Requires a public hearing when permit modification has the potential to significantly improve the permit and the quality of the environment or mitigate the project's impact and enable the project to meet regulatory criteria.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2094
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 11, 2009
___________
Introduced by Sen. THOMPSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
public hearings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative finding. The legislature finds and declares
2 that in order to assure full review of applications and proposed depart-
3 ment actions on them and to enhance protection of the state's environ-
4 ment, additional criteria are needed which lead to department of envi-
5 ronmental conservation adjudicatory proceedings as a result of requests
6 from the public and applicants.
7 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 70-0119 of the environmental conserva-
8 tion law, as added by chapter 723 of the laws of 1977, is amended to
9 read as follows:
10 1. After evaluating an application for a permit and any comments of
11 department staff, other state agencies or units of government or members
12 of the public, the department shall, on or before sixty calendar days
13 after it mails notice to the applicant that the application is complete
14 or on or before sixty days after the application is deemed complete
15 pursuant to the provisions of this article, determine whether or not to
16 conduct a public hearing on the application and mail written notice to
17 the applicant of a determination to conduct a public hearing. Such
18 determination shall be based on whether the evaluation or comments raise
19 substantive and significant issues [relating] which (a) relate to any
20 findings or determinations the department is required to make pursuant
21 to this chapter, [including] (b) create the reasonable likelihood that a
22 permit applied for will be denied or [can be] granted only with [major]
23 significant modifications to the project because the project as proposed
24 may not meet statutory or regulatory criteria or standards, or (c) raise
25 the potential of significantly improving the permit and the quality of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02715-01-9
S. 2094 2
1 the environment or mitigating the project's impact through modification
2 of permit conditions or the project in the discretion of the department;
3 provided, however, where any comments received from members of the
4 public, public officials or otherwise raise substantive and significant
5 issues relating to the application and resolution of any such issue may
6 result in denial of the permit [or], the imposition of significant
7 conditions thereon, or modification of the permit to significantly bene-
8 fit the environment and the public interest, the department shall hold a
9 public hearing on the application.
10 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
11 the date upon which it shall have become a law, provided, however that
12 effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
13 or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
14 tive date is authorized and directed to be made and completed through
15 regular rulemaking procedures on or before such effective date.
