New York's 2026 Legislative Session: Wins, losses, and what's next for clean water
A delayed budget and heavy industry lobbying complicated the session — but Riverkeeper helped secure critical protections for drinking water and the Hudson River
June 15, 2026
Jeremy Cherson
Associate Director of Government Affairs
jeremyc@riverkeeper.org
Key takeaways
- Governor Hochul needs to sign into law strong PFAS “forever chemical” drinking water protections passed by the legislature — even as the federal government walked them back. Riverkeeper along with our supporters led the charge to ensure strong protections don’t fall by the wayside.
- The state made real progress on clean water funding, but corporate lobbying killed key bills on plastics and toxic chemicals.
- A messy budget season slowed things down, but Riverkeeper helped move the needle on Hudson River funding and drinking water safeguards.
The roller coaster ride of the New York State legislative session has finally come to a close for 2026.
This year, Governor Hochul included controversial and irregular proposals in her budget, complicating discussions and meaning that the final budget — normally due on April 1 — wasn’t released until nearly two months later.
Despite the delay making it more challenging to get environmental and clean water priorities in front of the legislature and over the finish line, Riverkeeper managed to make progress, including some key funding for environmental protections and restoration work along the Hudson River and its largest tributary, and critical legislation protecting New Yorkers’ drinking water.
The increased funding has already gone into effect, coming to a waterway or infrastructure project near you, since the Governor has signed all the budget bills. However, the standalone legislation still requires approval by the Governor, which could happen any time between now and December 31. We can’t get legislation over the finish line without your help, so look out for updates about how you can make your voice heard.
Let’s start with the good news: bright spots in legislation and funding that Riverkeeper helped pass in the NYS Senate and Assembly.
Legislation headed to the Governor for approval
- New PFAS “forever chemical” protections for drinking water
- The EPA recently rolled back regulations and delayed the implementation timeline for toxic forever chemicals in drinking water.
- This new state legislation ensures that New Yorkers will receive the protections originally proposed before the Trump EPA rolled them back.
- The bill sets maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in drinking water for five PFAS compounds:
- No higher than 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS
- No higher than 10 ppt for PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA (also known as GenX)
- New testing for PFAS “forever chemicals” in wastewater
- The PFAS Discharge Disclosure Act passed, requiring many businesses and facilities permitted to discharge wastewater to test for PFAS-related chemicals in order to help limit these harmful contaminants from entering our waterways.
- Protections for the Hudson River’s largest tributary
- Passed the Mohawk River Basin Management Act, which will tackle invasive species on the Mohawk, as well as create a new advisory committee to oversee management of the waterway
- The legislation, if signed, will turn the New York State Department of Conservation’s (NYS DEC) Mohawk River Basin program — an initiative focused on conserving, preserving, and restoring the 3,460-square-mile Mohawk River watershed — into a statutory program similar to the Hudson River Estuary Program.
Budget, already finalized and approved
- Increased the NYS DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program by $500,000 and maintained historic funding for the state’s Mohawk River Basin Program at $1.5 million. Ocean and Great Lakes Program increased by over $1 million
- These funds support habitat restoration, dam removal, climate resiliency projects, drinking water source protection planning, and more for the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers
- The NYS DEC’s Oceans and Great Lakes Program supports critical fisheries programs and studies in the Hudson River and New York Harbor in addition to critical work on Long Island and the Great Lakes
- A record $750 million in funding for clean water infrastructure over the next fiscal year, and a five-year $3.75 billion commitment
- $525 million for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, including $25 million for private water well testing and improvements
- $175 million set aside to offset the impact of new housing on drinking and wastewater systems. Riverkeeper secured guardrails in the final language to ensure these new funds do not incentivize urban sprawl
- $50 million to address rural water infrastructure
- Maintained a $425 million Environmental Protection Fund supporting programs and projects that touch every community across the state
- However, new changes risk limiting the statewide benefits the 30-year-old program provides
- New York’s solar energy target increased to 20 gigawatts by 2035, while easing the process to connect solar to the grid
- $1 billion Sustainable Futures Fund to support renewable energy development
- This stop gap fund replaced the cap-and-invest program that would have helped limit pollution
Legislation and budget, the weakening of key laws
- State climate law (CLCPA) significantly weakened
- Changed the accounting method for methane, a potent greenhouse gas, weakening the requirements for the state to reduce pollution
- Cap-and-invest — a program that puts a price on carbon in order to help meet emissions targets — delayed from 2024 to 2028. The program also would have helped provide financial relief to ratepayers
- Moved New York’s deadline to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent from 2030 to 2040
- The 85 percent greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050 remains unchanged
- New language in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) lets New York off the hook, suggesting the state achieve reduction targets “to maximum extent feasible”
- Environmental review (SEQRA) reforms create sweeping development exemptions
- The changes eliminated environmental review for qualifying large housing and mixed-use (commercial plus residential) projects, which could have serious and lasting negative impacts on communities throughout New York State
- Qualifying mixed-use projects are now exempt from environmental review regardless of the type of commercial use, even though some commercial uses have greater environmental impacts than others
- Big industry lobbying kills plastic reduction bill
- The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act would have required major companies to reduce their plastic packaging across their product lines by 30 percent over 10 years.
- The law would also ban over 10 toxic chemicals from packaging.
- The American Chemistry Council and American Petroleum Institute, among other industry groups, spent millions on lobbying firms in order to prevent this bill from passing the legislature.
- Corporate interest takes down PFAS “forever chemical” ban in everyday products
- The law would prohibit the sale of a wide variety of consumer products, including cookware and dental floss, that contain PFAS.
- Heavy lobbying by PFAS Ban in Everyday Products died at the end of session due to heavy lobbying by the cookware industry, consumer product associations, and car manufacturers stopped this bill in its tracks.
Passing good environmental legislation into law can take years. It took over a decade of sustained and dogged advocacy to strengthen New York’s freshwater wetlands law in the 2022 State Budget and five years to pass federal legislation to prohibit new anchorages for oil barges and tankers on the Hudson in 2026.
Riverkeeper continues to work on several important pieces of legislation that did not make it through to the Governor this session, such as the overhaul to New York's recycling infrastructure, Riverkeeper’s Rain Ready New York Act to help manage stormwater, an increase to the state’s oil spill response fund, action on winter road salt pollution, and a phase out of toxic “forever chemicals” in everyday consumer products.
Through every step of the way our supporters make progress happen by sending letters and phone calls to the powers that be. Our advocacy is nothing with engaged members and supporters who love the river. Riverkeeper won’t stop pushing our state elected officials to pass legislation that protects the Hudson River, clean water, and our environment.
Related campaigns
Renewable energy transition
Working toward a sustainable future while protecting the Hudson River and its communities
Protecting and restoring habitats
The Hudson River watershed is home to a breathtaking diversity of life. Protecting and restoring our aquatic habitats is critical for their renewal and for a healthy future for all life in the watershed
Emerging and unregulated contaminants
Toxic chemicals can harm the health of people, wildlife, aquatic ecosystems
Related news
December 9, 2022
NYS must increase safeguards on toxic PFAS in drinking water
Position statement
March 5, 2026
Riverkeeper statement on rising energy costs and New York’s landmark climate law
Position statement
March 25, 2026
The Mohawk River: The backbone of the Hudson River under pressure
Dan Shapley
Blog