The State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) requires all state and local government agencies to consider environmental impacts equally with social and economic factors during discretionary decision-making. This means the NYS Canal Corporation will assess the environmental significance of a new programmatic approach on how to maintain earthen embankments throughout the Canal System.

The Earthen Embankment Integrity Program will describe the rationale and methods the Canal Corporation will use to manage and maintain earthen embankments along the entire 524-mile Canal System. The Canal Corporation is developing an embankment inspection & maintenance guide book, (“Guidebook”) which will set forth protocols for safety, inspection, maintenance, community outreach, and environmental considerations of earthen embankment management.

The embankment is critical for holding canal water in the channel above the adjacent land. If there is a breech in the embankment, water from the canal begins to seep out. Small seeps need to be corrected quickly so that further erosion is stopped. Left undetected, seeps could lead to major collapse of the earthen embankment, causing catastrophic flooding of adjacent lands.

The impact of catastrophic failure would be devastating to homeowners, landowners, and communities along the canal. Routine inspection and maintenance are the only way to detect and fix small seeps before they become major problems.

Maintenance of the embankments is imperative for protecting people, property and the environment. Good maintenance practices will also serve to maintain the integrity of the Canal System in a cost-effective manner, and provide transparency to and accountability in the Canal Corporation’s decision-making and program implementation.

The SEQR regulations permit agencies to conduct Generic EISs when a proposed program or plan would have wide geographical application. The Earthen Embankment Integrity Program is a programmatic approach on how to maintain earthen embankments across the entire Canal System.

There is a discussion and references to studies in the Guidebook and in Appendix B to the DGEIS.

The primary sources cited in the Guidebook include:

-NYSDEC Owners Guidance Manual for the Inspection and Maintenance of Dams in New York State

-FEMA Technical Manual for Dam Owners Impacts of Plants and Earthen Dams

-USACE Guidelines for Landscape Planting and Vegetation Management at Levees, Floodwalls, Embankment Dams, and Appurtenant Structures

If there are other studies that provide additional or varied guidance regarding woody vegetation on earthen embankment dams, the NYS Canal Corporation will be happy to review and consider them.

No. Prior to the Guidebook being finalized and the program being implemented, the Canal Corporation will complete a comprehensive environmental review pursuant to SEQRA, including the preparation of a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS). The Canal Corporation will take a hard look at all potentially significant adverse impacts associated with earthen embankment integrity program. The public will have opportunities to participate in the SEQR review (See Q&A No.4). Learn more about the SEQR process.

Please note that the public will be informed of any planned EEIP-related projects prior to implementation. No projects will be planned before November 2022.

The Canal Corporation is completing the necessary restoration work in those areas that were previously cleared to ensure embankment integrity is maintained. The draft Guidebook was completed in the first quarter of 2020 and will be finalized after completion of the SEQR process. Until then no trees will be removed without an independent environmental review. Routine maintenance such as grass mowing, debris and liter removal, etc. will continue to occur.

Each embankment maintenance project will be evaluated individually and will seek to identify, in the project design phase, embankment zones (areas) and conditions where some trees may remain and where supplemental plantings of native wildflowers and grasses can enhance the habitat quality and scenic beauty of the embankment. The Guidebook identifies embankment zones and conditions where trees and underbrush will need to be removed to preserve embankment integrity and to protect people, property and the environment. Safety will be the top priority for the Canal Corporation when evaluating any proposed clearing of vegetation but habitat, carbon sequestration and scenic beauty will also be considered and preserved where possible.

Procedures set forth in the Guidebook. Public input was collected per that SEQR process until October 15, 2021 and has been incorporated into these final released versions of the EEIP Maintenance Package. The revised Guidebook, including a summary of comments received during the Public Comment period and NYPA/Canals responses to them, will be released no later than Quarter 1, 2022.

Levees typically are meant to protect adjacent areas from flood events and, generally, do not retain water for long periods of time. They can be made from earthen embankments. Embankment dams, like those found along New York’s Canal System, retain water for half the year or longer and have a low-level outlet which means that water levels can be controlled. To see where earthen embankment dams are located along New York’s canals, you can view maps on the Program & Maps page.