U.S. Army Corps of Engineers acts to protect NYC water supply and wetlands

NEW YORK, May 23, 2002 -- The Army Corps of Engineers New York District recently designated all water bodies and wetlands within the East-of-Hudson portion of the New York City watershed as Critical Resource Waters.

This designation was made in light of concerns regarding potential adverse environmental impacts to an area of special environmental and ecological significance.

The Corps' action will result in additional scrutiny for all projects involving wetlands and water bodies within the East-of-Hudson footprint of the New York City watershed thereby providing additional protection for New York City's water supply.

The Critical Resource Water designation coupled with issuance of Regional Conditions for Nationwide Permits provides additional protection for wetlands and other aquatic environments. This ensures that any projects authorized using Nationwide Permits will result in minimal adverse environmental impact.

Projects that previously could have been built in the watershed under the Nationwide Permit Program will now have to go undergo additional federal scrutiny.

The designation reflects evaluations made by the Corps of Engineers technical staff and public comments that favored this action in response to a Public Notice published earlier this year.