In the Upper Delaware River Region, the Coalition has strong connections to New York communities. The Delaware headwaters set the stage for the health and wellbeing of the entire watershed, and the Coalition has a proud history of advocating for New York State funding to make its way to the region, protecting our watershed and supporting Upper Delaware communities. In the recent past, the Coalition, and our New York partners, have celebrated significant funding allocations for the headwaters, including dedicated line-item funding in last year’s state budget.
To continue support for infrastructure and environmental quality improvement across the state, New Yorker’s are preparing to cast their vote on the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. This measure, if approved by the electorate, would provide long-term funding for New York to prepare for the looming impacts of climate change and to invest in restoring wildlife habitat in the state.
Upper Delaware River community members gather at the Catskill Brewery in Livingston Manor, NY to learn about the NY Bond Act
To raise awareness for this Environmental Bond Act, the Coalition, in partnership with the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYCLV) and New York State Lead, Friends of the Upper Delaware (FUDR), hosted a Bond Act Public Education Event in mid-September. This event allowed Coalition members, New York citizens, and other interested parties to come together to learn more about the Bond Act and its potential to benefit the Upper Delaware region.
FUDR Executive Director Jeff Skelding and CDRW State Policy Advocate High Garst both spoke to a crowd of around 30 about the positive impacts Bond Act funding could have on the area including building community resilience, enhancing outdoor recreation, repairing and replacing aging infrastructure, and creating local jobs to bolster the economies in the region. Nia Rhodes Jackson, Senior Director of Programs at NYLCV broke down how funds from the Bond Act would be allocated, highlighting particularly that at least 35% of total funding must be spent on projects in disadvantaged communities.
Attendees were able to ask clarifying questions about the Bond Act legislation and provided their perspective on how Bond Act funds could come back to local communities through the programs outlined within. These programs are broken into the following categories:
- Climate Change Mitigation: $1.5 Billion
- Restoration and Flood Risk Reduction: $1.1 billion
- Water Quality Improvement and Resilient Infrastructure: $650 million
- Open Space Land Conservation and Restoration: $650 million
Coalition partners in New York, recognizing the potential benefit this funding could have on the watershed and communities within it, advocated for the New York legislature to pass this Bond Act before 2020. Now that it is on the ballot, the Coalition is working to make sure that our members and municipal partners in the Upper Delaware are aware of the possibility of significant available funding for conservation projects that will benefit people, communities, local economies, and environmental quality.
CDRW’s High Garst addresses community members at the NY Bond Act education event
“The Coalition’s priorities are member driven and the fact that this Bond Act has been a focus of our New York members for over two years is a testament to the potential they see for this funding to make it to the communities in the Delaware’s headwaters region,” said High Garst, CDRW State Policy Advocate. “If the Bond Act does pass, our next step will be mobilizing our members to ensure that these funds are allocated to communities in the Upper Delaware. This educational event invited the public to better understand the Bond Act so that, when such a time comes, they will be asking their municipal officials to bring that money back to the watershed.”