Overview of NY’s Article 24 Freshwater Wetland Regulatory Changes

In 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law historic revisions to New York’s Freshwater Wetlands Act. Currently, the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) jurisdiction is limited to wetlands that are equal to or greater than 12.4 acres (and certain wetlands of unusual local importance) and identified on the State Freshwater Wetlands Map. The new legislation will eliminate the map requirement beginning in 2025, and in 2028 DEC’s jurisdiction will expand to wetlands as small as 7.4 acres. The reforms will allow DEC to protect over one million acres of critically important freshwater wetlands that are currently unmapped and thousands of additional acres of smaller wetlands.

This webinar will provide an overview of DEC’s current freshwater wetlands regulations and how they are enforced. It will explain the need for the regulatory revisions and outline the forthcoming regulatory changes and their effective dates.

Speaker:
Krista Spohr, Environmental Program Specialist, DEC Bureau of Ecosystem Health