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S03337 Summary:

S03337 Actions:

S03337 Committee Votes:

S03337 Floor Votes:

S03337 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         3337--C
            Cal. No. 305
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 5, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by Sens. GAUGHRAN, LAVALLE, BROOKS, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN, KAMIN-
          SKY,  KAPLAN,  METZGER,  SERRANO,  SKOUFIS,  THOMAS  -- read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Judiciary  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported  favorably  from
          said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third
          reading,  amended  and  ordered  reprinted, retaining its place in the
          order of third reading -- passed by Senate and delivered to the Assem-
          bly, recalled, vote reconsidered, restored to third  reading,  amended
          and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third read-
          ing
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the
          statute of limitations for public water suppliers and wholesale  water
          suppliers to commence an action for injury to property
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The civil practice law and rules is amended by adding a new
     2  section 214-h to read as follows:
     3    § 214-h. Certain actions by public water suppliers to recover  damages
     4  for injury to property. 1. In this section:
     5    (a)  "Contaminant"  means any physical, chemical, biological or radio-
     6  logical substance or matter in water and includes but is not limited  to
     7  an emerging contaminant listed pursuant to section eleven hundred twelve
     8  of the public health law.
     9    (b)  "Person"  means  an  individual, corporation, public corporation,
    10  company, association, partnership, or entity of  the  state  or  federal
    11  government.
    12    (c) "Public water supplier" means a person that owns, manages or oper-
    13  ates a community, noncommunity or nontransient noncommunity water system
    14  that provides water to the public for human consumption through pipes or
    15  other  constructed conveyances, if such system has at least five service
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03302-14-9
        S. 3337--C                          2
 
     1  connections or regularly serves an average of at least twenty-five indi-
     2  viduals daily at least sixty days out of the year.
     3    (d)  "Wholesale  water  supplier" means a person that owns, manages or
     4  operates a public water system that treats a source of water  supply  as
     5  necessary  to  produce  finished  water and then delivers some or all of
     6  that finished water to a public water supplier.
     7    (e) "Source of water supply" means any groundwater  aquifer  or  other
     8  source  from  which water   is taken either periodically or continuously
     9  for drinking, kitchen, cooking or food-processing purposes, or which has
    10  been designated for present or future use as a source  of  water  supply
    11  for domestic or municipal purposes.
    12    (f)  "Plant  intake"  means  the  works or structures at the head of a
    13  conduit through which water is diverted from a source  of  water  supply
    14  into the treatment plant by a public water supplier.
    15    (g)  "Well"  means any excavation used for obtaining water by a public
    16  water supplier.
    17    (h) "Raw water" means water immediately before the first or only point
    18  of disinfection or other treatment.
    19    2. Notwithstanding any other law that provides for a  shorter  limita-
    20  tions  period,  any  civil  claim or cause of action brought by a public
    21  water supplier or wholesale water supplier against any person to recover
    22  damages for injury to property owned, managed or operated  by  a  public
    23  water supplier or a wholesale water supplier resulting from the presence
    24  of  a  contaminant in a source of water supply shall be commenced within
    25  three years of the latest of any of the following:
    26    (a) the detection of a contaminant in the raw water of  each  well  or
    27  plant  intake sampling point in excess of any notification level, action
    28  level, maximum contaminant level,  or  maximum  contaminant  level  goal
    29  established  by  the commissioner of health, the department of health or
    30  the United States Environmental Protection Agency for that contaminant;
    31    (b) the last wrongful act by any person whose conduct  contributed  to
    32  the  presence  of  a  contaminant in a source of water supply or the raw
    33  water of each well or plant intake sampling point; or
    34    (c) the date the contaminant is last detected in the raw water of each
    35  well or plant intake sampling point in excess of any notification level,
    36  action level, maximum contaminant level, or  maximum  contaminant  level
    37  goal established by the commissioner of health, the department of health
    38  or  the  United  States Environmental Protection Agency for that contam-
    39  inant.
    40    3. This three-year period shall apply   to each well  and  each  plant
    41  intake for each contaminant separately, and the expiration of the three-
    42  year  period at one well or plant intake shall not affect the three-year
    43  period for another well or plant intake.
    44    4. Nothing in this section shall  abridge  or  limit  a  public  water
    45  supplier's  or  a wholesale water supplier's right to bring an action to
    46  abate an imminent threat of contamination of any well or plant intake or
    47  to recover as damages the costs of such abatement.
    48    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.