| On June 20th, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos announced the release of two flood-risk management guidance documents for public review. The flood-risk management guidance documents were developed under the Community Risk and Resiliency Act (CRRA), which requires applicants for some State permits, State funding, and certain facility-siting regulations to consider future physical climate risk due to sea-level rise, storm surge, and flooding. The proposed guidance also addresses mitigating risk due to sea-level rise, storm surge, and flooding in the approval and funding of public infrastructure. CRRA added mitigation of these hazards to the State’s list of smart-growth criteria for public infrastructure.
DEC is proposing these documents as nonbinding technical guidance to agencies responsible for implementing permit and funding programs specified by CRRA. DEC is accepting written public comment on these two documents through August 20, 2018. The proposed documents are available on DEC’s website.
Public Meetings
DEC is hosting three public information and comment meetings to provide the public with opportunities to learn about and comment on these guidance documents. Meetings are scheduled for the following locations:
- 1 p.m., Wednesday July 18, DEC Region 8, 6274 East Avon-Lima Rd., Avon
- 2 p.m., Thursday, July 19, DEC Headquarters, 625 Broadway, Albany, Room 919
- 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 25, Suffolk County Water Authority Education Center, 260 Motor Parkway, Hauppauge
At these meetings, DEC will present information on CRRA and review recommended flood-risk management guidelines. Attendees are required to pre-register by e-mailing climatechange or calling (518) 402-8448. The July 19 meeting will also be accessible online via webinar. Instructions for accessing the webinar are available on the DEC CRRA webpage.
Submitting Comments
The deadline for comments is August 20, 2018. Comments on the draft New York State Flood Risk Management Guidance and Guidance for Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Assessment may be submitted by email to climatechange (please include “CRRA Comments” in the subject line) and by mail to DEC, Office of Climate Change, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-1030. |
