N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 6, § 665.1 – Purpose.

(a) It is the public policy of the State, as reflected in the provisions of the Freshwater Wetlands Act, to provide the opportunity for local protection of freshwater wetlands and the benefits derived from them and to provide the opportunity for local regulation of the use and development of such wetlands to secure those benefits. It is the purpose of this Part to implement that policy by establishing regulations that:
1. (1) define the procedural requirements for the assumption of local regulatory authority;
2. (2) define the procedural requirements for the review and issuance of permits by a local government;
3. (3) establish standards and criteria for local government performance; and
4. (4) define the relationships between a local government and other jurisdictions.
(b) The option to assume regulatory authority is voluntary. A local government's decision to not assume regulatory authority pursuant to this Part and the act does not diminish or affect that local government's ability or authority to establish its own land-use controls for freshwater wetlands within its jurisdiction.