N.Y. Executive Law § 964-b: Duties of the council

§ 964-b. Duties of the council. The council shall have the following

duties:

1. To meet not less than once every two months until the adoption of

the plan and to encourage attendance at such meeting of representatives

of local governments and interested parties affected by the

deliberations of the council;

2. To send copies of the minutes of each meeting to each town and

village within the reserve, the county executive of the county of

Nassau, the county executive of the county of Suffolk, the members of

the Assembly and Senate representing areas within the reserve, and any

other interested party upon request;

3. To hold public hearings pursuant to section nine hundred sixty-six

of this article;

4. To designate land and water bodies to be included in the reserve as

defined in subdivision four of section nine hundred sixty-two of this

article and to adopt and publish a map and written description

delineating the boundary of the reserve;

5. To make appointments to the advisory committees authorized pursuant

to section nine hundred sixty-five of this article, and to create other

advisory committees as necessary;

6. To review and evaluate existing studies, modeling, methodologies,

data and recommendations for their application to the plan;

7. To adopt a comprehensive management plan for the Long Island South

Shore Estuary Reserve which the state and local governments may

implement. Estuary segmentation or partitioning of the estuary into

spatial units may be necessary at times for summarizing data for

geographic areas, for the development of certain scientific models, or

for interim management measures. The council shall prioritize problems

and opportunities within the estuary based upon use impairments,

resource management needs and areas experiencing intense recreational

use;

8. To identify funding mechanisms for the preparation and

implementation of the plan;

9. To identify specific tasks or studies and the amount of funding

necessary to carry out the provisions of this article and report such

findings to the governor and the legislature;

10. To prepare interim reports and recommendations;

11. To prepare or cause to be prepared educational materials designed

to inform the public about the value of the Estuary, its appropriate

uses and methods to protect it;

12. To consider designation of the South Shore Estuary into the

Federal National Estuary program pursuant to section three hundred

twenty of the Federal Clean Water Act. Development of a nomination

application for federal designation of the South Shore Estuary may be

concurrent with the development of the comprehensive management plan;

13. To encourage, and where feasible, facilitate implementation of the

recommendations of the plan;

14. To encourage individuals, corporations, associations, and public

entities to protect and preserve the unique resources of the reserve;

and

15. To biannually review the plan and the effectiveness of its

implementation, and where necessary, revise the plan and submit such

revision to each town and village within the reserve, the governor, the

legislature and any other interested party upon request.