#2008-07: March 11, 2008 Catskill Center Applauds Law Adding Esopus Creek to the list of State Inland Waterways Communities along the Esopus Creek corridor will benefit from a law enacted last week naming the Esopus to the official list of "Inland Waterways." This designation makes municipalities located along the Esopus Creek eligible for new funding for a range of local projects, planning and technical assistance under the waterfront revitalization programs administered by the Coastal Program of the NYS Department of State. "The Catskill Center applauds the efforts of Catskill representatives, Assemblyman Cahill and Senator Bonacic, who introduced this legislation and strongly advocated for its passage," said Deborah Meyer DeWan, Director of Policy and Program Development with The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development. "We join with the towns along the Esopus supporting this new law providing their communities access to additional resources and tools in their toolbox as they work on local revitalization efforts." It is a broad category of funding for community revitalization programs specifically geared to communities that lie along rivers, lakes and streams in New York State. Major rivers and some lakes and streams are already included in the definition. Other Waterways can only be added by passage of legislation amending existing law. Within the Catskills, the East Branch of the Delaware River was previously placed on this list. The State Senate passed their bill, S.6150 last June and the Assembly Bill A.8925 was passed unanimously last month. The assistance (both funding and technical) is voluntary and there are no additional regulatory or coastal consistency requirements associated with this program. It provides access to community revitalization funding and technical assistance if communities seek it that is currently unavailable to the municipalities along such waterways. Funding is through the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). Eligible municipalities apply for grants under a competitive funding program.