A complete overhaul of the state’s freshwater wetlands regulations is entering the home stretch with the release this month of proposed new rules for public comment.
The new regulations are required by legislation enacted in 2022, the first major amendment to the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Act since its passage in 1975.
They would define key terms, improve the freshwater wetland classification system, establish criteria for the identification of “wetlands of unusual importance,” and establish procedures related to jurisdictional determinations.
The new rules will roughly double the acreage of state-regulated wetlands in New York by 2028, when the minimum area for state jurisdiction will be reduced from 12.4 to 7.4 acres.
Among other things, the proposed regulations would extend the upland adjacent areas within which the DEC can regulate activities, from 100 feet to 300 feet for nutrient poor wetlands, and to 800 feet for vernal pools known to the department to be productive for amphibian breeding.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation will produce new freshwater wetlands maps, using new technology for remote mapping.
Department staff will also amend the maps remotely and maintain them on the DEC’s website.
The text of the proposed regulations (new Part 664. Freshwater Wetlands Jurisdiction and Classification) can be viewed and downloaded on the DEC website.
The DEC’s regulatory impact statement, which explains the proposed new rules, is also available on the DEC’s website here.
“The new regulations clearly provide an opportunity for additional regulation and protection for some 1 million acres of presently unregulated wetlands in NY state, and we strongly support their adoption,” Bob DeLuca, president of Group for the East End said in an email yesterday.
The new regulations “essentially retire the long outdated regulatory maps that have been used for decades to determine regulatory jurisdiction,” DeLuca said.
“The new regs permit DEC to amend its regulatory maps without the agony of protracted map amendment hearings,” DeLuca said.
“Overall, these regulatory reforms are welcome and well overdue. They reflect the increasing understanding of wetlands values and the continuing threat to wetlands viability over time largely due to clearing, filling and overdevelopment,” he said.
Freshwater wetlands are lands and submerged lands—commonly called marshes, swamps, sloughs, and bogs—that support aquatic or semi-aquatic vegetation, the DEC said in a press release.
“Wetlands provide economic and ecological benefits to all of New York’s communities by improving natural resiliency, helping protect communities from flooding, particularly in response to climate change, while providing essential habitat for fish and wildlife,” Interim DEC Commissioner Sean Mahar said in a press release.
Public comment period ends Sept. 19
The public comment period is open through Sept. 19.
Comments can be submitted via e-mail (WetlandRegulatoryComments@dec.ny.gov) with “Wetlands Part 664 Comments” in the subject line, or via postal mail to NYSDEC, Attn: Roy Jacobson Jr., 5th Floor, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4756.
The DEC will hold two public comment hearings virtually on Sept. 10, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. and an in-person hearing on Sept. 12 at 1 p.m.
Registration Link for 1 p.m. virtual public comment hearing:
https://forms.office.com/g/cqEDZA2A5b
Registration link for 6 p.m. virtual public comment hearing:
https://forms.office.com/g/cqEDZA2A5b
Registration deadline is 4 p.m. on Sept. 8.
The in-person public comment hearing will be held on Sept. 12 at 1p.m. at the DEC Central Office at 625 Broadway, Albany, N.Y. 12233.
Registration Link for the in-person public comment hearing:
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