LAWS OF NEW YORK.-By Authority CHAPTER 955 AN ACT to amend the conservation law and the navigation law, in relation to the inclusion in article five of the conservation law pertaining to water resources of a new part, to be designated part three-a, and to include therein provisions with respect to the use and protection of waters Became a law July 19, 1965, with the approval of the Governor. Passed by a majority vote, three-fifths being present The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: Section 1. Section one hundred seventy-nine of the conservation law is hereby repealed. § 2. Paragraph x of subdivision one of section three hundred eighty-seven of such law is hereby repealed. § 3. Section nine hundred forty-eight of such law is hereby repealed. § 4. Section 1-0103 of such law is hereby amended by adding thereto four new subdivisions, to be subdivisions eleven, twelve, thirteen and fourteen thereof, to read as follows: 11. "Person" means any individual, firm, co-partnership, association or corporation other than the state and a "public corporation". 12. "Public corporation" means "public corporation" as defined in subdivision one of Section 3 of the General Corporation Law and includes all public authorities. 13. "Local public corporation" means a "public corporation" other than a "state public corporation". 14. "State public corporation" means public benefit corpora tion to which the Governor appoints a majority of the members. A person who is a member of a public benefit corporation by virtue of holding another state office shall be deemed to be selected as a member of the public benefit corporation in the manner in which he was selected for such other office. § 5. Such law is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section, to be section four hundred-a, to read as follows: § 400-a. Legislative findings. Article 5 shall be construed and administered in the light of the following findings of fact: 1. The sovereign power to regulate and control the water resources of this state ever since its establishment has been and now is vested exclusively in the state of New York, except to the extent of any delegation of power to the United States; EXPLANATION — Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. 2. New York State has been generously endowed with water resources which have contributed and continue to contribute greatly to the position of preeminence attained by New York in population, agriculture, commerce, trade, industry and outdoor recreation; 3. Adequate and suitable water for water supply, domestic, municipal, industrial, agricultural and commercial uses, power, irrigation, transportation, fire protection, sewage and waste assimilation, the growth of forests, maintenance of fish and wildlife, recrcational enjoyment and other uses is essential to the health, safety and welfare of the people and economic growth and prosperity of the state; 4. In recent years our population growth and the development and use of new technology and processes have resulted in demands for more water and the equitable use thereof for these purposes; 5. In recent years recreational activities are making new and greater demands on lakes and streams of the state for boating, fishing, bathing and water sports, and the lands adjacent thereto for campsites, access areas and public beaches; 6. The growth of cities and urban areas and their expansion into formerly rural areas has in many cases resulted in the filling in, diversion and destruction of water courses, necessarily destroying aquatic habitat and lessening supplies of water for multiple use purposes; 7. Increased motorized highway travel and public safety are requiring the construction of new, better and larger public highways which may alter the water ways of the state and encroach upon water courses and affect their uses; 8. All fish, game, wildlife, shellfish, crustacea and protected insects in the state, except those legally acquired and held in private ownership, are owned by the state and held for the use and enjoyment of the people of the state, and the state has a responsibility to preserve, protect and conserve such terrestrial and aquatic resources from destruction and damage and to promote their natural propagation; 9. The unreasonable, uncontrolled and unnecessary interference with or defilement and disturbance of water courses create hazards to the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state causing great economic loss by erosion of soil, increased costs of water purification and treatment, the loss of crop lands and forests by flooding, the destruction and failure of natural propagation of fish and aquatic resources and the loss of water for domestic, industrial, navigational, municipal, agricultural, recreational and other beneficial uses and purposes; 10. The unreasonable and unregulated (a) interference with the channels and beds of lakes and streams by construction of dams, roads and other structures, (b) alteration of water courses and gradients, (c) impounding of water, (d) dredging and filling in of stream beds, and the unreasonable removal of sand, gravel or other materials from streams, and by other action, have resulted in pollution of such waters, increase in turbidity and the deposit of silt and debris, irregular variations of velocity, temperature and levels of water, erosion of banks and uplands and the flooding of valuable lands; 11. The Water Resources Commission, and one of its predecessors, the Water Pollution Control Board, pursuant to Article 12 of the Public Health Law, has classified substantially all of the waters of the state with due regard to the consideration set forth in the Public Health Law; 12. The Water Resources Commission, pursuant to Part 5 of Article 5 of the Conservation Law, is undertaking comprehensive planning for the protection, conservation and development of the water resources of the state; 13. It is in the best interest of the state that provision be made for the regulation and supervision of activities that deplete, defile, damage or otherwise adversely affect the waters of the state and land resources associated therewith. § 6. Section four hundred one of such law, as added by chapter seven of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty, is hereby amended. to read as follows: § 401. Declaration of policy. [(1) The sovereign power to regulate and control the water resources of this state ever since its establishment has been and now is vested exclusively in the state of New York except to the extent of any delegation of power to the United States.] In recognition of its sovereign duty to conserve and control its water resources for the benefit of all inhabitants of the state, [It] it is hereby declared to be the public policy of the state of New York that: (1) the regulation and control of the water resources of [this] the state of New York [shall] be exercised only pursuant to the. laws of this state[]; (2) the waters of the state be conserved and developed for all public beneficial uses; [(2) It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the state of New York, in recognition of its sovereign duty to conserve and control its water resources for the benefit of all inhabitants of the state, that] (3) comprehensive planning be undertaken for the protection, conservation, equitable and wise use and development of the water resources of [this] the state to the end that [they] such water resources [shall not be not wasted and shall be adequate to meet the present and future needs for domestic, municipal, agricultural, commercial, industrial, power, recreational and other public, beneficial purposes[]; (4) with respect to the use of the waters of the state and the water courses thereof, due consideration shall be given to the relative importance of different uses; [(3) It is further declared to be the public policy of the state of New York that (a)] (5) the acquisition, storage, diversion and use of water for domestic and municipal purposes shall have priority over all other purposes; [and] (6) alterations in the conditions of waters and water courses be planned and carried out in such manner that the important uses will be impaired as little as possible; (7) reasonable standards of purity and quality of the waters of the state be maintained consistent with public health, safety and welfare and the public enjoyment thereof, the propagation and protection of fish and wildlife, including birds, mammals and other terrestrial and aquatic life, and the industrial development of the state, and to that end, to require the use of all known available and reasonable methods to prevent and control pollution. wastage and unreasonable disturbance and defilement of the waters of the state; [(b)] (8) in addition to other recognized public beneficial uses and control of water as provided by this Article [V] 5 or by any other statute, the regulated acquisition, storage, diversion and use of water for the supplemental irrigation of agricultural lands within [this] the state is a public purpose and use, in the interests of the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state and for their interest. § 7. Article five of such law is hereby amended by inserting therein a new part, to be part three-A, to read as follows: PART III-A USE AND PROTECTION OF WATERS Section 429-a. Protection of certain streams; disturbance of stream bed; permit. 429-b. Protection of navigable waters; excavation or fill: permit. 429-c. Protection of streams; dams and docks; permit 429-e. Structures impounding waters; inspection. 429-f. Punishment for violations. 429-g. Review. § 429-a. Protection of certain streams; disturbance of stream bed; permit. 1. Except as provided in Subdivisions 4, 5 and 6 hereof, no person or public corporation shall change, modify or disturb the course, channel or bed of any stream as defined in Subdivision 2 hereof, or remove any sand, gravel or other materials from the bed of such stream or the banks thereof, without a permit issued pursuant to Subdivision 3 hereof. 2. For the purposes of this section, a stream shall mean that portion of any fresh surface watercourse or portion thereof, except lakes or ponds of a surface area greater than ten acres at mean low water level, for which there has been adopted or may hereafter be adopted by the Commission pursuant to Section 1205 of the Public Health Law, the following classifications: AA and AA (T), A and A (T), B and B (T), C (T) Small ponds or lakes with a surface area at mean low water level of ten acres or less, located in the course of a stream, shall be considered a part of the stream and subject to regulation under this section. 3. Permit. (1) No person or public corporation shall change, modify or disturb the course of any stream or remove sand and gravel or other materials therefrom without applying to and receiving from the Commission, a permit as herein provided. (2) The Commission, before granting such permit shall ascertain the probable effect on the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state, and the effect on the natural resources of the state, including soil, forests, water, fish and aquatic resources therein. likely to result from such change and modification of the stream or the removal of such sand, gravel or other material. (3) In order to minimize the disturbance of a stream and in order to prevent unreasonable erosion of soil, increased turbidity of the waters, irregular variations in velocity, temperature and level of waters, the loss of fish and aquatic wildlife and the destruction of natural habitat thereof, and the danger of flood or pollution, the Commission shall review plans and may approve the manner and the extent to which the stream bed or channel may h changed, altered or modified and may limit the quantity of sand, gravel or other material to be removed, designate the location in the bed or channel of the stream or the banks thereof from which the same may be removed, or it may refuse permission to alter such stream or to remove sand and gravel therefrom. (4) If in the opinion of the Commission a proposed alteration of the stream or a proposed removal of sand, gravel or other materials would possibly result in such damage to the stream as to endanger the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state of New York or the loss or destruction of the natural resources of the state including forests, soil, water, fish and wildlife, the Commission may hold a public hearing in connection with an application for the permit hereinabove provided. The provisions of Part 4 of this article with respect to administrative proceedings shall be applicable to hearings under this sec |