BILL NUMBER:  S1125

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the executive law, in relation to
designating the Kinderhook Creek as part of the inland waterway system

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1 adds Kinderhook Creek to the list of inland waterways.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Kinderhook Creek originates in Hancock, Massachusetts and flows for 49
miles before meeting Claverack Creek, with which it forms Stockport
Creek, an inlet of the Hudson River. Along the way, it flows through
the Taconic Mountains, Rensselaer County, and Columbia County,
including seven towns - Stephentown, New Lebanon, Nassau, Chatham,
Kinderhook, Stuyvesant, and Spockport - as well as three villages -
East Nassau, Valatie, and Kinderhook. The total length of the Creek
within the State of New York - from the Massachusetts state line to
Stockport Creek - is 46 miles.

Kinderhook Creek has been a location of historic development dating
back to before European colonization, and has since been established
as an important location for commerce and agriculture. The home of the
              

8th President of the United States, Martin van Buren, is located
adjacent to the creek within the Town of Kinderhook. The importance of
the Creek on the localities extends not only to potential economic
benefits, but would also allow for increased environmental and
historic preservation of the Creek.

Designating the Kinderhook as an inland waterway would allow the
municipalities listed above - and the Van Buren historic site - to
apply for grants though the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program.
These grants will help in local plans to implement local waterfront
revitalization programs to foster the beneficial use of the waterfront
and to protect and preserve the health and quality of the Kinderhook
for the residents of the areas surrounding it as well as the State of
New York as a whole.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the state.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.