Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) announced that he sponsored and helped pass legislation that would appoint the New York State Canal Corporation director as the chair of the Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force (A.9177-C).

“Our communities have experienced more severe rainstorms in the last two decades than the previous century, and the infrastructure that was built over 50 years ago is just not adequate to handle the effects of today’s extreme weather events,” said Stirpe. “The Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force was created to identify possible solutions to the persistent flooding our local communities face and it’s critical that we begin working with urgency and diligence to come up with an action plan. Designating a knowledgeable and experienced leader to the task force will help jumpstart these efforts.”

In 2017, The Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force was established to study the impact of previous floods in the state and find potential solutions that could be executed in flood-prone areas to lessen the impact and costs of future storms. This legislation that Stirpe championed alongside Senator John Mannion would help ensure the task force meets its goals of strengthening flood management and mitigation across areas impacted by the Erie Canal.

The bill would streamline efforts by allowing the director of the Canal Corporation to spearhead the task force as well as sets a deadline of July 1, 2023, for the task force to produce its report. Further, the task force would be required to meet four times before publishing the report and then once a year after the report is published. The bill has been passed by both houses.