STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2417
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 16, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GALLAGHER, REYES, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, COLTON, TAYLOR,
ROSENTHAL, HEVESI, SEAWRIGHT, EPSTEIN, MAMDANI, SHRESTHA, SIMON,
R. CARROLL, SHIMSKY, ZACCARO, BURDICK, LEVENBERG, SIMONE, FORREST,
KELLES, TAPIA, GIBBS, DE LOS SANTOS, RAGA, OTIS -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
requiring applicants for major projects located near disadvantaged
communities to submit an enhanced public participation plan
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
2 new article 59 to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 59
4 ENHANCED PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES
5 Section 59-0101. Declaration of legislative findings and intent.
6 59-0103. Definitions.
7 59-0105. Enhanced public participation plan.
8 59-0107. Environmental assessment.
9 59-0109. Applicant certification.
10 59-0111. Prohibitions.
11 § 59-0101. Declaration of legislative findings and intent.
12 1. The legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of the
13 state of New York to promote environmental justice and incorporate meas-
14 ures for achieving environmental justice into the state's programs,
15 policies, regulations, legislative proposals and activities. The legis-
16 lature further finds and declares that economically distressed and
17 minority communities in the state have long borne a disproportionate and
18 inequitable pollution burden, caused by historic siting of sources of
19 pollution in those communities.
20 2. Many economically distressed and minority communities in the state
21 suffer from elevated rates of respiratory illnesses, including asthma,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00931-01-5
A. 2417 2
1 bronchitis, and emphysema, and other adverse health effects associated
2 with the long-term and chronic exposure to multiple sources of pollution
3 resulting from the disproportionate and inequitable siting of pollution
4 sources in those communities.
5 3. The intersection of high asthma rates, environmental pollution, and
6 disadvantaged communities is prevalent in New York City's "Asthma
7 Alley," which comprises parts of Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. In
8 Astoria, Queens, two generating stations provide nearly half of New York
9 City's electricity. This area experiences asthma rates greater than the
10 borough average.
11 4. The disproportionate and inequitable siting of pollution sources in
12 economically distressed and minority communities is in large part the
13 result of inadequate notice to those communities of the proposed siting
14 of those sources and inadequate opportunities for community input and
15 participation during the environmental permit process.
16 5. The legislature hereby finds it in the interest of public health
17 and safety to require major projects located in or adjacent to disadvan-
18 taged communities to undergo review and to comply with enhanced notice
19 and public participation requirements. The legislature further finds
20 that enhanced notice and public participation requirements for disadvan-
21 taged communities are consistent with the purposes, intent and require-
22 ments of the climate leadership and community protection act. It is the
23 intent of the legislature that economically distressed and minority
24 communities be provided with enhanced notice of proposed projects and
25 enhanced opportunities for input and participation during the environ-
26 mental permit process so that those communities have a greater voice in
27 the siting of new or expanded sources of pollution.
28 § 59-0103. Definitions.
29 1. "Adjacent to" shall mean within a radius of one mile from the prop-
30 erty.
31 2. "Disadvantaged community" shall have the same meaning as in subdi-
32 vision five of section 75-0101 of this chapter.
33 3. "Major project" shall mean a project which is not a minor project
34 as defined in subdivision three of section 70-0105 of this chapter.
35 § 59-0105. Enhanced public participation plan.
36 1. The applicant for a major project located in or adjacent to an a
37 disadvantaged community shall, as part of its application to the depart-
38 ment for a permit or approval in accordance with article seventy of this
39 chapter, submit a written enhanced public participation plan to the
40 department for review and approval. The department shall provide for a
41 public comment period on the enhanced public participation plan of not
42 less than sixty days. The department may, after conclusion of the public
43 comment period, require the applicant to revise the enhanced public
44 participation plan to address issues raised during the public comment
45 period or to ensure that the plan complies with the requirements of this
46 section.
47 2. The enhanced public participation plan shall, at a minimum, include
48 the following:
49 (a) A description of the proposed project, including potential envi-
50 ronmental impacts of the proposed project and whether the project may
51 cause or increase a disproportionate pollution burden on the disadvan-
52 taged community;
53 (b) A description of the disadvantaged community in which the proposed
54 project is located or which is located adjacent to the proposed project,
55 including a map or maps of the project and disadvantaged community;
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1 (c) The location of sensitive receptors in the disadvantaged communi-
2 ty, including hospitals, schools, elder care facilities, day care facil-
3 ities, parks, and other sensitive areas identified by the community,
4 including a map showing the location of such receptors;
5 (d) A list, developed in consultation with the disadvantaged communi-
6 ty, of representative stakeholders in the community, including but not
7 limited to residents, local elected officials, and community-based
8 organizations;
9 (e) A description of the manner in which public notices and other
10 written information about the proposed project will be posted and
11 distributed in the community and updated on a regular basis and in a
12 timely manner;
13 (f) A schedule for holding public meetings in the disadvantaged commu-
14 nity for the purpose of providing information about the proposed project
15 including what major project decisions will be made and when, answering
16 questions about the project, receiving input from the community about
17 the project, and describing how such input will be incorporated into
18 project design, development, and implementation;
19 (g) The location in the disadvantaged community of easily accessible
20 document repositories where written information about the project will
21 be made available, and establishment of a document website where such
22 information will be posted;
23 (h) An implementation schedule for all measures set forth in the plan;
24 and
25 (i) Provision for submission by the applicant of quarterly progress
26 reports to the department and the disadvantaged community concerning
27 implementation of the plan.
28 3. Written information provided to the disadvantaged community
29 concerning the proposed project shall be presented in an easy-to-read,
30 understandable format using plain language, and upon request shall be
31 translated into the twelve most common non-English languages spoken by
32 limited-English proficient individuals in the state, based on the
33 data in the most recent American Community Survey published by the
34 United States Census Bureau, and other commonly spoken languages in
35 the community.
36 4. At least three public information meetings shall be held during the
37 permit review process at times and locations convenient for the stake-
38 holders identified in the enhanced public participation plan, and shall
39 be of sufficient length to allow for meaningful public input. Written
40 notice of public information meetings shall be provided at least two
41 weeks prior to the scheduled date of the meeting to each stakeholder
42 identified in the enhanced public participation plan and shall be
43 conspicuously posted at the document repositories, on the document
44 website, and through other channels widely used by the host community as
45 sources of information, including, but not limited to, print media,
46 broadcast media, social media, libraries, community boards, the offices
47 of elected representatives, and government offices that serve the
48 public. Notices in print, broadcast, and social media shall be made with
49 adequate repetition.
50 5. The first meeting shall be held subsequent to submission by the
51 applicant of the permit application and enhanced public participation
52 plan but prior to the department's issuance of a notice of complete
53 application; the second meeting shall be held after the department's
54 issuance of a notice of complete application but prior to the depart-
55 ment's final decision on the application; and the third meeting shall be
56 held during the public comment period on the draft environmental impact
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1 statement for the project. Representatives of the applicant and the
2 department shall attend each public information meeting. The department
3 may, in consultation with the affected disadvantaged community, require
4 additional public information meetings regardless of whether such addi-
5 tional meetings are included in the enhanced public participation plan.
6 6. Public information meetings shall provide an opportunity for mean-
7 ingful public participation and input by residents of the disadvantaged
8 community and each meeting shall provide an opportunity for members of
9 the community to make statements, raise issues, and ask the applicant
10 and the department questions about the proposed project. Readily under-
11 standable visual information concerning environmental impacts must be
12 presented. After each public information meeting, the department shall
13 consider the statements provided and issues raised by members of the
14 community and may require the applicant to provide additional informa-
15 tion to address issues raised, require revisions to the application, or
16 impose permit conditions necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse project
17 impacts.
18 7. The document repository shall contain copies of: (a) the enhanced
19 public participation plan approved by the department; (b) all written
20 submissions by the applicant to the department; and (c) all written
21 communications between the applicant and the department concerning the
22 proposed project.
23 § 59-0107. Environmental assessment.
24 An applicant for a project subject to the requirements of this article
25 shall submit to the department, as part of its application, a completed
26 full environmental assessment form in compliance with article eight of
27 this chapter.
28 § 59-0109. Applicant certification.
29 1. Upon completion of the enhanced public participation plan, the
30 applicant shall submit written certification to the department that it
31 has complied with the plan, including a final report summarizing issues
32 raised by the disadvantaged community and how those issues were resolved
33 or addressed. The certification shall be signed by the applicant, or the
34 applicant's agent, and submitted to the department prior to a final
35 decision on the application.
36 2. The department shall provide a public comment period of not less
37 than sixty days on the applicant's certification and final report.
38 Following close of the public comment period, the department shall issue
39 a written determination whether the applicant has fully and completely
40 implemented the enhanced public participation plan.
41 § 59-0111. Prohibitions.
42 1. The department shall not issue a notice of complete application for
43 a proposed project subject to the requirements of this article unless
44 the applicant has submitted an enhanced public participation plan and
45 the department has approved the plan.
46 2. The department shall not accept as complete a draft environmental
47 impact statement prepared pursuant to article eight of this chapter for
48 a project subject to the requirements of this article unless the appli-
49 cant has an enhanced public participation plan approved by the depart-
50 ment and has, as of the date of submission of the draft environmental
51 impact statement, complied with the schedule for implementing the plan.
52 3. The department shall not issue a permit or approval for a proposed
53 project subject to the requirements of this article unless the applicant
54 has submitted the certification and final report required by subdivision
55 one of section 59-0109 of this article and the department has issued the
A. 2417 5
1 written determination required by subdivision two of section 59-0109 of
2 this article.
3 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
4 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
5 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
6 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
7 completed on or before such effective date.
