The Environmental Management Council (EMC) advises the County Executive and the County Legislature on matters affecting the preservation, development, and use of the natural and man-made features and conditions of the County insofar as they have a bearing on environmental quality and, in the case of man’s activities and developments, with regard to any major threats posed on environmental quality, so as to enhance the long-range value of the environment to the people of the County. The EMC was established in 1983 by Local Law 4-83 and Section 239-d Article 12-b of General Municipal Law. The EMC is staffed by the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Development.