(Warning! This list is incomplete. It is for public policy purposes only, and not to be relied on for jurisdictional determinations. Consult an attorney for any jurisdictional determination.)
Property owners who apply to the local building department for a permit to build or alter a structure on their land are rarely aware of the multiplicity of local, state and federal agencies potentially having jurisdiction. The local building department may fail to warn the property owner that another permit is required. It is currently not the responsibility of any agency to warn the property owner of this hazard of multiple jurisdictions. Later, the property owner may be fined and/or ordered to remove the new structure. Federal prison terms have been given for wetlands violations. There is no protection to the property owner for costs due to detrimental reliance on the local building department’s granting of a permit.
The following list is for the purpose of demonstrating the complexity of jurisdictional determinations in the State of New York and the urgent necessity of establishing a clearinghouse on a state level to provide permit applicants at the local level with a list of potentially jurisdictional state and federal agencies. Local jurisdictions are doing a better job of providing the permit applicant with a list of potentially jurisdictional local agencies, but this could be improved.
Town, Village, City, or County Jurisdiction
The first two agencies on the list below have jurisdiction over
all building projects, and over other projects at various times.
A property owner may learn from the local town, village, or city
about other agencies in that jurisdiction, but may not learn about
those at the county level.
1. Building Department (Town, Village, City or County Jurisdiction)
Building permit, septic design. This agency may be at either the
town-village-city or the county level.
- Environmental Impact Analysis (SEQRA), if applicable
- Also has local jurisdiction over federal flood insurance maps
(FEMA maps) where DEC has turned over jurisdiction. - Usually
enforces federal and state Scenic Byway restrictions, where a
Scenic Byway has been designated.
2. Local Zoning Board (Town, Village, or City)
Local site plan review and zoning permits.
- Enforces Local Waterfront Rehabilitation Plan (LWRP) where enacted
pursuant to the State Coastal Zone Management Act.
Additional Possible Permits, Depending Upon Locality:
3. Architectural Board - Architectural review.
4. City Highway Department - Curb cuts.
5. County Planning Department - Development along a State
Highway.
6. County Health Dept. - Drinking water, public health,
inspection of eating facilities.
7. Fire Commissioner - Fire safety inspection.
8. Historical Preservation Board - Archeological, historical
review.
9. Local Planning and Zoning Department - Compliance with
zoning. Site plan review.
10. Parks Dept., Beautification Committee - Tree cutting.
Other agency may have jurisdiction.
State and Regional (Non-Federal) Jurisdiction
1. Adirondack Park Agency (12 counties within Adirondack Blue
Line) - State zoning agency for the Adirondack region. Also jurisdiction
over wetlands and Wild and Scenic Rivers in the region.
2. Fire Underwriters (Private agency) - Permit inspections
for electrical installations and hookups.
3. Hudson River-Black River Regulating District - Permits
for riparian rights and access, shoreline construction on the
Sacandaga Lake and its tributaries as far south as Troy, N.Y.
4. Lake George Commission (2 counties) - State agency issuing
permits for construction in and adjacent to Lake George
5. Long Island Pine Barrens Commission (2 counties on Long
Island) - State land-use control agency for the Long Island Pine
Barrens
6. NYS Canal Authority (NYS Thruway Commission) - State
agency that issues permits to build docks and structures adjacent
to and near waterways that drain into the Erie Canal.
7. NY City DEP (Dept. of Environmental Protection) (6 upstate
counties within the New York City Watershed, but outside of NY
City) - Jurisdiction over every septic system and jurisdiction
over much other construction in watershed, also.
8. NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) -
Construction related to NYS wetlands; NYS Wild and Scenic Rivers;
pollutant discharge permits to waterways; air pollutant discharge
permits; permits affecting NYS Endangered, Threatened and Rare
Species and habitats; gravel and mineral extraction; gasoline
storage; all environmental permits in many aspects, down to burn
permits for backyard barrels. Maintains Natural Heritage program
plant database on government and private land with The Nature
Conservancy. SEQRA review, if applicable. (In part of the state,
certain permit applicants go instead to the APA.)
9. NYS Dept. of Health (DOH) - Drinking water and septic
systems, disease vector-related permits and inspections, restaurants,
food-handling facilities.
10. NYS Dept. of Transportation (DOT) - Permits for curb
cuts adjacent to State Highways.
11. NYS General Services Administration (GSA) - Permits
to use riparian rights to waterways of the State of New York and
to use the underwater lands owned by the State of New York.
12. NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation
- Historical and archeological sites, SEQRA review.
13. St. Lawrence-Eastern Ontario Commission (2 - 3 counties)
- Waterfont and riparian permits related to the St. Lawrence River
and Lake Ontario in northwestern New York.
Federal or Multi-State Jurisdiction
1. Delaware River Basin Commission - Located in West Trenton,
N. J., has review powers over certain projects within the Delaware
River basin. The Commission has issued regulations and reviews
discharge projects (municipal and industrial waste water treatment
plants) and water withdrawals.
2 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) - Jurisdiction
over dams, hydropower, energy production. Hundreds of dams currently
undergoing relicensing under FERC.
3. Great Lakes Water Conservation and Management Act -
Requires permission from Governors of seven states to remove water
from the watershed of the Great Lakes, including Lake George,
Lake Champlain, and the St. Lawrence Seaway. (Example of jurisdiction
would be a bottling plant or the piping of sewage into the Hudson
River watershed involving water taken from Lake George). DEC is
the New York State contact.
4. Susquehanna River Basin Commission - Located in Harrisburg,
Pa., has water use jurisdiction over watershed lands in New York,
Pennsylvania and Maryland. In the spring of 2000, the Commission
notified 200 golf courses in the three states that, “for
the first time, they must apply for a one-time permit averaging
$3,000 to withdraw an average of 20,000 gallons of water per day
in a 30-day period. In addition, golf courses were told they may
have to pay for estimated water use back to 1993 as well as an
annual fee of 13 cents per year per thousand gallons of water
from now on.,” according to the Binghamton Press and Sun
Bulletin, April 4, 2000. The fee is for “users who take water
from wells or surface water bodies without returning it to the
basin because of evaporation, diversion or other factors. That
charge can go back to 1971, when the commission was established,”
according to the article. According to the official regulations
of the Commission, certain projects involving diversion of water
from the basin and water quality impacts require a permit from
the agency.
5. Upper Delaware River Scenic and Recreational River -
New York and Pennsylvania, from the confluence of the east and
west branches below Hancock, N.Y., to the existing railroad bridge
immediately downstream of Cherry Island in the vicinity of Sparrow
Bush, N.Y., administered by the Secretary of Interior, as depicted
on the boundary map “The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational
River,” April 1978, except where modified. Properties located
within the boundaries are inholders within the National Park System.
National Park Service issues certain business permits. (The lower
Delaware River Scenic and Recreational River to the south, begins
at the north bounds of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational
Area and extends to the banks of the river.)
6. United States Army Corps of Engineers - Permits to do
construction or filling in federal wetlands, permits to do construction
or to discharge pollutants or fill in waterways of the United
States. Private landowners have served federal prison time for
federal wetlands infringements involving dry land in one case
and cleaning up a tire dump located in a city drainage ditch in
another.
7. United States Environmental Protection Agency - Pollutant
discharges, drinking water standards, mineral extraction. Redundant
to NY State DEC in certain regulatory areas.
8. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Jurisdiction over construction
that may affect Federal Endangered, Threatened and Rare Species
or their habitat. Administers federal Wildlife Refuges. Intervenes
in FERC dam relicensing proceedings.
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