Enacts the "schools impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act"; prohibits the construction of new schools within six hundred feet of a major roadway; includes certain schools in environmental impact statements for the construction of a major roadway.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8877
IN SENATE
August 5, 2020
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the highway law, in relation to enacting the "schools
impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act"; and to amend the environmental
conservation law, in relation to including certain schools in environ-
mental impact statements for the construction of a major roadway
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "schools
2 impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The purpose of this act is to
4 address the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on Black
5 and Brown communities, specifically to protect children and young adults
6 from the health risks associated with long-term exposure to pollutants
7 which derive from living and attending school in close proximity to
8 major roadways and highway projects. Traffic is one of the most signif-
9 icant sources of air pollution in both the indoor and outdoor school
10 environment.
11 Pollutants directly emitted from cars, trucks, and other motor vehi-
12 cles are found in higher concentrations near major roads, with the high-
13 est levels within the first five hundred (500) feet of a roadway --
14 children who attend schools near roadways have increased risks of expo-
15 sure and the detrimental health impacts therefrom. Children who experi-
16 ence consistent exposure to air pollution have increased risks of asth-
17 ma, chronic respiratory issues, reduced lung function, cardiovascular
18 effects, and neurobehavioral dysfunction. These effects are long-lasting
19 and contribute to changes in overall school performance for students.
20 In addition to the health effects caused by air pollution, major road-
21 ways create a considerable amount of noise pollution. Children are
22 particularly susceptible to the effects of loud, constant noise, which
23 comes from close proximity to highways. This often causes trouble with
24 tasks at school -- reading attention, problem-solving and memory are
25 most affected.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14577-04-0
S. 8877 2
1 Research led by the University of Minnesota and the University of
2 Washington quantified the racial gap between those who cause air
3 pollution and those who breathe it. Poor air quality is the largest
4 environmental health risk in the United States. Fine particulate matter
5 (PM), especially that which is emitted from vehicles, is especially
6 harmful and is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths annually.
7 However, not everyone is equally exposed to poor air quality, nor are
8 all people equally responsible for causing it.
9 Researchers found that fine PM pollution is disproportionately caused
10 by the non-Hispanic white majority, but disproportionately inhaled by
11 Black and Hispanic minorities. A 2019 Report commissioned by the New
12 York Civil Liberties Union found 53.1% of Black and Latinx children live
13 within 500 feet of a major roadway. Comparatively just 4% of white
14 students live within 250 feet from major roadways.
15 Black and Latinx children are already at risk for high morbidity rates
16 and exposed to urban poverty; this combination of risks has catastrophic
17 effects for their academic functioning. Schools that have larger
18 percentages of low income students and students of color are exposed to
19 more respiratory hazards from air toxins. Pastor et al. (2006) conducted
20 a study on schools, air pollution, and environmental justice. The study
21 showed Black zip codes are less healthy places for all children because
22 they tend to be close to sources of pollution such as busy highways;
23 resulting in poorer air quality.
24 Decades of racial segregation, redlining, and the systemic placement
25 of pollution-emitting infrastructure in Black and Brown communities have
26 played a role in this disparity. The American Lung Association says that
27 one of the major reasons that respiratory illnesses are so prevalent in
28 communities of color is the proximity of those communities to producers
29 of hazardous air pollutants, such as major roadways.
30 § 3. The highway law is amended by adding a new section 67 to read as
31 follows:
32 § 67. Prohibited construction of schools within six hundred feet of a
33 major roadway. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms
34 shall have the following meanings:
35 (a) "asthma medication" shall mean any type of daily asthma treatment
36 medications, including but not limited to inhalers and nebulizers;
37 (b) "best available control technologies" (BACT) shall mean any tech-
38 nology reasonably available to the entity overseeing development of a
39 source of pollution that can be employed in order to minimize the amount
40 of the pollutants that are produced. Such technology may be employed in
41 the form of equipment or may be employed as an alteration to the proc-
42 esses of development;
43 (c) "entity" shall mean any company, organization, or agency inter-
44 ested in the construction of a school within six hundred feet of a major
45 highway; or any company, organization, or agency interested in the
46 construction of a major roadway within six hundred feet of a school
47 enrolling students in grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade;
48 (d) "environmental justice" shall mean the mitigation of identifiable
49 environmental hazards that have a disproportionate impact on a partic-
50 ular community, defined on the basis of race, income, national origin or
51 color, such that all people and communities are able to enjoy equal
52 protection from environmental hazards and equal enforcement of environ-
53 mental laws and regulations;
54 (e) "environmental justice community" shall mean a community, typical-
55 ly consisting of members of marginalized racial or ethnic groups and/or
56 low income households, that may bear or has historically borne a
S. 8877 3
1 disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences
2 resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the
3 execution of federal, state, local, and tribal programs and policies;
4 (f) "major roadway" shall mean a primary roadway of the state highway
5 system or state thruway system that provides limited access to such
6 roadway and has a traffic volume along such roadway of not less than
7 thirty thousand motor vehicles per day;
8 (g) "near a major roadway" shall be considered as any part of the
9 school facility which is located five hundred feet or less from a major
10 roadway;
11 (h) "pollutant" or "pollutants" shall refer to the six pollutants
12 regulated by the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 7401, including
13 ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur
14 dioxide, and nitrogen oxide, as well as other pollutants caused by major
15 roadways including but not limited to, particulate matter, carbon monox-
16 ide, oxides of nitrogen, and benzene emitted into the air;
17 (i) "school construction project" shall mean the acquisition of land,
18 renovation of an existing structure or structures or construction of
19 facilities to develop and construct a school building or buildings;
20 (j) "school facility" shall refer to buildings, grounds, playing
21 fields, and parking lots used in the facilitation of education for
22 school aged children in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade; and
23 (k) "school health office" shall refer to health services provided in
24 any school building serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth
25 grade, including but not limited to nurses, mental health specialists,
26 and behavioral specialists.
27 2. On and after the effective date of this section, the development
28 and construction of any new school construction project where any of the
29 lands or grounds of such project lie within a distance of six hundred
30 feet of a major roadway is prohibited.
31 3. (a) The department shall, when planning the construction of a major
32 roadway and considering the location for such roadway, identify each
33 school lying within the general corridor in which such roadway shall be
34 located and shall, to the greatest extent practicable, site such highway
35 at a distance of six hundred feet or more from each such school.
36 (b) If there is no available alternative for development of a major
37 roadway, such that the roadway or a portion thereof shall be located
38 within six hundred feet of an existing school facility or school
39 construction project, an environmental impact statement(EIS) shall be
40 created to fully analyze the current and historical environmental impact
41 of the roadway on the existing school facilities or school construction
42 projects, including an analysis of the environmental justice impli-
43 cations and identification of any implicated environmental justice
44 communities. An EIS shall include:
45 (i) an explanation on the societal, health, economic, and environ-
46 mental effects that the pupils and workers of the school facility will
47 experience, including an analysis of historical impacts;
48 (ii) a statement indicating that every available alternative to build-
49 ing the major roadway at least six hundred feet from the existing school
50 facilities or school construction projects was considered; and
51 (iii) BACTs intended to be used during the development of such major
52 roadway.
53 § 4. Paragraphs (i), (i) and (j) of subdivision 2 of section 8-0109 of
54 the environmental conservation law, paragraph (i) as added by chapter
55 182 of the laws of 1990, paragraph (i) as amended by chapter 238 of the
S. 8877 4
1 laws of 1991, and paragraph (j) as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of
2 1990, are amended and a new paragraph (k) is added to read as follows:
3 (i) effects of proposed action on solid waste management where appli-
4 cable and significant; [and]
5 [(i)] (j) effects of any proposed action on, and its consistency with,
6 the comprehensive management plan of the special groundwater protection
7 area program, as implemented by the commissioner pursuant to article
8 fifty-five of this chapter; [and]
9 (k) with respect to the construction of a major roadway, as such term
10 is defined in paragraph (f) of subdivision one of section sixty-seven of
11 the highway law, identify and set forth in the name of each school
12 located within six hundred feet of the proposed corridor in which such
13 roadway is proposed to be located; and
14 [(j)] (l) such other information consistent with the purposes of this
15 article as may be prescribed in guidelines issued by the commissioner
16 pursuant to section 8-0113 of this chapter.
17 § 5. 1. Within 90 days of the effective date of this section, the New
18 York State Department of Transportation or designee shall begin a state-
19 wide census of public school facilities currently enrolling students
20 that are within 600 feet of a major roadway. The New York State Depart-
21 ment of Transportation shall make this data public, along with a plan
22 for mitigating the impacts of roadway air pollution on each school.
23 2. On or after the effective date of this section, where a school
24 facility already exists within 600 feet of a major roadway, or an entity
25 seeks to build a major roadway within 600 feet of an existing school,
26 The New York State Department of Transportation shall implement the
27 following mitigation measures in consultation with the school district
28 or designee of the impacted school:
29 (a) The installation of a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
30 (HVAC) system to improve air quality within the school facilities.
31 Maintenance of the HVAC system shall be provided by the New York State
32 Department of Transportation or designee and upgrades to the system may
33 qualify as BACT. Maintenance shall be reported annually, in compliance
34 with subdivision 5 of this section;
35 (b) The installation of insulation within school facility walls to
36 mitigate noise pollution. Such installation shall take place during
37 periods of time when students will not be occupying the school's facili-
38 ties; and may
39 (c) Make a reasonable investment in pollutant absorbing plants for
40 both the inside and outside of the school facilities in order to improve
41 air quality, including but not limited to trees, plants of the palm
42 species, and ferns;
43 (d) Construct indoor playground options that cater to children with
44 severe asthma; or
45 (e) Capping of all soil owned by the school within 200 yards of the
46 school's facilities.
47 3. The New York State Department of Transportation shall hold a 45-day
48 period for public comments and suggestions, during which the entity may
49 receive other suggestions for mitigation from the public, even if an
50 environmental assessment leads to a finding of no significant impact.
51 Each of these suggestions shall be considered and analyzed. If the
52 suggestions are reasonable, they should be considered. Suggestions shall
53 be reasonable if they offer low-cost mitigation measures, or measures
54 cost equivalent to other mitigation strategies considered by the depart-
55 ment of transportation and will not cause further harm.
S. 8877 5
1 4. The entities overseeing the project development shall employ Best
2 Available Control Technologies (BACT) to minimize the amount of
3 pollution produced during construction. BACTs shall be used for
4 construction equipment and construction processes unless the BACT will
5 redefine the source of the new development, it will not be required per
6 this section. If investment in BACT equipment and processes will change
7 the aim or purpose of the facility, investment in such BACT equipment
8 and processes will not be mandated. If BACTs have been suggested by the
9 community during the 45-day comment period that appear reasonable but
10 are not selected by the developing entity to be implemented, justifica-
11 tion as to why the measure was not taken shall be provided to the
12 department of transportation.
13 5. (a) For a school located near a major roadway, data shall be annu-
14 ally collected on roadway pollutants by the school nurse and adminis-
15 tration and publish such data on the school's website.
16 (b) The compiled data shall include:
17 (i) the number of students during that school year who self-report
18 respiratory issues and/or asthma; and
19 (ii) identify which 2 mitigation measures from subdivision 3 of this
20 section the school has decided to implement, including a timeline for
21 implementation of such mitigation measures.
22 (c) After the first year of implementation, the data collection shall
23 include updates on maintenance and quality assurance for the mitigation
24 measures, including but not limited to whether the school facility
25 currently has a ventilation system, and if so, the data collection shall
26 also include:
27 (i) the name and model of ventilation system;
28 (ii) the date of installation;
29 (iii) the date of the last maintenance check; and
30 (iv) the dates of any upcoming maintenance checks or updates to the
31 system.
32 (d) Previous year data collections shall remain available to the
33 public on the school's website.
34 § 6. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
35 have become a law.
