§ 47-0107 — Powers of council

New York § 47-0107

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law ENV: Environmental Conservation
• Art. 47: County and Regional Environmental Management Councils

Text

§ 47-0107. Powers of council.\n 1. The council may advise on all matters affecting the preservation,\nconservation and ecologically suitable use of the natural resources of\nthe county.\n 2. The council shall review the state of the county environment as a\nwhole, and shall prepare and submit an annual report of its findings to\nthe county's governing body. This report also shall include an account\nof the council's activities and accomplishments which shall be based on\naccurate records of its meetings and other works.\n 3. The council in cooperation with the county planning agency and\nother appropriate agencies, shall prepare a plan for the protection of\nthe county's environment and the management of its natural resources,\nand shall transmit it to the county governing body as soon as\npracticable after the effective date of the establishment of the\ncouncil. In addition, each such council shall obtain from the department\nof environmental conservation a copy of the state environmental plan. To\nthe extent practicable, the preparation, content and subsequent\nrevision, if any, of the county environmental plan shall be coordinated\nwith the state environmental plan and a copy of said county plan and any\nsubsequent revision shall be filed with the state commissioner of\nenvironmental conservation.\n 4. It shall investigate and recommend to the county governing body\necologically sound methods of planning the use of the county's\nresources.\n 5. The council shall keep an index of all open areas within the\ncounty, with the plan of obtaining information pertinent to sound\necological utilization of such areas including land owned by any\nmunicipality within the county. It shall keep an index of all open marsh\nlands, swamps, and all other wet lands in a like manner, and may\nrecommend a program for their ecologically suitable utilization.\n 5-a. The council shall develop and maintain an inventory of natural\nresources within the county and such other environmental information as\nmay be appropriate. Said inventory shall include wetlands and open\nspaces and may include, but not be limited to, factors relating to\ngeology, soils, slope, water resources, vegetation, wildlife habitat,\nunique natural areas, and scenic, historic, and archaeological sites.\n 6. The council may cooperate with and assist such other governmental\nor non-governmental boards or organizations in the preparation of plans\nor reports or the review of proposals or applications as the county may\ndirect.\n 7. The council may also conduct research into the land area of the\ncounty and may seek to coordinate the activities of unofficial bodies\norganized for similar purposes. It may advertise, prepare, print and\ndistribute books, maps, charts, and pamphlets if in its judgment it\ndeems them necessary for its work.\n 8. In those counties in which a county executive officer exercises\nsupervisory and managerial responsiblility for agencies in the executive\nbranch of county government, pursuant to charter or local law, the\ncouncil shall submit the reports described in subdivisions 2 and 3 to\nboth the county governing body and said executive officer.\n 9. When authorized by resolution of the county governing body, a\ncouncil may accept by gift, grant, bequest, or otherwise, money or other\npersonal property in the name of the county, for use in furtherance of\nthe provisions of this article. A county governing body may accept by\ngift, conditional or unconditional grant, devise or otherwise, real\nproperty in fee, or any lesser interest including conveyance with\nlimitations or reversions, for the purposes of this article.\n In addition, upon the written recommendation of the council, the\ncounty governing body may acquire by purchase in fee or any lesser\ninterest, through negotiation or by condemnation, such real or personal\nproperty as may be needed to fulfill the purpose of this article.\n