According to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer's office, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued an official Declaration of Emergency because of high water levels on Lake Ontario...and the Corp's Buffalo District is ready in case water levels rise to flood stage.
The lake has risen six inches over the last month and is forecast to rise another 11 inches by summer, placing shoreline residents and businesses at risk of having their properties flooded. The declaration ensures federal support if the worst comes.
It also means the Corps will work with New York's Department of Environmental Conservation to issue a joint "general permit" for emergency flood-prevention measures as they did two years ago. That short-circuits the permitting process to dump stone and do other emergency work to protect lakeshore property.