Bill Text: NY S00239 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Enacts the "New York open water data act"; directs certain agencies, under the leadership of conveners, to identify and integrate key water data sets; provides duties and an annual plan for data to be researched and reported.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-03 - ordered to third reading rules cal.306 [S00239 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00239-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         239--C

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 4, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. MAY, COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conser-
          vation -- committee discharged, bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as
          amended  and  recommitted  to  said committee -- committee discharged,
          bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
          committee  --  reported favorably from said committee and committed to
          the Committee  on  Finance  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT in relation to enacting the "New York open water data act"

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "New York open water data act".
     3    §  2. Definitions. For purposes of this act, the following terms shall
     4  have the following meanings:
     5    1. "Conveners" means the:
     6    (a) New York water resources institute at Cornell University; and
     7    (b) New York sea grant at Stony Brook University.
     8    2. "Agencies" means the:
     9    (a) New York state department of environmental conservation;
    10    (b) New York state department  of  health's  bureau  of  water  supply
    11  protection;
    12    (c) New York state department of agriculture and markets;
    13    (d) New York state canal corporation;
    14    (e) New York city department of environmental protection; and
    15    (f) public service commission.
    16    3. "Water data" means measurements of basic properties relating to the
    17  planning  and  management  of  water  resources,  including  streamflow,
    18  precipitation, ground water, water quality and water use in agriculture,
    19  industry and municipal uses and natural systems.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00615-12-3
        S. 239--C                           2

     1    § 3. Water data conveners and agencies;  duties;  standards  and  best
     2  practices;  annual  plan.  1. By January 1, 2024, and at least quarterly
     3  thereafter, the conveners shall organize and hold  a  meeting  with  the
     4  agencies to plan and determine a framework to meet the requirements laid
     5  out  in  this  section.  The  conveners  shall provide any expertise and
     6  support necessary to assist the agencies in meeting the requirements  of
     7  this section and frameworks established by the agencies.
     8    2. By January 1, 2026, the agencies, as led by the conveners, shall:
     9    (a)  identify  key water data, information and tools needed to support
    10  water management and planning, including but not limited to;
    11    (i) state and local  government  data  on  streamflow,  precipitation,
    12  reservoir and irrigation system operations, ground water use and levels,
    13  municipal and industrial water use and land uses, but not including data
    14  from residential wells;
    15    (ii) data on water rights, water diversions and water quality;
    16    (iii) data on fish, aquatic and riparian systems and ecological data;
    17    (iv)  water  quality  data,  including  sampling  results generated by
    18  public water supplies in accordance with title 1 of article  11  of  the
    19  public health law;
    20    (v) data from private wells collected by local or state agencies;
    21    (vi) commercial uses of water licensed by state agencies;
    22    (vii)  water  affordability  data,  including but not limited to water
    23  rates, shut-offs conducted, and aggregate data on arrears; and
    24    (viii) water infrastructure data.
    25    (b) develop common  water  data  standards  for  data  collection  and
    26  dissemination,  including practices to standardize and clean up data and
    27  make it available to the public in commonly  used  data  formats,  which
    28  shall,  where appropriate, be arranged or identified by county and muni-
    29  cipality or other appropriate geographic area, and  that  shall  exclude
    30  specific addresses, locations, and other personal information;
    31    (c)  make  such  data available to the public through the state's open
    32  data program OpenNY, including working to identify and develop any crit-
    33  ical data that can be made accessible via GIS mapping and ensuring  that
    34  all datasets have an API endpoint to allow researchers and developers to
    35  access  and  deploy such data in ways that complement public use of such
    36  data;
    37    (d) identify available and unavailable water data; and
    38    (e) develop framework to include data  derived  from  citizen  science
    39  efforts.
    40    3.  Water research undertaken with state funding shall comply with the
    41  common water data standards and best practices developed  by  the  agen-
    42  cies.
    43    4.    The  agencies,  as  led  by the conveners, shall update all data
    44  collected pursuant to this act at least annually.
    45    5. The agencies shall collaborate with other  regional,  national  and
    46  international  efforts,  including  but  not  limited to the great lakes
    47  commission and the international joint commission, to  share,  integrate
    48  and manage water data.
    49    6.  By  September  1,  2026, and thereafter annually by September 1 of
    50  each year, the agencies shall develop and submit a plan to the  governor
    51  and the appropriate legislative committee that details:
    52    (a) an assessment of water data and information needs to support water
    53  management and planning;
    54    (b)  goals,  targets and actions to carry out the purposes of this act
    55  in the upcoming fiscal year;
    56    (c) budgetary resources to carry out the purposes of this act; and
        S. 239--C                           3

     1    (d) metrics for achieving the purposes of this act.
     2    §  4.  Funding.  Funding  for  such  act  shall consist of all revenue
     3  received pursuant to an appropriation  thereto,  and  all  other  monies
     4  appropriated,  credited or transferred from any other source pursuant to
     5  law. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent the  state  from
     6  receiving  grants, gifts or bequests for the purpose of such act. Grants
     7  shall only be awarded based upon the availability of funds.
     8    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
     9  it shall have become a law.