What's happening
This bill creates a financial assistance program for New York farms to fund subsurface drain tile projects that reduce nutrient runoff.
Why it matters
The program targets farms already engaged in advanced environmental management. by requiring applicants to have completed at least an Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) Tier 3A nutrient management plan, ensuring state funds support farms committed to sustainable practices.
Financial assistance is designed as a matching grant. , with state payments covering up to 75% of eligible project costs (capped at $50,000 per year per producer), encouraging local investment and shared responsibility between farms and soil/water districts.
Grants can support a range of project expenses. including consultant/contractor services, engineering, legal costs, and direct materials, making the funding flexible enough to address various barriers to implementing effective drain tile systems.
The bill prioritizes projects that incorporate best management practices to reduce nutrient loss. , potentially improving water quality in local ecosystems and helping farms comply with environmental regulations—important for both sustainability and public health.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Help Farmers Drain Fields
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to agriculture
- Referred to agriculture
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4945
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 5, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER, DiPIETRO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the soil and water conservation districts law, in relation to farm drain tile financial assistance; and to repeal section 4-a of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 4-a of the soil and water conservation districts law is REPEALED and a new section 4-a is added to read as follows:
§ 4-a. Farm drain tile financial assistance program. 1. Subject to the availability of funds, financial assistance is available to farm operations, as defined in section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law, to fund the implementation of subsurface tile drainage projects that meet the following criteria:
a. the farm operation must participate in the Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) program as set forth in article eleven-A of the agriculture and markets law, having completed at least an AEM Tier 3A nutrient management plan for their entire crop production land base;
b. the project must be for the construction or improvement of subsurface drain tile, nutrient management and best management practices to reduce the risk of nutrients exiting tile lines;
c. the project must be implemented by a district, or group of districts acting jointly, and such district or districts must have funds available to pay for its/their share of the eligible project costs.
2. Applications for matching grants shall contain the following information:
a. the name and location of the farm operation and the tracts to be improved through subsurface drainage;
b. identification of the best management practices to be implemented to reduce the risk of nutrients exiting tile lines;
c. a cost estimate for the proposed project;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03676-01-9
A. 4945 2
d. the source of funds available to the district to pay for its share of the eligible costs;
e. information sufficient to demonstrate that the criteria in subdivision one of this section have been met; and
f. such further information as may thereafter be required by the committee to determine funding prioritization in the event that applications for funding exceed amounts available for the purpose of this section.
3. Eligible costs that may be funded pursuant to this section are consultant/contractor services, engineering costs, legal services, equipment/materials, and other direct expenses related to project implementation.
4. State assistance payments pursuant to this section shall be up to a maximum of seventy-five percent of the eligible costs, not to exceed fifty thousand dollars per annum to any single agricultural producer.
5. The committee may adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.