NY’s EPF Gets Big $ Boost!!

Governor Eliot Spitzer signed legislation on July 18, 2007, that will increase New York’s Environmental Protection Fund to an all-time high--$300 million by fiscal year 2009. Governor Spitzer proclaimed, “The Environmental Protection Fund is a pivotal funding source for the state’s premier environmental programs. It is critically important that we advance the state’s comprehensive environmental agenda and that requires that we back up our ambitious policy objectives with appropriate funding.” Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis applauded the EPF increase when he stated: “Governor Spitzer’s decision to expand the EPF is great news for New Yorkers and underscores his green credentials.”

New York’s EPF was created in 1993 as a dedicated annual funding source for capital projects that directly benefit New York’s land, air and water. It is primarily financed by the real estate transfer tax, and has been gradually expanded since its inception to include programs such as urban parks, water quality, pollution prevention, smart growth, farmland preservation, historic preservation, zoos, botanical gardens and aquaria, landfill closures and local recycling in addition to preserving open space. The EPF also provides the money for New York State’s purchase of Trail Conference properties, which are then added to the state’s preserved inventory of parks and forests.

The Trail Conference advocated for an increased EPF as part of a coalition that included the Adirondack Mountain Club, Environmental Advocates of New York, the Adirondack Council, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the New York League of Conservation Voters, the New York Farm Bureau, the Coalition of Living Museums, NYPIRG, Scenic Hudson, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Senator Carl L. Marcellino, co-sponsor of the legislation that expanded the EPF, pointed to the fund’s central significance when he stated, “The EPF is responsible for preserving and protecting our most fundamental needs. It is the way that we protect the water we drink, the air we breathe and the food we eat. By investing in the EPF we are investing in our quality of life and improving the quality of life for generations of New Yorkers.”

Many thanks to TC members who responded to C&A calls for advocacy support! Your phone calls, emails, letters and faxes urging the legislature and the Governor to enact the EPF expansion legislation made the difference and got this legislation enacted! Good work and thanks!

by Brenda Holzinger, TC Conservation & Advocacy Associate

V3 Last updated: July 31, 2007   Copyright © 1996-2008  New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Privacy Statement.