Bill > S01103

This bill establishes the New York State Cooperative Watershed Management Program within the Department of Environmental Conservation, designed to provide grants to watershed networks to help them develop and professionalize their organizations. A "watershed network" is defined as a collaborative, non-regulatory group composed of diverse stakeholders like lake associations, municipalities, agencies, and tribal nations, which can focus on a single water body or multiple connected watersheds. The program will create a competitive grant process allowing these networks to apply for two types of grants: watershed network development grants (up to $20,000, available once every five years) and watershed network professionalization grants (up to $40,000, available annually for up to three consecutive years). To be eligible, networks must include at least two stakeholders and demonstrate stakeholder support through a complete budget proposal and supporting letters. Importantly, a watershed network cannot receive both types of grants in the same year, and all funding is subject to legislative appropriation. The bill aims to encourage local and regional solutions to water and watershed management needs by supporting the organizational capacity of these collaborative groups.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S1103