§ 21-0917. The Great Lakes Basin advisory council.

1. As used in this section:

a. "Great Lakes Basin" means the watershed of the Great Lakes and the
St. Lawrence River, upstream from Trois Rivieres, Quebec, consisting in
New York State of the Lake Erie, Niagara River, Lake Ontario minor
tributaries, Genesee River, Seneca-Oneida Oswego River, Black River, St.
Lawrence River, and Lake Champlain drainage basins.

b. "Great Lakes region" means the geographic region composed of the
states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and
Wisconsin, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the provinces of
Ontario and Quebec, Canada.

2. There is hereby established within the department the Great Lakes
Basin advisory council (hereinafter referred to as the "council")
consisting of nineteen members to advise the governor and the
commissioner on matters relating to the state's role in regional,
federal, and international activities aimed at the protection of the
quality and quantity of water in the Great Lakes, domestic, municipal,
industrial and agricultural water supplies, navigation, hydroelectric
power and energy production, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and
a balanced ecosystem which are all vital to the future environmental,
social, and economic health of New York State and the other states and
provinces comprising the Great Lakes region.

a. The council shall:

(i) advise the commissioner and the governor on the implementation and
any modifications to any comprehensive long-term Great Lakes management
plan developed by the department;

(ii) advise the state's members on the board of directors of the Great
Lakes protection fund;

(iii) annually identify specific research or program needs for funding
from the New York Great Lakes protection fund, after consultation with
the Great Lakes protection fund, other Great Lakes states and other
concerned parties. Such annual program, with as much detail on the scope
and expectations of each project as is practical, shall be submitted to
the commissioner, who shall select specific projects from the program,
recommended by the council and shall submit such projects to the
department for implementation; and

(iv) evaluate and report to the governor and the legislature on the
projects funded by the New York Great Lakes protection fund.

b. The governor shall appoint nine members with one representing an
institution that performs research on the issues and the problems of the
Great Lakes, one representing a labor union whose members derive their
livelihood from the Great Lakes, three representing environmental or
conservation organizations with interests in the Great Lakes Basin, two
representing business organizations whose commercial interest lies in
activities in or around Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and/or the St. Lawrence
River, one representing a municipality adjacent to Lake Erie, Lake
Ontario or the St. Lawrence River, and one representing a county having
a population of two hundred and fifty thousand people or less adjacent
to Lake Erie, Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River. The temporary
president of the Senate and the speaker of the Assembly shall each
appoint two members who have a demonstrated knowledge in Great Lakes
issues. The commissioner, the commissioners of the departments of state,
health, transportation, economic development and the chairman of the
power authority of the state of New York or their designated
representative shall be ex-officio members. The appointed members of the
council shall serve terms of three years; provided, however, that of the
members first appointed by the governor, three shall be appointed for a
term of three years, three shall be appointed for a term of two years
and three shall be appointed for a term of one year. An appointment to
fill a vacancy shall be made for the remainder of the affected term in
the same manner as the original appointment was made. Such appointment
shall be made within sixty days of the date the position becomes vacant.
Members shall serve until their successor has been appointed. The
governor shall designate the chairperson.

3. The advisory council shall meet at a minimum of two times annually.

4. Advisory council members shall receive no compensation for their
services, but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary
expenses incurred during the performance of their duties.

5. The council shall submit a report prior to January first beginning
in nineteen hundred ninety and annually thereafter to the governor, the
speaker of the Assembly, the temporary president of the Senate and the
chairmen of the Senate and Assembly committees on environmental
conservation. Such report should include an evaluation of the problems
and conditions of the Great Lakes and recommendations for departmental
or legislative solutions.