New York State budget 2025: Progress under pressure
Key environmental programs see support, but funding gaps remain amid federal uncertainty
May 13, 2025
Jeremy Cherson
Associate Director of Government Affairs
jeremyc@riverkeeper.org
Nothing is perfect in this world, and that’s certainly true for the New York State budget. Overall, we landed in a pretty good place — considering the economic uncertainty, and the slash-and-burn cuts to key federal agencies and funding that New York relies on to protect wildlife, communities, and clean water.
The big picture
When the budget process started in January, Riverkeeper and our partners asked for additional funding for sewer, stormwater, drinking water, and environmental programs. Why? First, inflation has eaten away at the purchasing power of these programs — each dollar today funds fewer projects and reaches fewer communities. Second, we anticipated the direction the new administration in D.C. was heading regarding the federal role in protecting clean water, wildlife, and communities. Unfortunately, our fears were confirmed with extreme actions, including the indiscriminate firing of thousands of public servants from agencies and granting programs created by Congress.
For New York’s flagship Clean Water Infrastructure Act, we were advocating for $600 million in this year’s state budget — a $100 million increase. The final enacted budget appropriates the same amount awarded to the program each year since 2017, $500 million. It’s not as much as we wanted, but this program remains more ambitious and better funded than any other state’s water infrastructure program.
Bright spots
Next, I’ll turn to a bright spot: the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), which supports critical regional efforts like the Hudson River Estuary Program, our zoos and botanical gardens, waterfront redevelopment, and brownfield cleanups. This line received a $25 million increase to an historic $425 million — an incredible rise from the fund’s creation in 1993 at $31 million. For every dollar invested in the EPF, seven dollars are returned to the taxpayer through increased economic activity, proving that investing in New York’s environment is about as smart an investment for the taxpayer as anything else out there.
Despite Riverkeeper and our allies, including over two dozen state senators and assemblymembers, urging for an increase of $2 million, this year’s budget funded the Hudson River Estuary Program at $7.5 million — unchanged from last year. A boost in state funding would have ensured that critical staff and programs within the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Program could continue regardless of cuts coming out ofWashington, D.C. that directly impact their staffing levels and programs.
We were especially grateful that within the EPF, the Ocean and Great Lakes Program received an increase to $24.5 million. This funding is sorely needed to support fisheries management and sturgeon conservation in the Hudson River, whale monitoring off Long Island, and critical Great Lakes programs. We were also pleased to see the continuation of the NY SWIMS program, with another $90 million to help expand access to swimming opportunities — including improvements and development of swimming areas in natural waters like the Hudson River. The Hudson regularly meets safe swimming criteria, but still only has four official public beaches within the 150-mile estuary — a completely insufficient number to meet public demand.
Other wins included a ban on toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in firefighting foam and the reauthorization of the State Superfund Program — a critical polluter-pays program that ensures the cleanup of hazardous sites to protect public health and the environment.
Finally, the inclusion of a $1 billion Climate Futures Fund unlocks additional money to support renewable energy, energy efficiency, and extreme weather adaptation programs. This is welcome news. However, it does not make up for the delay in meeting the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), or the need for the Cap-and-Invest program to cut emissions, to fund the energy transition, and prepare our communities for the growing impacts of climate change.
The work ahead
A win is a win — and I’ll take it. But we also have to remain clear-eyed: There’s still much more work to do, and we must always hold our elected officials to high standards. That said, this is a solid budget under the challenging and uncertain circumstances created by chaos emanating from the White House and the potential for deep federal budget cuts.
One cautionary note: the Legislature granted the Governor authority to make mid-year budget cuts if there’s an economic downturn, reduced tax receipts, or further cuts from Congress to federal programs that support New Yorkers and the state budget.
The legislative session ends in four weeks, and we have a handful of key priorities that need to make it through both houses and onto Governor Hochul’s desk. Sign up for the Riverkeeper newsletter to get the latest on what’s happening in Albany, and get engaged on issues that matter to you and your community.
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