March 28, 2006

ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES OF NEW YORK
NEW YORK PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP
RIVERKEEPER INC.
SIERRA CLUB – ATLANTIC CHAPTER

Environmental Groups Applaud Senator Schneiderman & Call on NYS Senate to Discharge Wetlands Protection Bill

ALBANY, NY—Environmental organizations from across New York State applaud Senator Eric T. Schneiderman for his efforts today to bring attention to expanding the scope of wetlands protection—an issue integral to New York State’s environmental health. The Senator is trying to push a floor vote on his bill, S1587, which is comparable to the Clean Water Protection / Flood Prevention Act sponsored by Senator Carl L. Marcellino. The groups are calling on New York State Senators to bring one of these bills to the floor for a fair vote.

Senator Schneiderman’s proposed legislation would protect New York State wetlands currently vulnerable to development because of loopholes in state and federal law. Protecting wetlands is critical to the state’s long term environmental health. Wetlands work as a filter for air and water, and serve as habitat for migratory birds and endangered species. If passed, the law would protect wetlands more than one acre in size; currently only wetlands 12.4 acres or larger are protected.

“Environmental Advocates of New York supports the Clean Water Protection / Flood Prevention Act sponsored by Senator Carl Marcellino. The bill has 31 senators willing to sponsor it—including 11 Republicans and 20 Democrats,” said Robert Moore, Executive Director of Environmental Advocates. “We applaud Senator Schneiderman, a supporter of that bill, for his efforts to bring attention to wetlands protection, and call on state senators to allow this bill to reach the floor for a fair vote.”

"We celebrate Senator Schneiderman for having the courage to work to end the needless delay of wetlands protection and bring this bill to a vote at a time when leaders from both houses have agreed to continue to stall on this issue during the budget process," said John Stouffer, Legislative Director for the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. "For five years now, developers in New York State have taken advantage of this loophole in wetlands protection law to destroy wetlands. And all the while, New Yorkers’ drinking water, flood prevention resources, and wildlife habitat are continually at risk."

Under current state law, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) only regulates development and other activities that threaten wetlands if they are included on New York State’s Freshwater Wetlands Maps. The New York Environmental Conservation Law directs the DEC to map only those wetlands that are 12.4 acres and larger, or those smaller wetlands that are determined to be of “unusual local importance”. In practice, few wetlands of “unusual local importance” have ever been included on the maps. By comparing NYS maps with maps produced by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Sierra Club determined that while the USFWS shows 281,216 wetlands in New York, the DEC only reports that it regulates 15,625 wetlands. This leaves hundreds of thousands of wetlands in the state subject to federal protection alone.

“The majority party has sponsored the Clean Water Protection / Flood Prevention Act for three years, but failed to move it in the Senate,” said Leila Goldmark, Attorney for Riverkeeper. “We thank Senator Schneiderman for taking a firm stand in support of wetlands, clean drinking water, and homeowner protection. New Yorkers deserve these long-awaited protections.”

In more than 100 instances since 2001, federal protection has been lifted from state wetlands and these wetlands have been damaged or destroyed by unregulated development. Currently DEC gets no warning when the US, Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that regulates wetlands, determines that a wetland is not subject to federal regulation.

The Clean Water Protection / Flood Prevention Act is one of four environmental “Super Bills” identified in 2006. The Super Bills were chosen by the Green Panel, which includes environmental leaders from nearly a dozen organizations from across New York State. EPL/Environmental Advocates, sister organization of Environmental Advocates of New York, grades lawmakers’ votes on the Super Bills.