Freshwater Wetlands Act (ECL Art. 24)

ECL Article 24 (Freshwater Wetlands Act), as amended by L.2022 c.58 (Part QQ)

The Freshwater Wetlands Act (ECL Article 24) requires a NYS DEC permit to conduct regulated activities—including draining, filling, excavation, grading, and construction—in protected freshwater wetlands and their adjacent areas (generally a 100-foot buffer measured from the wetland boundary). The 2022 statutory amendments (Laws of 2022, Ch. 58, Part QQ) substantially expanded DEC jurisdiction by replacing the prior map-based system with a definition-based approach effective January 1, 2025; mapping is no longer required for a wetland to be regulated. The size threshold remains 12.4 acres or larger (phasing down to 7.4 acres on January 1, 2028), and DEC may also regulate smaller wetlands of "unusual importance" meeting any one of 11 criteria. The 2022 statutory amendments remain in effect even though the NY Supreme Court, Albany County, annulled DEC's implementing 6 NYCRR Part 664 regulations on April 8, 2026, for SEQRA non-compliance.