Section 21-0917. The Great Lakes Basin advisory council

1. As used in this section:
    a.  "Great Lakes Basin" means the watershed of the Great Lakes and the
  St. Lawrence River, upstream from Trois Rivieres, Quebec, consisting  in
  New  York  State  of  the  Lake  Erie, Niagara River, Lake Ontario minor
  tributaries, Genesee River, Seneca-Oneida Oswego River, Black River, St.
  Lawrence River, and Lake Champlain drainage basins.
    b. "Great Lakes region" means the geographic region  composed  of  the
  states  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and
  Wisconsin, the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  provinces  of
  Ontario and Quebec, Canada.
    2.  There  is hereby established within the department the Great Lakes
  Basin advisory  council  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  "council")
  consisting   of   nineteen  members  to  advise  the  governor  and  the
  commissioner on matters  relating  to  the  state's  role  in  regional,
  federal,  and  international  activities  aimed at the protection of the
  quality and quantity of water in the Great Lakes,  domestic,  municipal,
  industrial  and  agricultural  water supplies, navigation, hydroelectric
  power and energy production, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat,  and
  a  balanced  ecosystem  which are all vital to the future environmental,
  social, and economic health of New York State and the other  states  and
  provinces comprising the Great Lakes region.
    a. The council shall:
    (i) advise the commissioner and the governor on the implementation and
  any  modifications to any comprehensive long-term Great Lakes management
  plan developed by the department;
    (ii) advise the state's members on the board of directors of the Great
  Lakes protection fund;
    (iii) annually identify specific research or program needs for funding
  from the New York Great Lakes protection fund, after  consultation  with
  the  Great  Lakes  protection  fund,  other Great Lakes states and other
  concerned parties. Such annual program, with as much detail on the scope
  and expectations of each project as is practical, shall be submitted  to
  the  commissioner,  who shall select specific projects from the program,
  recommended by the  council  and  shall  submit  such  projects  to  the
  department for implementation; and
    (iv)  evaluate  and  report to the governor and the legislature on the
  projects funded by the New York Great Lakes protection fund.
    b. The governor shall appoint nine members with  one  representing  an
  institution that performs research on the issues and the problems of the
  Great  Lakes,  one representing a labor union whose members derive their
  livelihood from the Great Lakes,  three  representing  environmental  or
  conservation  organizations with interests in the Great Lakes Basin, two
  representing business organizations whose commercial  interest  lies  in
  activities in or around Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and/or the St.  Lawrence
  River,  one  representing  a  municipality  adjacent  to Lake Erie, Lake
  Ontario or the St. Lawrence River, and one representing a county  having
  a  population  of two hundred and fifty thousand people or less adjacent
  to Lake Erie, Lake Ontario or the  St.  Lawrence  River.  The  temporary
  president  of  the  Senate  and  the  speaker of the Assembly shall each
  appoint two members who have a demonstrated  knowledge  in  Great  Lakes
  issues. The commissioner, the commissioners of the departments of state,
  health,  transportation,  economic  development  and the chairman of the
  power  authority  of  the  state  of  New  York  or   their   designated
  representative shall be ex-officio members. The appointed members of the
  council shall serve terms of three years; provided, however, that of the
  members  first appointed by the governor, three shall be appointed for a
  term of three years, three shall be appointed for a term  of  two  years

  and  three shall be appointed for a term of one year.  An appointment to
  fill a vacancy shall be made for the remainder of the affected  term  in
  the  same manner as the original appointment was made.  Such appointment
  shall be made within sixty days of the date the position becomes vacant.
  Members  shall  serve  until  their  successor  has  been appointed. The
  governor shall designate the chairperson.
    3. The advisory council shall meet at a minimum of two times annually.
    4. Advisory council members shall receive no  compensation  for  their
  services,  but  shall  be  reimbursed  for  their  actual  and necessary
  expenses incurred during the performance of their duties.
    5. The council shall submit a report prior to January first  beginning
  in  nineteen hundred ninety and annually thereafter to the governor, the
  speaker of the Assembly, the temporary president of the Senate  and  the
  chairmen   of  the  Senate  and  Assembly  committees  on  environmental
  conservation. Such report should include an evaluation of  the  problems
  and  conditions  of the Great Lakes and recommendations for departmental
  or legislative solutions.