Resources are being added to expedite the 132 projects awarded funds for flood damage along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario shorelines this year, according to an announcement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

At a conference Wednesday, representatives of recipients from St. Lawrence County and the seven other Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative counties met with 11 state agencies in Albany to share information about project implementation, including permitting and environmental reviews, to ensure projects advance expeditiously, the announcement said.

Cuomo also encouraged municipalities that suffered substantial damage due to high water on Lake Ontario to join the state's lawsuit against the International Joint Commission. On Friday, Nov. 15, Governor Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James filed an expanded lawsuit on behalf of the state against the IJC for allegedly failing to implement its flood protocol for the Moses-Saunders Power Dam.

"Shoreline communities have faced tremendous challenges in recent years. That's why we have taken aggressive action to help local governments, businesses, and homeowners with state support to improve resiliency, address the impact of flooding, and fight the threat of climate change," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. "This targeted funding for projects in Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative counties will address critical infrastructure needs to ensure sustainability long-term. These important efforts will help to combat devastation from extreme weather events, strengthen our economy, and enhance quality of life for residents along our Great Lakes for generations to come."

At the conference, participating state agencies introduced a program to ensure that the environmental assessment process for every project will be completed by mid-February 2020. To ensure assessments are completed in a timely manner, project sponsors without completed engineering studies will be able to opt in to a centralized state contract. Department of Environmental Conservation and other state agencies committed to an expedited permitting process for REDI projects that involve existing infrastructure, approximately half of the 132 projects awarded funding.

Cuomo also announced that state agencies in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers secured engineering services to kick start the eight-county regional dredging project and deliver a project outline in December. The outline will identify areas to be dredged and include a timeline for implementation.

Gil C. Quiniones, New York Power Authority President and CEO, said, "The St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario shoreline communities are important to NYPA and we are proud to stand with our fellow community members to build back better and stronger. We, at NYPA, are pleased to support Governor Cuomo and the shoreline communities' efforts to strengthen resiliency against future high water events. At this conference, our goal is to make sure that any outstanding questions are answered so that stakeholders can work together to move these priority projects along."