§ 3-0303. Statewide environmental plan. 1. The department shall formulate and from time to time revise a statewide environmental plan for the management and protection of the quality of the environment and the natural resources of the state, in furtherance of the legislative policy and purposes expressed in chapter 140 of the laws of 1970. 2. The department shall submit such plan to the Governor and to the Department of State on or before October first, nineteen hundred seventy-five, and thereafter shall submit periodic revisions of such plan to the governor and to the Department of State. The Department of State shall review such plan and such revisions and shall submit a report thereon together with such recommendations within sixty days as it may deem appropriate to the Governor. The governor shall approve, approve with modifications, or reject such plan within sixty days. 3. In formulating such plan and any revisions, the department shall: a. Conduct one or more public hearings; b. Consult with and cooperate with:

(1) Officials of departments and agencies of the state having duties and responsibilities concerning the environment;

(2) Officials and representatives of the federal government, of neighboring states and of interstate agencies on problems affecting the environment of this state;

(3) Officials and representatives of local government in the state;

(4) Officials and representatives of science, industry, and education;

(5) Persons, organizations and groups, public or private, utilizing, served by, interested in or concerned with the environment of the state; and c. Request and receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission or other agency of the state or any political subdivision thereof or any public authority such assistance and data as may be necessary to enable the department to carry out its responsibilities under this section.