By Senator Tom O'Mara (serving Steuben County)
Over the past several years in state government, a period during which I have been fortunate to Chair the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, no issue has demanded the State Legislature’s attention and focus more than the challenges and crises surrounding water quality.
Rightly so. The future of water quality has dominated headlines across New York State and the nation. We know that the issue is here to stay. Water quality is certainly one of the top-of-the-agenda items for the future of the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions.
Therefore, the Legislature has acted. Over the past several years, the Senate Environmental Conservation committee has played a key role in developing Senate initiatives to combat invasive species, address flood and erosion control, protect wildlife habitats, respond to Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), improve drinking water safety, and enhance the overall quality of water infrastructure for all New Yorkers, to highlight just a few.
For example the 2015-2016 state budget, for the first time, established a fully funded, $300-million Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), a move that many conservation advocates had sought for many years. The EPF supports many critical conservation initiatives including clean air and water projects, flood control and restoration, and open space preservation.
The 2015-16 budget also established the state’s “Water Quality Infrastructure Improvement Act” to help localities undertake infrastructure improvement projects including sewer and municipal water line repairs – an action that has become particularly timely as drinking water quality concerns and crises regionally, statewide, and across the nation become increasingly acute.
In 2016, under a new law I developed and sponsored with bipartisan support in the Legislature (and from numerous health and environmental advocates), New York became the first state in the nation to require public schools to test their drinking water systems for lead contamination. That work remains diligent and ongoing.
The 2017-18 state budget, largely at the Senate’s insistence, included the state’s largest-ever one-time investment, $2.5 billion, to address water quality challenges statewide.
Earlier this year, we took the lead to ensure that the 2018-19 state budget included approximately $60 million in grant funding to begin developing programs and strategies to combat HABs on impacted lakes and other waterbodies.
Later this week in Dundee (Yates County), I look forward to joining my Finger Lakes legislative colleague, Senator Pam Helming of Canandaigua, to sponsor a public round table discussion, “The Future of Water Quality: A Discussion on Challenges, Crises and Responses.” The forum, which is open to the public, is being held at Starkey’s Lookout in Dundee (5428 State Route 14), from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., on Wednesday, October 24. If you’re interested, you’re welcome to attend.
A panel of approximately 20 water quality educators and experts, and agriculture and environmental advocates will participate. They are leaders in this field of concern and study representing, among others, Cornell University, the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Finger Lakes Institute, the Keuka Lake Association, and regional Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
HABs, invasive species, non-point source pollution and other contaminants, flood and erosion control, habitat preservation, and water quality infrastructure will highlight the range of issues the panel plans to discuss. How we understand and proactively address the issue of water quality is critical. It is important for drinking water, for the agriculture and tourism economies, and for the recreational use of lakes and other waterways.
I look forward to hearing from these experts. Their input in the days, months, and years ahead will make the difference.
