Relates to mining in counties with a population of one million or more which draws the primary source of drinking water from a designated sole source aquifer, by prohibiting such activity where contamination to groundwater or drinking water on site or attributable to the site exceeds state or federal drinking water or groundwater standards.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
S. 5652 A. 7558
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2019
___________
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered print-
ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental
Conservation
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
mining in counties with a population of one million or more which
draws the primary source of drinking water from a designated sole
source aquifer, by prohibiting such activities where contamination to
groundwater or drinking water on site or attributable to the site
exceeds state or federal drinking water or groundwater standards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 23-2703 of the environmental
2 conservation law, as amended by chapter 298 of the laws of 2018, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 3. No agency of this state shall consider an application for a permit
5 to mine as complete or process such application for a permit to mine
6 pursuant to this title, within counties with a population of one million
7 or more which draw their primary source of drinking water for a majority
8 of county residents from a designated sole source aquifer[,]: (a) if
9 local zoning laws or ordinances prohibit mining uses within the area
10 proposed to be mined; or (b) within a special groundwater protection
11 area, designated pursuant to subdivision one of section 55-0113 of this
12 chapter, the state or a local government has documented contamination to
13 groundwater or drinking water on the site or attributable to the site,
14 which exceeds maximum contaminant levels under state or federal drinking
15 water or groundwater standards. Within one year of the effective date of
16 the chapter of the laws of two thousand nineteen which amended this
17 subdivision, no person shall operate a mine within a special groundwater
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10951-01-9
S. 5652 2 A. 7558
1 protection area, designated pursuant to subdivision one of section
2 55-0113 of this chapter, where the state or a local government has docu-
3 mented contamination to groundwater or drinking water on site or attrib-
4 utable to the site, which exceeds maximum contaminant levels, pursuant
5 to state or federal drinking water or groundwater standards. Further,
6 within three years of the effective date of the chapter of the laws of
7 two thousand nineteen which amended this subdivision, all reclamation
8 activities for any such mine shall be completed, pursuant to a reclama-
9 tion plan approved by the department.
10 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.