2023 New York Laws › CAL - Canal › Article 13-B - Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force › 139-C - Task Force Duties and Powers.

* §  139-c.  Task  force duties and powers. The role of the task force
shall include but not be limited to:
1. Conducting an in-depth examination, presented as a public report no
later than July first, two thousand twenty-three, of flood control study
sectors and issues related to floodplain management, debris  management,
flood  control  and  flood  mitigation  in  the upstate flood mitigation
region including:
(a) the cost or impact  of  flooding  over  the  last  five  years  to
agriculture;   transportation;   land  use;  public  health;  insurance;
economic sectors such as tourism, recreation and  power  generation;  as
well  as  impacts  on infrastructure including bridges, low lying roads,
dams, locks, roads, water and wastewater treatment plants and docks;
(b) an assessment of the Erie Canal  operation  procedures  and  plans
which may have a direct or indirect impact on flood mitigation and flood
management   including,   but   not   limited   to   debris  management,
communication, water management and flood response; and
(c) a listing of adaptive measures, with associated costs, that  could
be  executed  to  mitigate  flood  damages, including but not limited to
feasible   floodplain   management   activities,   debris    management,
construction  of flood control structures, construction of communication
systems  and  flood  mitigation  education  for   public   and   private
landowners.
2. Establishing an upstate flood mitigation grant program based on the
task force's evaluation pursuant to section one hundred thirty-nine-d of
this  article  which  is subject to appropriations to fund grants within
the upstate flood mitigation region to prevent and mitigate flood damage
within the region. Such program shall work in conjunction with  existing
flood  assistance  grant  programs  and  supplement  existing efforts by
providing funds for adaptive measures to mitigate or eliminate  a  flood
event.
3.  Holding  public hearings as it deems necessary to solicit relevant
information and gather current research and data related to flooding and
flood mitigation in the region as well as recommendations to fulfill the
purposes of this article. The task force shall consult with  the  county
offices  of  emergency  management,  county  soil and water conservation
districts and all other federal,  state  and  local  entities  it  deems
necessary  to  fulfill  the purposes of this article. In determining the
number of  public  hearings  to  be  held,  the  task  force  shall  act
diligently  in  order to meet the timeframe for first cycle awards under
the upstate flood mitigation grant program  established  within  section
one hundred thirty-nine-d of this article.
4.  The  task  force  shall  have  the  power  to:  (a)  contract  for
professional and technical assistance and advice; (b) contract  for  and
accept   assistance   including,  but  not  limited  to  gifts,  grants,
easements, and loans of funds, real property and personal property  from
the federal government or any agency or instrumentality of the state, or
from  any  other  public  or  private  source  to comply, subject to the
provisions of this article,  with  the  terms  and  conditions  thereof,
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  division of budget; (c) hold public
hearings; and (d) establish an upstate flood mitigation grant program to
be administered by the canal corporation and based on the  task  force's
evaluation, to fund grants within the upstate flood mitigation region to
prevent and mitigate flood damage within the region.
5.  Upon  the  request of the task force, all executive departments of
the state and the canal corporation shall provide the  task  force  with
such  facilities,  assistance  and data as will enable the task force to
carry out its powers and duties. Additionally, all other agencies of the
state or subdivisions thereof  shall,  at  the  request  of  the  chair,

provide  the  task  force  with such facilities, assistance, and data as
will enable the task force to carry out its powers and duties.
6.  The  task  force shall meet at least four times at the call of the
chairperson between the effective date  of  this  subdivision  and  July
first,  two  thousand  twenty-three,  and on an annual basis thereafter.
Special meetings may be called by its chairperson and shall be called by
the chairperson at the request of a majority of the members of the  task
force then in office.
* NB Repealed July 1, 2024