force
can begin its work in evaluating potential solutions in areas that have
recently experienced floods. It also names the Chairperson of the task
force as the Director of the Canal Corporation as this task force was
placed under Canal law and would allow the entity with the most famili-
arity regarding the correlation between the canal system and flooding to
spearhead the task force. Additionally, this legislation also requires
the task force to produce their initial report, that has not been
published yet, by July first, two thousand twenty-three.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To Be Determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9177--C
IN ASSEMBLY
February 9, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STIRPE, LAVINE, BUTTENSCHON, BRONSON, STECK,
MAGNARELLI, McDONALD, SIMON, B. MILLER, LEMONDES -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said commit-
tee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to
said committee -- again reported from said committee with amendments,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the canal law, in relation to designating the director
of the upstate flood mitigation task force and assessments of Erie
Canal system operation procedures related to flood mitigation and
management; and to amend chapter 448 of the laws of 2017 amending the
canal law relating to the upstate flood mitigation task force, in
relation to the effectiveness thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 139-a of the canal law, as added
2 by chapter 448 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
3 5. "Upstate flood mitigation region" or "region" shall include a coun-
4 ty[, except a county wholly encompassed by a city and any county with a
5 population of one million or more] through which the Erie Canal passes
6 in whole or in part.
7 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 139-b of the canal law, as added by
8 chapter 448 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
9 2. The task force [shall appoint a] chairperson [from among its
10 members] shall be the director of the canal corporation.
11 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 139-c of the canal law, as added by
12 chapter 448 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
13 1. Conducting an in-depth examination, presented as a public report no
14 later than [six months from the date the task force is established] July
15 first, two thousand twenty-three, of flood control study sectors and
16 issues related to floodplain management, debris management, flood
17 control and flood mitigation in the upstate flood mitigation region
18 including:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14440-07-2
A. 9177--C 2
1 (a) the cost or impact of flooding over the last five years to agri-
2 culture; transportation; land use; public health; insurance; economic
3 sectors such as tourism, recreation and power generation; as well as
4 impacts on infrastructure including bridges, low lying roads, dams,
5 locks, roads, water and wastewater treatment plants and docks;
6 (b) an assessment of [canal system] the Erie Canal operation proce-
7 dures and plans which may have a direct or indirect impact on flood
8 mitigation and flood management including, but not limited to debris
9 management, communication, water management and flood response; and
10 (c) a listing of adaptive measures, with associated costs, that could
11 be executed to mitigate flood damages, including but not limited to
12 feasible floodplain management activities, debris management,
13 construction of flood control structures, construction of communication
14 systems and flood mitigation education for public and private landown-
15 ers.
16 § 4. Section 139-c of the canal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
17 vision 6 to read as follows:
18 6. The task force shall meet at least four times at the call of the
19 chairperson between the effective date of this subdivision and July
20 first, two thousand twenty-three, and on an annual basis thereafter.
21 Special meetings may be called by its chairperson and shall be called by
22 the chairperson at the request of a majority of the members of the task
23 force then in office.
24 § 5. Section 3 of chapter 448 of the laws of 2017 amending the canal
25 law relating to the upstate flood mitigation task force, as amended by
26 chapter 164 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
27 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
28 section 139-d of the canal law, as added by section one of this act,
29 shall take effect April 1, 2018; and provided, further, that this act
30 shall expire and be deemed repealed July 1, [2023] 2024.
31 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however that
32 the amendments to article 13-B of the canal law made by sections one,
33 two, three and four of this act shall not affect the expiration and
34 repeal of such article and shall be deemed repealed therewith.