New York Laws
Title 17 - Water Power
15-1705 - Licenses; Approval by the Governor.

1. The department, subject to the provisions of title 17 of this
article, may upon application issue to any person or public corporation
heretofore or hereafter authorized to develop, use, furnish or sell
power in this state or to a municipality of the state having such
authority, a license authorizing the diversion and use for power or
other purposes of any of the waters of the state in which the state has
a proprietary right or interest, or the bed of which, or the real
property required for use of such waters or the right to develop water
power, is vested in the state; or of boundary waters of the state where
the state has jurisdiction over the diversion or interference with the
flow of the same solely or concurrently with any other jurisdiction or
owner of a proprietary right; or to any such applicant when the owner of
any water power site or sites which it uses or proposes to use for the
production, sale and distribution of heat, light or power to the public;
and subject to the property right of others including riparian rights,
authorizing the construction, maintenance and operation in, across or
along any of such lands and waters of such dams, reservoirs, diverting
canals or races, water conduits, power houses, transmission lines and
other project works as are deemed necessary or convenient for the
development, transmission and utilization of the developable power and
authorizing in connection therewith the use of dams or other structures
or contiguous or adjacent lands belonging to the state. When any water
power site or property necessary to the full development of such a site
is owned by the state, or water, the use of which is dependent upon the
consent of the state, is not, in the opinion of the department suitable
or necessary for the development of power for public use, a license may
be issued to a person or public corporation for private use under like
conditions and with the same restrictions.

2. Whenever the use of water or the erection of structures under a
license may affect the navigable waters over which the United States
shall have lawfully assumed jurisdiction for purposes of navigation,
such license shall not be issued until the plans for such use and
structures have been submitted to and approved by the federal
authorities as required by law and any licenses shall be at all times
subject to the lawful exercise of such jurisdiction over the waters
affected by the license for the purposes of navigation.

3. Whenever canal lands, structures or surplus canal or canal feeder
waters are covered by the license, the license shall not issue unless
the Commissioner of Transportation certifies to the department in
writing that the same are not necessary for the navigation or operation
of the canals and shall not become effective until endorsed with his
approval. Any licensee in the use of such license, structures or water
shall be at all times subject to such reasonable rules and regulations
as the Commissioner of Transportation shall from time to time prescribe
so that the use thereof by the licensee shall not impair the efficiency
of the canals and such use shall at all times be subordinate to the
needs of the canals.

4. Notwithstanding any provision of title 17 of this article, no
license issued by the department pursuant to the provisions of title 17
of this article shall be effective unless and until it is approved in
writing by the Governor and such approval is signed by him and affixed
thereto; and notwithstanding any provision of title 17 of this article a
modification of such license shall not be effective until approved by
the Governor in like manner.