Posts Tagged ‘EPF’

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Resistance: Ron Stafford’s Gift to Local Governments

Senator Ron Stafford with a former Town of Bolton Supervisor, Frank Leonbruno, in Bolton Landing, July 2001Having spent more than a decade as an aide to an upstate New York senator, the late Ron Stafford, I retain some residual habits, one of which is flipping through the Governor’s budget proposals as soon as they’re released, alert, I would hope, to anything that might have an impact on our region, positive or negative.

That’s how I happened to become aware of a proposal in this year’s budget to remove Forest Preserve lands from the real property tax standard and authorize New York State to send Adirondack communities “payments in lieu of taxes.”

I gave it more than a cursory glance because in 1989, when I worked for Senator Stafford, the current governor’s father, Mario Cuomo, proposed something very similar. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, February 23, 2017

John Sheehan: Adirondack Highlights of Proposed State Budget

NYS CapitolGov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget proposal for FY2017/18 includes a $300-million appropriation for the Environmental Protection Fund.  This is complemented by a five-year, $2-billion dollar commitment to clean water infrastructure grants; a $50-million “AdventureNY” proposal for recreational infrastructure; $32 million in public and private funds to establish the former Frontier Town in North Hudson as a new High Peaks gateway; and, $153 million for an “Empire State Trail” that would include a leg through the Adirondacks, near Lake Champlain.  The Adirondack Council and others have been enthusiastic about these proposals. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Council: State Budget Is Good For Adirondack Park

NYS CapitolGov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders deserve praise for approving a state budget that increases appropriations for the Environmental Protection Fund, enhances programs to fight invasive species and helps communities build needed clean water infrastructure.

The Adirondack Park is a national treasure and a global legacy for us and for future generations. This historic budget enhances that legacy with a $300 million Environmental Protection Fund, $350 million for clean water infrastructure grants, and more. It is a blueprint for how the nation should invest in water, wildlife, wilderness and communities. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Cuomo Seeks $300M For Environmental Protection Fund

nycapitolNew York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that his 2016-17 executive budget will include a $300-million appropriation for the NYS Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). The amount is the largest in the history of the fund, which was created in 1993.

The EPF funds land acquisition, farmland protection, waterfront revitalization, municipal recycling, local government assistance to improve wastewater treatment plants, and acquisition, access, and stewardship of public lands, parks and campgrounds.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, December 18, 2015

Grants For Adirondack Communities, Organizations Offered

Entering Adirondack ParkAdirondack communities and organizations can now apply for some of $600,000 in Environmental Protection Fund  grants for smart growth projects.

The NYS Depart of Environmental Conservation’s Smart Growth Implementation Grant Program is established to promote projects that combine economic development with protection of the natural and built environment.  The funding includes $400,000 dedicated to the Adirondack Park and $200,000 to Catskill Park.  » Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 3, 2015

Model Culvert Being Installed In Wilmington

Ausable River Culvert ReplacementA new kind of culvert is being installed on an Ausable River tributary in Wilmington. The project is part of a initiative led by the Ausable River Association (AsRA) and the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy (the Conservancy) to improve stream connectivity, fish habitat, and community flood resilience in the Ausable watershed by replacing road-stream crossings with designs engineered to allow for natural stream pattern and flow. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Adirondack Council Critiques Legislative Session

nycapitolThe Adirondack Council sent the following statement to the press Monday reviewing Adirondack issues from the last session of the NYS Legislature:

Aside from authorizing the addition of 12 acres to the Adirondack Forest Preserve last week, the NYS Legislature did little in May and June to help the clean water, wilderness and communities of the Adirondack Park, the Adirondack Council said today.

“The Legislature and Governor passed a pro-Adirondack budget on April 1, but didn’t accomplish much for the Adirondack Park after that,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway.  “Lawmakers did pass a bill that will add 12 acres to the 2.7-million-acre public Forest Preserve and we are grateful to the sponsors for guiding it through both houses.  » Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 21, 2015

State Purchases Lake George Berry Pond Tract

berry pond tract from LGLCNew York State has purchased the Berry Pond Preserve in Warren County in order to protect water quality in Lake George and its tributaries. The State purchased the 1,436-acre property from the Lake George Land Conservancy with $1.7 million from the Environmental Protection Fund.

The Berry Pond Preserve lies within the Warren County towns of Lake George, Lake Luzerne and Warrensburg, and includes the headwaters of West Brook, a major tributary to the southern basin of Lake George. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Willie Janeway: NYS Budget Adirondack Impacts

nycapitolNegotiations over the NYS budget for fiscal year 2015-16 were messy and dominated by arguments over ethics reforms and education funding, but the final plan contained much-needed investments in clean water, wilderness, wildlife and communities of the Adirondack Park.

Foremost is a three-year, $200-million capital program to repair wastewater treatment and drinking water facilities. Under the program, the state would set aside $50 million this year and $75 million in each of the next two fiscal years to pay for matching grants to communities for up to 60 percent of upgrades for local drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, January 22, 2015

The 2015 State of State And The Adirondacks

Andrew Cuomo 2015 State of StateThe Adirondacks would benefit from some of the priorities expressed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in his 2015 State of the State address on Wednesday.  The proposals are expected to help protect water quality, combat invasive species, bolster APA and DEC staffing, increase the Environmental Protection Fund, expand broadband locally, and cut the risk of explosive oil trains moving through the region.  The Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous United States and contains most of the motor-free wilderness remaining in the Northeast. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, January 3, 2015

Gov. Mario Cuomo: His Final Adirondack Speech

Mario Cuomo at Silver Bay, 1994 1There will be many eulogies this week for Mario M. Cuomo. For me, the former Governor, like a certain white pine in our woods whose annual whorl of branches totes up the years I have lived here, is a measure of my time on this earth.

Thirty years ago last summer, Mario M. Cuomo gave that great address in San Francisco to the Democratic National Convention. I had just moved to upstate New York that year to be with Susan. As Governor, Mario Cuomo helped define the first eight years I worked for the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Low Turnout For Open Space Plan Hearing

IMG_0014Only five people showed up to comment on the Open Space Conservation Plan at public hearings held at the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Region 5 headquarters in Ray Brook Thursday.

The Open Space Conservation plan outlines the state’s conservation priorities and lists lands the state should consider buying if they become available. It is written by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and DEC, with input from regional committees.

The plan lists four urgent priorities: promoting outdoor recreation; addressing climate change; ensuring clean water, air and land for a healthy economy; and protecting, using and conserving natural resources and cultural heritage. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, October 23, 2014

DEC Opens Backcountry Roads To Motor Vehicles

DSCN6009The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has opened new roads and facilities on nearly 25,000 acres of forest preserve and conservation easement lands in the Adirondacks.

New roads and facilities will allow motor vehicles to access the 18,000-acre Kushaqua Tract Conservation Easement Lands in Franklin County using the 3.3-mile Mountain Pond Road, and the 1,600-acre public use area of the Township 19 Tract Conservation Easement Lands in Hamilton County using the 2.6 miles of O’Neil Flow Road and Barker Pond Road. In the Essex Chain Lakes Complex gates have been opened to allow increased access to Camp Six Road in Newcomb, which will allow access for hunting, along with limited camping at designated primitive tent sites.  » Continue Reading.


Monday, March 31, 2014

Conservation Advocates React to State Budget Agreement

nycapitolAdvocates for New York’s clean water, clean air and open space are applauding a weekend agreement on the next New York State Budget which  includes $162 million in appropriations for the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).  This is a $9 million increase over the current funding level.

The EPF, which once stood at $255 million, suffered deep cuts in recent years during the recession, falling as low as $134 million two years ago.  Last year the EPF was increased to $153 million.  “This year’s dedication of additional funding to the EPF is a welcome use of the state’s budget surplus, and marks a continuation of the state’s reinvestment in environmental programs,” a statement issued to the press by the Adirondack Council said. “EPF programs create jobs, lower costs to taxpayers and protect clean water and other valuable community resources.” » Continue Reading.


Thursday, March 20, 2014

Willie Janeway: Restore Environmental Protection Fund

nycapitolIt was gratifying to see the New York Times’s March 7 editorial page encouraging the Governor and Legislature to use a portion of this year’s surplus to restore environmental funding to the State Budget.

The Times urged New York’s leaders make the kind of investments in clean water, green jobs and infrastructure that are needed, to protect the environment and stimulate the local economy. » Continue Reading.



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