Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Kicks Off the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act Listening Tour

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul launched the educational listening tour for the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act in Buffalo. The educational listening tour is part of the State's commitment to a collaborative and transparent process in the delivery of Bond Act funds. The tour provides an opportunity for the public and potential funding applicants to learn more about the Bond Act, and for the community to weigh in on the draft eligibility guidelines being developed to identify potential projects. The Bond Act was the largest environmental measure on the ballot nationwide in 2022 and marks the largest Bond Act in New York history and first since 1996.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the event is available here.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Hello, fellow climate warriors. It is great to back in my hometown, once again. And Dr. Tripathi, you have been an incredible steward of this institution. You have taken it to heights that we never could have imagined, but also, I thank you for your many years of service as Co-Chair of our Regional Economic Development Council, which you became the face, along with Howard Zemsky, of the early years when I worked closely with you to really work hard to bring new businesses to this area, as well as new students and new faculty.

So, thank you for your leadership in the climate space. A lot of university professors and presidents and trustees don't always view themselves as having such a leadership role, and I'm so proud of the way you've embraced this. Let's give another round of applause to our President, Dr. Satish Tripathi.

I want to thank many elected officials who have joined us here today. We have County Executive Mark Poloncarz, I believe. If not, he's on his way because I just saw him. Mark Poloncarz. We also have Supervisor Brian Kulpa who has joined us. Brian Kulpa, we are in his town of Amherst right now. A little further from home is Supervisor Randy Hoak. We also have, all the way from Chautauqua County, PJ Wendel, our County Executive. PJ, are you in the room? PJ, good to see you. Shelley Stein from the Genesee County Legislature. Shelley, are you here? Hi, Shelly. We also have Steve Stoute, the Regional Economic Development Chair, who is in the place of Satish Tripathi. So, I want to thank him for his leadership also at Canisius College. And any elected officials I've not hit?

I know our state legislators are where they're supposed to be, which is in Albany right now. So, they were invited. They're great champions in this region, but this is also the final week of session. So, they have a little bit of work to do, which is great. And we're proud to work with them.

But I also have an amazing dream team helping run this state. And I want to thank, first of all, our Commissioner of DEC, Basil Seggos for what I see him do every day of the week with his leadership in this space. Doreen Harris, the President and CEO of NYSERDA, another real national leader on what we are doing here. Mike Hale, the Executive Vice President of the Environmental Facilities Corporation. Mike, thank you for what you do. Erik Kulleseid, our Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Historical Preservation. Thank you. We also have RuthAnne Visnauskas as our champion in Housing and Community Renewal, such an incredible leader. I want to thank RuthAnne Visnauskas for leading Homes and Community Renewal. Katie Brennan, the President and Executive Director of the New York State Office of Resilient Homes and Communities. Thank her for being here. We're only used to seeing her during snowstorms, but she comes when the weather is good as well, and that is our DOT Commissioner, Marie Therese Dominguez. Thank you. There's not always snow on the ground, Commissioner. See this? And Tim Hogues, Buffalo's own pride and joy. Our New York State Civil Service Commissioner, Tim.

We also have a number of students who've joined us today. Are they getting school credit for this? I hope they're not getting in trouble. Right? I'll sign any notes if I have to. We have Earth Science students from Nichols, from Riverside, from Niagara Wheatfield. Let's give them all a round of applause.

Yes, I was once a student, and I was one of the first students to create an ecology club in my middle school, back when we had, Lake Erie was not at its finest. Those of you who are old enough to remember what Lake Erie was like, somehow, we were told it was okay to swim in it, and no one seemed to notice that by night you could see the molten lava being discharged in the Bethlehem Steel plant. Or the fact that the sky - we thought the clouds are supposed to be orange from the discharge into the skies. And so, we had that going on where I was growing up.

But also Love Canal, which was the genesis for the Superfund. And I thank Congressman John LaFalce, who was a state leader, but also became a Member of Congress back then. And all the people who helped create the first Earth Day and the first ecology clubs. And so, all of you are carrying the torch that was passed to you from the old people in this room who came before you but understood back then that we can no longer continue polluting the gifts we've been given because the effect was horrific.

We did turn the page; we were able to stop the excessive pollution of our air and our waterways. But so much work remains, and that's what we're here to talk about and that's why I'm here today in Buffalo to officially launch the statewide listening tour regarding our $4.2 billion Bond Act. And that is a huge accomplishment for this state because coming out of local government and being a local activist, I understand how important it is to listen to people on the ground. Yes, we have brilliant people in Albany, but they're also smart enough to know to come out to communities like Buffalo and ten other places around the state, and virtual tools to get all the ideas you have on how it can lead this nation and lead our state into a better future for our children.

So, these sessions are pivotal, they're critically important. And I want to say that we passed in this state, just a year and a half ago, last fall, the state's and the nation's largest Environmental Bond act in history. So, we made history right here in the State of New York. We've waited too long. The time is now to take dramatic and bold action. So now, as a result of this, we have billions of dollars to invest in critical environmental and community projects. And yes, that was bold, and it was ambitious. There was a plan to have a $3 billion Bond Act on the ballot before I became Governor. But seeing what was happening to our planet and all the ways which we've seen climate change have detrimental effects on our environment, I said, "I don't know the $3 billion is going to be enough."

We raised it $1.2 billion more to $4.2 billion, and we did that. The legislature, I thank them, but also, I thank the people of this state who went to the polls and had within their hands the power to decide the future, whether or not we're going to lean into a different future or be held captive to the days of the past because our generation, the future generation sitting here, we're the first generation to really feel the effects of climate change. We saw it coming. We talked about it, but now it has arrived. But we're also the last generation to really do something meaningful about it, and that's what this Bond Act is all about.

We have had so many once-in-a-century storms, literally back to back to back. My first days on the job, New York City was hit with not one but two hurricanes. New York City, more hurricanes than the State of Florida had had to that date. Hurricane Ida - I saw the devastation firsthand. I saw people flooded in their homes, drowned in their homes. 13 people lost their lives in New York because of hurricanes back in August and September of 2021. I saw train tracks buried in 10 feet of mud, disrupting transportation homes that were uninhabitable. Record rainfall over two days, and then Upstate, I saw catastrophic flooding from Lake Ontario back in 2017. And everyone said, "Well, this is bad. Well, this is what we call a 100-year event, so we're good for a while." Guess what happened two years later? Another 100-year event. I'm not buying the 100-year event label anymore. It just doesn't seem to work because Mother Nature isn't paying attention to it. And so, we broke records every single year in the terms of damage and velocity of the waves and the damage that was done was horrific.

So, reality is, we shouldn't be shocked anymore. We can't be shocked by the scale or the frequency of these so-called unforeseen events because they're no longer unforeseen. But maybe they weren't foreseen by enough people in our country, but they're seen by us here in the State of New York. And while we can't control it, we can prepare and control how we prepare and what we do to be ready. So, from Buffalo to Brooklyn, we're going to continue fighting and preparing for the effects of climate change.

So, how do you do that? How do you do that? Well, first you take $4.2 billion and put it in the right places. And we're going to strengthen critical infrastructure, protect our communities from these storms and the severe flooding. We're already building a strong track record for getting these projects underway and funded, including right here in the Buffalo Region. Think about the Village of Depew, rehabbed sewer lines to help with the overflow during high rain events. I've seen the flooding on the streets in Depew. This is an area we can help mitigate that.

North Chautauqua Lake, we're doing improved treatment systems to help reduce the pollution and that beautiful lake. I've spent a lot of time at North Chautauqua Lake as a child. It's gorgeous. How about zero emission buses that transport our students so they're not standing at the bus stop, inhaling all the fumes.

We can make those changes right now. So, we're going to be jumpstarting a whole new level of collaboration with the people on the ground, the elected leaders, our advocates, and people who are involved in the science of this. So, we're going to avert future disasters.

But also, we need to protect vulnerable populations. Those who don't feel they have the political voice, the political clout, to make sure their voices are heard, because all too often, these are the communities that bear the brunt of these cataclysmic events. So, 35 percent, at least 35 percent, perhaps upwards of 40 percent of the Bond Act funding will be directed will be directed toward disadvantaged communities.

It's also not just preparing for the storms. It's about protecting our magnificent natural beauty that we have right here in the state. So, looking at our open spaces and how we can protect them, more spaces for recreation and ways to improve the quality of life. I have been to more State Parks, I know our commissioner knows this, even before I became Governor.

When you grow up in a family started in Lackawanna in a trailer park, you don't have a lot of money for luxury vacations, but we have magnificent parks. And that's why I had a chance to explore everything from hiking along the Niagara Gorge to jumping off the cliffs. I don't recommend that.

Actually, it's probably not allowed anymore ever since we did this, into the Niagara Gorge. Wonder why I'm such a risk taker. That's where it all started. But I've explored all our magnificent assets, but they don't stay magnificent without people being involved and putting in the money and protecting them and enhancing them.

Also, we're looking at this as a job creating opportunity. Again, those who have that history of living in Buffalo, when for much of my young life, the phrase was, "Last one out, turn out the lights." Because so many people left once the steel plants and the industries left. There were not jobs here in Western New York.

I lost all my siblings. They went to other states in search of the American Dream, and they wanted to stay. This initiative is projected to create 84,000 good paying jobs throughout the state, and that includes labor provisions. Labor is going to be protected, so you don't have to choose between environmental preservation and economic prosperity. They're intertwined. They're not inconsistent, they're intertwined.

So, this Bond Act will continue building on last year's investments in our State Budget, which are historic. $500 million for clean water infrastructure - magnificent. $400 million for the Environmental Protection Fund, and over $200 million for our State Parks. And so, I know that those are important investments to make now. But also new buildings that go up - this is our opportunity to really start making real changes. We are going to have all new buildings built be zero emission building construction. Think about that. Think about that. Buildings are some of the largest emitters of carbon, and we can make those changes just by saying, "Going forward, this is how to be done in a smarter, better way that protects the environment."

We're laying the groundwork for a cap-and-invest program that'll reduce the pollution but also create the resource to help offset the costs for the communities as we do this going forward. So, we're working on getting the money out the door as soon as possible. Everybody knows how impatient I am. Everybody, all my commissioners know. Okay, start spending it. Start - oh, I also see our DMV Commissioner in the second row. Mark Schroeder is here from South Buffalo. I'm sorry I didn't catch you. The DMV is very important in this. Don't forget that he's all about the transportation of the vehicles on our roads, making sure that they are also not emitting pollution. So, I want to thank him for what he does.

But even during Earth Week, we committed $425 million to help communities with their aging infrastructure and sewer lines. It's often the things you don't see that are the most expensive, and they're too prohibitive for local communities. I knew this in my town. We never had enough money. Randy Hoak is here. Okay. Do you have enough money now, Randy? Okay. You will. Don't worry about it. It's always those expensive infrastructure components that when they work, you don't think about them. But when they don't, it is cataclysmic. Go visit Mount Vernon. Go visit Mount Vernon. Go look up the documentary on Mount Vernon when we invested $250 million to help clean up this small community, this disadvantaged community, helping them recover. So that's how we can make a profound difference in people's lives by just taking care of these basic needs and helping relieve the burden from our localities as well.

So, what we're doing here today, we have many voices here. I see Reverend Blue from the NAACP here. I want to recognize him for his voice. We have to unlock the power of what we did at the ballot box. This wasn't necessarily a foregone conclusion. A lot of people mobilized. They understood the urgency of this, and many times we can't get people to vote for individuals or elected officials, different races, but when you put their children's future on the ballot and say, "This is about protecting our young people today, but also so their kids and grandkids will not look back and say, 'Why didn't you do something about this?'"

That's the world I grew up in. When I saw all that pollution growing up, we just took it as a basic fact of life growing up in Western New York - that there were jobs here. If you wanted those jobs, you had to deal with the effects on the air and the water. People didn't know any better.

Today, we know better. We're living the effects. The warning sounds have been heard, and we're responding. We are the first responders to protect our planet, our climate, and our future from going up in smoke. So, I want to thank everybody for bringing your ideas to this forum. We'll be doing this again all over the state. You'll see the impact of your vision - how you care about the community, how you think we should be spending this money. And this is why this listening session is so important. I wanted to kick it off in person.

I want to thank people like Kelley St. John who's Buffalo's first ever - she's the Climate Action Manager. She works hard. Daniel Hamlin is here, expert engineer who designs drinking water treatment centers. And again, all of our students who came here and helping us up invest in all this.

So, I want to say this: We've got work to do. We've got work to do. It's time to roll up our sleeves. And once you're part of the solution, instead of being part of the problem, there's an incredible sense of value. All of us can bring value to this conversation. All of us can truly, truly make a difference. And that's what I'm asking all of you today. Leave here today recommitted as the climate warriors we need - the agents of change we've been waiting for. Let's go forth and do great things.

And with that, I'd like to introduce our next speaker, the Director of Policy and Strategy at the Nature Conservancy, Jessica Ottney Mahar. And I want to thank her for all of the work she has done. The Nature Conservancy has been incredible in helping us get this over the line, as well as that many, many other environmental action groups. I want to thank her for representing all of them. Jessica, it's all yours.