Officials Detail Proposed Wetlands Regulation Changes

TOWN OF WALLKILL—Continuing its efforts to provide information and promote discussion on critical topics and issues impacting the development and building communities, the Alliance for Balanced Growth held a highly informative meeting on July 23 to learn first-hand planned freshwater wetland regulation changes by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The session held at the Town of Wallkill Golf Club entitled “Navigating New Waters: Understanding the Impact of NYS DEC Wetland Regulations” attracted more than 140 professionals in the development, building, municipal government, real estate, and environmental fields and was co-sponsored by the Orange County Partnership. The program centered on the draft rulemaking changes to Freshwater Wetlands Jurisdiction and Classification recently released by NYS DEC.

Maureen Halahan, President and CEO of the Orange County Partnership said, “Our sister agency, the Alliance for Balanced Growth, is committed to addressing the most pressing issues and opportunities that impact sustainable development in Orange County and the Hudson Valley. We will continue to take on critical topics in the effort to keep the Orange County market strong.”

The NYS DEC plans to implement amendments to the Freshwater Wetlands Act that would take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. The rule-making changes, if enacted, would define key terms, improve the freshwater wetland classification system, establish criteria for the identification of Wetlands of Unusual Importance, and establish procedures related to jurisdictional determinations.

The changes of particular concern and interest to the ABG and its members are the proposed reduction in freshwater wetlands protection from the current 12.4 acres to 7.4 acres, existing wetland maps becoming informational, and the 11 criteria for small “wetlands of unusual importance.”

The ABG session featured Kelly Tuturro, NYS DEC Regional Director (Region 3), which covers the Hudson Valley. She stressed that the DEC is committed to working with the business community to discuss the proposed rule changes and noted that its draft regulations are currently in the public comment stage.

Matthew Walter, Freshwater Wetlands Program Manager at the NYS DEC provided a detailed presentation on the proposed rule-making and jurisdictional changes, which was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Conor Eckert, Vice President of the Orange County Partnership.

According to Eckert, “The theme of the panel was navigating the regulatory environment. The proposed regs will change the way we look at sites and our approach to development. We need to be proactive, especially as we focus on attracting world-class employers to Orange County.” The panel featured Teresa M. Bakner of Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna, LLP, James Bates of Ecological Analysis LLC, and Walter of the NYS DEC.

Some of the panelists and attendees praised the DEC for its work to provide information and assistance to the development and local government regulatory communities but also noted that the DEC is understaffed.

Other speakers at the ABG session included Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus who provided an economic development update to the attendees, Dan Depew, Director of Business Development at Holt Construction Corp., and Andrew Fetherston, principal of Colliers Engineering & Design. Both Fetherston and Depew are co-chairs of the ABG.

Fetherston concluded the program on a hopeful note, saying: “This is a big, big change and it is going to require all of us to have some level of understanding to get through this.” He urged members of municipal planning boards to read the proposed changes and gain an understanding of how these changes will impact their possible rulings on projects in their communities.

To review the full text of the proposed regulations and associated documents, visit Fish and Wildlife Regulatory Revisions – NYSDEC: https://dec.ny.gov/regulatory/regulations/proposed-emergency-recently-adopted-regulations/fish-wildlife-revisions