State to offer $80 million for flood resiliency projects

Funding could target flood mitigation projects recommended in studies underway for Ausable, Boquet rivers

By Zachary Matson

Money from the state’s Environmental Bond Act will target flood resiliency projects recommended in watershed-specific studies, including a pair currently underway on the Ausable and Boquet rivers. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced $80 million would be available as grants for climate resiliency projects, including those tied to the flood studies, coastal rehabilitation and waterfront revitalization. 

The funding is the latest tranche of money opened from the $4.2 billion bond act and is divided into three new grant programs: 

• Resilient Watersheds: $45 million through the state Department of Environmental Conservation to support projects identified in studies of flood-prone watersheds;
• Coastal Rehabilitation and Resilience: $20 million to coastal communities for nature-based resiliency projects;
• Inland Flooding and Local Waterfront Revitalization: $15 million for waterfront projects that reduce flooding and improve communities.

“Making New York more resilient in the face of increasingly devastating storms and other extreme weather emergencies is a top priority for our state,” Hochul said in a statement. 

Grants under the program are open to local governments, Indian nations, county soil and water conservation districts, state agencies and nonprofits. They can support a variety of project types, including dam removal, culvert and bridge replacement and stream and wetland restoration.

Studying flood risk

Some Adirondack communities, particularly those in the Ausable and Boquet watersheds, could be well positioned to win a slice of the resilient watersheds funding. New Paltz-based environmental engineering firm SLR Consulting, under a state contract, this summer commenced studies of the flood risks along the two eastern Adirondack rivers that feed Lake Champlain. 

Those studies, dozens of which have been completed across the state, identify flood-prone areas, model different flood scenarios and propose specific projects to mitigate those risks. A study of the Salmon River, which flows north out of the park in Franklin County, for example, suggested removing dams, expanding floodplains and buying out poorly-situated properties. The Salmon River study was completed last fall and identified four areas in the watershed at high risk of flooding, all outside the park: Fort Covington, Westville, Malone and Bombay.

Studies have also been completed on the Great Chazy and Little Chazy rivers, as well as East Canada Creek and West Canada Creek in the southern Adirondacks. A study of the Hudson River in Warren, Hamilton and Essex counties is expected to start soon and be completed by the fall, according to a DEC map of priority watersheds.

The timing of completion of the Ausable and Boquet studies could be important. Funding guidelines specify applicants must have a completed report by the time funding is awarded. Those studies started over the summer, and engineers and state officials said they typically take eight to 10 months to complete. A DEC website indicates the studies are estimated to be complete by this summer. Grant applications are due in June.

“We are very focused to try to do it at a pace so that communities can take these reports and turn them into action,” Tom Snow, DEC’s watershed coordinator, said in the fall. “At the end of the day, we know with a pretty strong level of certainty that mitigation projects will in fact reduce flooding within communities.”

The leaders of Adirondack watershed groups cheered the start of the flood studies and said they looked forward to how they would outline mitigation projects and unlock funding opportunities. 

“Communities are better at getting funding when they have comprehensive plans in place,” Kelley Tucker, executive director of Ausable Freshwater Center, told the Explorer when the studies were initiated. 

Beyond opening the doors to grant dollars, the studies will also establish new hydraulic models of how the river systems can be expected to respond to different scenarios, including floods resulting from larger rainstorms expected as the climate changes. 

Some Adirondack communities may also be eligible for a cut of the Department of State’s $15 million inland flooding program, which will support projects outlined in local waterfront revitalization plans. The new grant will prioritize projects “that support or are inspired by nature or natural processes,” according to grant documents.