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As a result of Chapter 58, Part QQ, Section 19 of the Laws of 2022, as of January 1, 2025, there will be
amendments to the Freshwater Wetlands Act taking effect.

These changes to the law establish clear jurisdictional criteria to provide protections for wetlands of
“unusual importance.” Unusual importance means a freshwater wetland, of any size, possessing one or
more of the following characteristics as determined by the Department of Environmental Conservation
pursuant to regulations:

1. It is located in a watershed that has experienced significant flooding in the past, or is expected to
experience significant flooding in the future from severe storm events related to climate change;
2. It is located within or adjacent to an urban area, as defined by the US census bureau;
3. It contains a plan species occurring in fewer than 35 sites statewide or having fewer than 5,000
individuals statewide;
4. It contains habitat for an essential behavior of an endangered or threatened species or a species of
special concern as defined under section 11-0535 of the Environmental Conservation Law or is listed
as a species of greatest conservation need in New York’s wildlife action plan;
5. It is classified by the Department as a Class I wetland;
6. It was previously classified and mapped by the Department as a wetland of unusual local importance;
7. It is a vernal pool that is known to be productive for amphibian breeding;
8. It is located in an area designated as a floodway on the most current Digital Flood Insurance Rate
Map produced by FEMA;
9. It was previously mapped by the Department as a wetland on or before December 31, 2024;
10. It has wetland functions and values that are of local or regional significance; or
11. It is determined by the commissioner to be of significant importance to protecting the state’s
water quality.
As part of the implementation process, the Department of Environmental Conservation has drafted
proposed regulations; the text of those proposed regulations can be found here: https://dec.ny.gov/sites/
default/files/2024-07/wetlands_et_pt664.pdf

Additional information, including a regulatory impact statement and Q&A, can be found here: https://dec.
ny.gov/nature/waterbodies/wetlands/freshwater-wetlands-program. These regulations are not yet final, but
will be finalized before January 1, 2025, and NYSAPLS will share them.

Additional details of the Freshwater Wetlands Act, namely the decrease in the jurisdictional threshold of
wetlands from 12.4 acre to 7.4 acre -become effective January 1, 2028.

EMPIRE STATE SURVEYOR / VOL. 60 • NO 6 2024 • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 19