Upon receipt of the statewide water resources management strategy from the department of environmental conservation, the council shall promptly publish once a week for three consecutive weeks in newspapers of general circulation notice of public hearings thereon. Public hearings shall be conducted in each of the substate areas represented in the statewide strategy, and shall be in accordance with regulations adopted by the department, subject to modification by the council. Such regulations shall, at a minimum, require a hearing on the record with sworn witnesses and shall afford interested parties a reasonable opportunity to sponsor witnesses and to question witnesses sponsored by others, including department staff, consistent with the need to conclude the hearings expeditiously so that a state water resources management strategy can be adopted in a timely manner. The hearings shall not be considered part of an adjudicatory proceeding, as defined in subdivision three of section one hundred two of the state administrative procedure act, or as part of a rule-making proceeding held under subdivision one of section two hundred ceeding, as defined in subdivision three of section one hundred two of the state administrative procedure act, or as part of a rule-making proceeding held under subdivision one of section two hundred two of such act.
New York Legal Code