Authorizes the use of surplus funds from the greater Catskills flood remediation program by Ulster county

Effects of present law which this bill would alter

The Catskills have been subject to substantial flooding over the last several years. While various persons blame other persons for the action, the reality is year in and year out, families were being victimized by the flooding and lives were being lost. The Legislature enacted the Greater Catskills Flood Remediation Program which allocated $15 million to purchase homes where the owner was subject to flooding. The time to apply for that funding and meet the guidelines has expired. Dozens of homes have been bought out or are under contract and expected to be bought out. There remains approximately $4 million from the program available. The legislation would reallocate that funding to Ulster County to purchase homes which experience seepage near the leaking New York City aqueducts.

Justification

Families in Wawarsing who live near the leaking New York City aqueduct have seen substantial seepage into their basements. Families have blamed the City of New York for that seepage due to the leaking aqueduct. The City acknowledges that millions of gallons per day leak from its aqueducts. While the City is taking steps to repair the aqueducts, the repairs, if ever done, are not expected to take place for years.

The DEP has done testing in terms of shutting off the water supply in the aqueduct and a correlation has been shown that water rises and falls when the water in the tunnel is or is not flowing. Still, despite the correlation, other factors are also pointed to as a potential culprit of the seepage. City officials have advised Wawarsing area residents that they may file claims with the City Comptroller's office - a timely and costly proceeding. The reality is that litigating against the City is a substantial if not overwhelming task for a homeowner, particularly when it comes to proving cause and effect of leakage of an aqueduct hundreds of feet below the ground.

During the past two years, City DEP staff have become substantially more engaged with watershed residents to try and study the issue. However, no solution has been forthcoming and the only actions taken are more studies and the aforementioned recommendation that residents file claims against the City. Watershed area residents simply do not have the hundreds of thousands of dollars it would take to prosecute such civil litigation, particularly when the City raises genuine questions of fact as to whether they are absolutely the culprit.

This legislation seeks to put the question of whether or not the City is actually responsible for the seepage aside, and use the surplus funds from the Greater Catskills Flood remediation program to buyout property owners who live near the leaking aqueduct, and who wish to sell their land. It does not seek to cast blame on any individual, but rather offers a reasonable solution to an ongoing problem that is damaging relationships between watershed communities and upstate - and more importantly, is hurting people.

The legislation is a reasonable solution to a constant problem for watershed families using existing funds. It is a "win/win" for both the City DEP - which, while appearing to be sympathetic to this issue, are not in a position to admit liability to the watershed families. It is a win for watershed area families who are unable to sell their homes due to constant seepage.

Legislative history

New Bill.

Fiscal implications

No new funds are utilized. Rather, existing funds are being redistributed since not all funds have been used.

Effective date

Immediately.