State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos speaks at a press conference announcing that work on the Adirondack Rail Trail is underway on Wednesday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

SARANAC LAKE — State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said if a multi-billion dollar environmental bond act on the ballot this Election Day is approved by New York voters, it will fund green energy and resilient infrastructure projects to stave off natural disasters accelerated by climate change, saving billions of dollars in the future.

He also said the money in this act should be spent more quickly than in the last environmental bond act the state passed in 1996, which still has unspent money left over, 26 years later.

In addition to local, state and national elections on the ballot this year is a statewide proposition for the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act on the back of the ballot.

Speaking at a DEC event in Saranac Lake on Wednesday to announce that construction is underway on the Adirondack Rail Trail, Seggos addressed some of the concerns people skeptical of the act have voiced.

The state’s Conservative Party has opposed the act, saying it would bring new debt to the state during a time of high interest rates. The party has pointed out that the state has not finished spending environmental bond act money it approved in 1996.

This act, if approved, would give the state the money it would need to meet the fossil fuel emissions goals it set in 2019.

A portion of the money — $1.5 billion — would be for air and water pollution reduction and climate change mitigation — green energy like wind, solar and heat pumps; zero-emission school buses; urban tree programs; retrofitting buildings with efficient products; and carbon sequestration on land.

Around $1.1 billion of the money would be for flood risk reduction — shoreline restorations, relocating or repairing infrastructure and roads at risk to flooding and restoring the environment from flood damage.

There is also $650 million for water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades, shoreline preservation and algal bloom prevention and another $650 million for open space land conservation and recreation.

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A pill to prevent damage?

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Seggos said though this act has a large amount of debt for the state to take on now, he believes it will save taxpayers countless billions of dollars in storm damage costs in the future, and potentially save lives.

Hurricane Irene in 2011 caused millions in damages throughout the North Country, Superstorm Sandy in 2012 caused $70 billion in damage downstate and last year, Hurricane Ida caused $75 billion in damage across multiple states, including New York, Seggos said.

“We’re talking about a $4.2 billion investment now to avoid those kinds of damages in the future,” Seggos said.

He said the destructive power of severe weather is known, and the DEC knows where money needs to be spent — places that historically flood or that have “dilapidated infrastructure.”

He compared the bond act to taking vitamins, or going to the doctor for a checkup, to stave off serious medical problems.

“The bond act would be spending money on projects now to avoid significant damage in the future that would come from severe weather,” he said.

He is confident this money will be well-spent to protect the state.

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Leftovers from 1996 bond act

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The Adirondack Explorer recently reported that the state is still spending money from the $1.75 billion Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act of 1996 bond act, passed 26 years ago.

Seggos said there’s a key difference between the 1996 bond act and the one currently on the ballot — the 1996 one had memorandum of understanding which “tied up” $82 million of $1.75 billion. This MOU required that to spend those million, the DEC had to come to agreement with the state legislature on each dollar spent.

“I think the legislature, this time around, saw that that process has hamstrung the state over time,” Seggos said.

He said the legislature realized that it takes significantly more time to spend money when it is subject to negotiation.

In the past two-and-a-half decades, he said the DEC has gained the state’s trust to spend it wisely. He said things like its expanded Environmental Protection Fund, clean water infrastructure act and New York Works projects showed the state that they know how to spend money responsibly without legislative oversight.

If passed, there would be $300 million in unallocated money in this act.

And the $82 million left over from 1996? The state is still working on spending that.

“That money’s still sitting there. We intend to spend it still,” Seggos said.

Election Day is on Nov. 8. Early voting in local counties continues through Nov. 6. To vote early in Essex County, go to either the Lake Placid Beach House, 31 Parkside Dr., Lake Placid or the North Hudson Town Offices, 3024 U.S. Route 9, North Hudson.

To vote early in Franklin County, go to the Franklin County Courthouse at 355 West Main St., Suite 161, Malone.

To find a voting station near you, go to voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.