STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         239--E

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 4, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  MAY,  COMRIE, HARCKHAM, JACKSON -- read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Environmental  Conservation  --  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  commit-
          tee  and  committed  to the Committee on Environmental Conservation --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Envi-
          ronmental  Conservation  in  accordance  with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted  to said committee -- reported favorably from said commit-
          tee 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;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00615-21-4

        S. 239--E                           2

     1    (d) New York state canal corporation;
     2    (e) New York city department of environmental protection; and
     3    (f) public service commission.
     4    3. "Water data" means:
     5    (a)  Measurements  of  basic  properties  relating to the planning and
     6  management of  water  resources,  including  streamflow,  precipitation,
     7  ground  water,  water quality and water use in agriculture, industry and
     8  municipal uses and natural systems;
     9    (b) All such data related to fresh or  inland  waters  of  the  state,
    10  including  but  not limited to wetlands, lakes, streams, creeks, rivers,
    11  reservoirs, aquifers, and groundwater;
    12    (c) All data related to  state  and  municipal  water  infrastructure,
    13  including but not limited to canals, aqueducts, dams, and pipes;
    14    (d)  Data that may include areas of mixing of fresh and marine waters,
    15  including but not limited to tidal basins and estuaries; and
    16    (e) At the discretion of the conveners,  the  term  "water  data"  may
    17  include data related to coastal waters used for human activities includ-
    18  ing, but not limited to agriculture, recreation, and industry.
    19    §  3.  Water  data  conveners and agencies; duties; standards and best
    20  practices; annual plan. 1. By January 1 in the year after this act shall
    21  have become a law, and at  least  quarterly  thereafter,  the  conveners
    22  shall  organize  and hold a meeting with the agencies to plan and deter-
    23  mine a framework to meet the requirements set forth in this section. The
    24  conveners shall provide any expertise and support  necessary  to  assist
    25  the  agencies in meeting the requirements of this section and the frame-
    26  work established by the agencies.
    27    2. By January 1 two years after this act shall have become a law,  the
    28  agencies and the conveners shall:
    29    (a)  identify  key water data, information and tools needed to support
    30  water management and planning, including but not limited to;
    31    (i) state and local  government  data  on  streamflow,  precipitation,
    32  reservoir and irrigation system operations, ground water use and levels,
    33  municipal and industrial water use and land uses, but not including data
    34  from residential wells;
    35    (ii) data on water rights, water diversions and water quality;
    36    (iii) data on fish, aquatic and riparian systems and ecological data;
    37    (iv)  water  quality  data,  including  sampling  results generated by
    38  public water supplies in accordance with title 1 of article  11  of  the
    39  public health law;
    40    (v) data from private wells collected by local or state agencies;
    41    (vi) commercial uses of water licensed by state agencies;
    42    (vii)  water  affordability  data,  including but not limited to water
    43  rates, shut-offs conducted, and aggregate data on arrears; and
    44    (viii) water infrastructure data.
    45    (b) develop common  water  data  standards  for  data  collection  and
    46  dissemination,  including practices to standardize and clean up data and
    47  make it available to the public in commonly  used  data  formats,  which
    48  shall,  where appropriate, be arranged or identified by county and muni-
    49  cipality or other appropriate geographic area, and  that  shall  exclude
    50  specific addresses, locations, and other personal information;
    51    (c)  make  such water data available to the public through the state's
    52  open data program OpenNY, including working to identify and develop  any
    53  critical  data  that  can  be made accessible via geographic information
    54  systems (GIS) mapping and ensuring that all datasets have an application
    55  programming interface (API) endpoint to allow researchers and developers

        S. 239--E                           3

     1  to access and deploy such data in ways that further public use  of  such
     2  data;
     3    (d) identify available and unavailable water data; and
     4    (e)  develop  pathways  to  include  water  data  derived from citizen
     5  science efforts.
     6    3. Water data research undertaken with state funding shall comply with
     7  the common water data standards and  best  practices  developed  by  the
     8  agencies.
     9    4.    The  agencies  and  the  conveners  shall  update all water data
    10  collected pursuant to this act at least annually.
    11    5. The agencies shall collaborate with other  regional,  national  and
    12  international  efforts,  including  but  not  limited to the great lakes
    13  commission and the international joint commission, to  share,  integrate
    14  and manage water data.
    15    6.  By  September  1 two years after this act shall have become a law,
    16  and thereafter annually by September 1 of each year, the agencies  shall
    17  develop  and  submit  a  plan  to  the governor and the legislature that
    18  details:
    19    (a) an assessment of water data and information needs to support water
    20  management and planning;
    21    (b) goals, targets and actions to carry out the purposes of  this  act
    22  in the upcoming fiscal year;
    23    (c) budgetary resources to carry out the purposes of this act; and
    24    (d) metrics for achieving the purposes of this act.
    25    §  4.  Funding.  Funding  for  such  act  shall consist of all revenue
    26  received pursuant to an appropriation  thereto,  and  all  other  monies
    27  appropriated,  credited or transferred from any other source pursuant to
    28  law. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent the  state  from
    29  receiving  grants, gifts or bequests for the purpose of such act. Grants
    30  shall only be awarded based upon the availability of funds.
    31    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    32  it shall have become a law.