N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law § 21-0917: The Great Lakes Basin advisory council

§ 21-0917. The Great Lakes Basin advisory council.

1. As used in this section:

a. "Great Lakes Basin" means the watershed of the Great Lakes and the

St. Lawrence River, upstream from Trois Rivieres, Quebec, consisting in

New York State of the Lake Erie, Niagara River, Lake Ontario minor

tributaries, Genesee River, Seneca-Oneida Oswego River, Black River, St.

Lawrence River, and Lake Champlain drainage basins.

b. "Great Lakes region" means the geographic region composed of the

states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and

Wisconsin, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the provinces of

Ontario and Quebec, Canada.

2. There is hereby established within the department the Great Lakes

Basin advisory council (hereinafter referred to as the "council")

consisting of nineteen members to advise the governor and the

commissioner on matters relating to the state's role in regional,

federal, and international activities aimed at the protection of the

quality and quantity of water in the Great Lakes, domestic, municipal,

industrial and agricultural water supplies, navigation, hydroelectric

power and energy production, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and

a balanced ecosystem which are all vital to the future environmental,

social, and economic health of New York State and the other states and

provinces comprising the Great Lakes region.

a. The council shall:

(i) advise the commissioner and the governor on the implementation and

any modifications to any comprehensive long-term Great Lakes management

plan developed by the department;

(ii) advise the state's members on the board of directors of the Great

Lakes protection fund;

(iii) annually identify specific research or program needs for funding

from the New York Great Lakes protection fund, after consultation with

the Great Lakes protection fund, other Great Lakes states and other

concerned parties. Such annual program, with as much detail on the scope

and expectations of each project as is practical, shall be submitted to

the commissioner, who shall select specific projects from the program,

recommended by the council and shall submit such projects to the

department for implementation; and

(iv) evaluate and report to the governor and the legislature on the

projects funded by the New York Great Lakes protection fund.

b. The governor shall appoint nine members with one representing an

institution that performs research on the issues and the problems of the

Great Lakes, one representing a labor union whose members derive their

livelihood from the Great Lakes, three representing environmental or

conservation organizations with interests in the Great Lakes Basin, two

representing business organizations whose commercial interest lies in

activities in or around Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and/or the St. Lawrence

River, one representing a municipality adjacent to Lake Erie, Lake

Ontario or the St. Lawrence River, and one representing a county having

a population of two hundred and fifty thousand people or less adjacent

to Lake Erie, Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River. The temporary

president of the Senate and the speaker of the Assembly shall each

appoint two members who have a demonstrated knowledge in Great Lakes

issues. The commissioner, the commissioners of the departments of state,

health, transportation, economic development and the chairman of the

power authority of the state of New York or their designated

representative shall be ex-officio members. The appointed members of the

council shall serve terms of three years; provided, however, that of the

members first appointed by the governor, three shall be appointed for a

term of three years, three shall be appointed for a term of two years

and three shall be appointed for a term of one year. An appointment to

fill a vacancy shall be made for the remainder of the affected term in

the same manner as the original appointment was made. Such appointment

shall be made within sixty days of the date the position becomes vacant.

Members shall serve until their successor has been appointed. The

governor shall designate the chairperson.

3. The advisory council shall meet at a minimum of two times annually.

4. Advisory council members shall receive no compensation for their

services, but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary

expenses incurred during the performance of their duties.

5. The council shall submit a report prior to January first beginning

in nineteen hundred ninety and annually thereafter to the governor, the

speaker of the Assembly, the temporary president of the Senate and the

chairmen of the Senate and Assembly committees on environmental

conservation. Such report should include an evaluation of the problems

and conditions of the Great Lakes and recommendations for departmental

or legislative solutions.