Department of Agriculture and Markets Releases Environmental Bond...

The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) in collaboration with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today released for public comment new proposed eligibility guidelines to guide allocation of funding for water quality projects under the historic $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022. The draft criteria expand on the state's efforts to deliver grants to support the Eastern Finger Lakes Coalition (EFLC) of County Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) to implement or fund water quality projects in the Eastern Finger Lakes Program area.

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, "An investment in the environment is an investment in our agricultural industry, and that includes preserving the quality of our freshwater resources. We work closely with our partners at DEC and our coalition of Soil and Water Districts to preserve the Eastern Finger Lakes Watershed. Supplementing our existing work with Bond Act funding will not only safeguard the health of our lakes, but also ensure our farms across the state can implement best management practices while remaining competitive, profitable, and sustainable."

The public is now encouraged to comment on the draft eligibility guidelines, which are available in the Nov. 13 Environmental Notice Bulletin. The final guidelines will inform the use of $42 million of Bond Act funding to protect and enhance water quality in the Eastern Finger Lakes watersheds.

The Eastern Finger Lakes watershed covers more than 30 percent of the Lake Ontario drainage basin and contains seven of New York's Finger Lakes and their watersheds: Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles, and Otisco lakes. The region recently reported a greater frequency of harmful algal blooms (HABs), which threaten public health, recreation, and the local economy.

Building on previous record-breaking water investments, the $42 million investment will support Coalition communities in designing and implementing innovative agricultural and resilience projects both on and off farms. Projects like these have been identified in clean water plans, local SWCD strategic plans and other pollution prevention plans to further drive down nutrient and sediment runoff in the Eastern Finger Lakes watersheds.

AGM, in coordination with the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, will provide grant funding to the EFLC of SWCDs to implement Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) Tier IV agricultural best management practice systems (BMPs) on New York farms and/or streambank/streambed management practice systems, roadside drainage management practice systems, including culvert replacements, and flood resiliency practices throughout the Eastern Finger Lakes Watershed.

Eligible Agricultural Nonpoint Source projects must:

• be listed in farm specific AEM Tier 3 plans;
• be identified in AEM strategic plans and/or the project addresses the pollutant of concern or implements a solution identified in an EPA approved or DEC approved or accepted clean water plans, including TMDLs and Nine Element Plans. Additionally, projects that support actions identified in New York State HAB Action Plans, DEC Watershed Program Action Agendas and DEC accepted Drinking Water Source Protection plans;
• reduce, abate, control, or prevent nonpoint source pollution originating from agricultural sources, including nutrients and sedimentation;
• meet New York State U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) standards and specifications, or other generally accepted NYS standards and specification, including but not limited to the NYS Standards and Specification for Erosion and Sediment Control (Blue Book), the New York State Stormwater Design Manual, and the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAAC) protocol; and
• have a bondable life of at least 10 years.

Eligible BMP Systems include, but are not limited to:

• Access Control System
• Agrichemical Handling and Storage System
• Composting System - Animal
• Erosion Control System - Structural
• Irrigation Water Management System
• Livestock Heavy Use Area Management System
• Manure and Agricultural Waste Treatment System
• Pathogen Management System
• Petroleum and Oil Products Storage System
• Prescribed Rotational Grazing System
• Process Wash Water Management System
• Riparian Forest and Herbaceous Buffer Systems
• Silage Leachate Control and Treatment System
• Stream Corridor and Shoreline Management System
• Waste Storage and Transfer System
• Short Term Waste Collection and Transfer System

Projects on Non-Agricultural Lands must:

• reduce, abate, control, or prevent nonpoint source pollution, reduce erosion and sedimentation from streambeds/banks, address flood resiliency, reduce erosion and sedimentation from road corridors, improve aquatic connectivity and stormwater flow through the proper sizing of culverts, or improve stormwater management;
• project addresses the pollutant of concern or implements a solution identified in an EPA approved or DEC approved or accepted clean water plans, including TMDLs and Nine Element Plans. Additionally, projects that support actions identified in HAB Action Plans, DEC Action Agendas and DEC accepted Drinking Water Source Protection Plans;
• meet NYS USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) standards and specifications where applicable, or other generally accepted NYS standards and specifications (including but not limited to the NYS Standards and Specification for Erosion and Sediment Control (Blue Book), the NYS Stormwater Design Manual, NYSDOT Highway Design Manual, NYSDEC Technical Guidance, and the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAAC) protocol); and
• have a bondable life of at least 10 years.

Projects may require a hydrological and hydraulic (H&H) analysis conducted by a licensed professional engineer using HEC-RAS, HY-8 or other comparable H&H modeling. Projects that fall wholly or partially within the 100-year or 500-year floodplain must comply with state and federal flood requirements.

Eligible projects include but are not limited to:

• Stream Corridor and Shoreline Management Systems
• Riparian Forest and Herbaceous Buffer Systems
• Floodplain Management Systems
• Road/Stream Crossing (Culvert) Replacement
• Roadside Erosion Control Systems
• Stormwater Management Systems (Practices)
• Green Infrastructure Management Systems (Practices)
• Water and Sediment Control Basin Systems
• Constructed and Restored Wetlands

The Bond Act requires that disadvantaged communities shall receive no less than 35 percent, with the goal of 40 percent, of the benefit of total Bond Act funds ($4.2 billion). In line with this goal, AGM will aim to deploy at least 40 percent of the funding to the EFLC to benefit disadvantaged communities as part of efforts to achieve the 40 percent overall goal.

The full eligibility guidelines are available in today's Environmental Notice Bulletin. Public comments on the draft guidelines may be submitted in writing to:

Patrick J. Emerick

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets

10B Airline Drive Albany, NY 12223

(585) 697- 4279

[email protected]

Public comments on the guidelines are to be submitted in writing to the contact listed below and will be accepted until Friday, December 13, 2024, at 5:00 pm.

New York's Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022

On November 8, 2022, New Yorkers overwhelmingly approved the $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act. State agencies, local governments, and partners will be able to access funding to protect water quality, help communities adapt to climate change, improve resiliency, and create green jobs. Bond Act funding will support new and expanded projects across the state to safeguard drinking water sources, reduce pollution, and protect communities and natural resources from climate change.

The Bond Act requires that disadvantaged communities shall receive no less than 35 percent, with the goal of 40 percent, of the benefit of total Bond Act funds ($4.2 billion). In line with this goal, NYS AGM will aim to deploy at least 40 percent of the funding to the EFLC to benefit disadvantaged communities as part of efforts to achieve the 40 percent overall goal.

Since the Bond Act passed, an inter-agency working group comprised of multiple state agencies has been implementing a transparent and collaborative process to identify needs for environmental funding across the state to help develop program logistics. In the last year, the State announced a $200 million funding investment toward its existing Water Infrastructure Improvement and Intermunicipal Grant programs, $100 million for zero-emission school buses, $100 million for Clean Green Schools, a $200 million investment toward local water infrastructure projects, a $2 million investment to protect existing park infrastructure at Cedar Beach on Long Island to protect communities from extreme weather and $13.1 million to support construction of the Adirondack Rail Trail. For more information and to sign up for progress updates, go to the Environmental Bond Act webpage.

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