Governor Andrew Cuomo kicked off a conference in Rochester today by promising a Hurricane-Sandy-style response to the flooding along the Lake Ontario Shoreline.
The governor called for a four-point response to the high water levels that have flooded homes and hobbled businesses along the 400 mile shoreline of the lake in New York State. He addressed a group of local and state officials ranging from budgeting to environmental agencies, called together to figure out how to make the response happen.
Cuomo pointed to what the state did in the New York City area after Hurricane Sandy, buying up homes in the way of future floods, rebuilding electric and water systems to resist flooding and making the shoreline more resilient. He pledged $300 million in state funding to that effort, saying New York will not wait for the federal government to get involved.
The governor also pledged New York will sue the International Joint Commission for damages if the bi-national agency doesn’t recognize and contribute to helping the property owners who suffered damage since the controversial Plan 2014 took effect.
Many local government officials and shoreline interests blame the new regulatory plan for the flooding, which has now struck twice in three years since Plan 2014 took effect.