Bill on wake boats and access-area rules draws caution from Fish & Wildlife and DEC

A bill under consideration would add several lake-related measures: permit municipal petitions to regulate uses of public drinking-water sources, authorize aquatic-nuisance inspection and decontamination at some fishing access areas, require wake boats to designate a single "home lake" for a calendar year and require decontamination before using other waters.

Michael Grady of Legislative Council summarized the delegation element: "the secretary by rule or written agreement . . . shall delegate authority to regulate the use of a public water when there are certain conditions that are met," allowing municipalities that own the perimeter of a drinking-water source to seek delegated regulatory authority.

Grady and DEC staff also described a home-lake and decontamination regime that would require an owner or controller of a wake boat to identify a home lake and to use only that lake unless the boat is decontaminated per agency requirements. Grady read proposed enforcement language making violations judicial-bureau offenses.

Fish & Wildlife witnesses urged caution about operational impacts. Jason Batchelder, speaking for the agency, called the proposed access-area rule changes potentially "the most problematic of the proposed changes," and agency staff repeatedly warned that making inspection or decontamination stations a recognized priority use could remove the department—s existing permit authority and create conflicts over limited parking and wetlands at small launches.

Mike Traussing, the access-area program manager, described how greeter and wash programs now operate under an annual permit and how a prior-approval process helps the department manage peak use. He warned that converting inspection stations into a prior use without a clear approval and oversight mechanism could let infrastructure occupy multiple parking spaces at small sites and force wardens to police transient conflicts.

Operational and technical constraints were a frequent theme: Traussing and other staff noted decontamination methods for high-risk organisms require hot-water exposure for defined times and volumes. "There's been some research . . . you have to apply hot water for a certain amount of time," Traussing said, describing treatments that can require very hot water and minutes of exposure to be effective.

DEC data presented to the committee showed cross-lake movement of wake boats is uncommon: Laura of DEC—s Lake and Ponds program said DEC recorded 17 wake-boat inter-lake movements this past summer (23 in 2024) and that most wake boats in monitoring returned to the same lake — evidence DEC staff used to argue the risk is concentrated and logistical solutions (centralized decontamination or targeted sites) may be workable.

Committee members questioned whether the state has the decontamination infrastructure and who would pay for it; staff said identifying centrally located decon stations with adequate drainage and staffing is a major implementation hurdle.

The hearing recorded no formal votes. Members asked agencies to return with data on access-area footprints, maps of likely decontamination locations, and more detail on how federal grant conditions (Dingell-Johnson) constrain uses at federally funded access areas.