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SB902 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                           902
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     January 7, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens.  AVELLA,  ADDABBO, HOYLMAN, MONTGOMERY, SANDERS --
          read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
          the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
        AN  ACT to require a health impacts assessment for horizontal gas drill-
          ing and high-volume hydraulic fracturing; and imposing a moratorium on
          such activities pending  adoption  and  implementation  of  the  final
          health  impacts  assessment;  and  providing  for  the  repeal of such
          provisions upon the expiration thereof
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds that the
     2  people  of  the state of New York should be properly informed of any and
     3  all potential public health impacts posed by horizontal gas drilling and
     4  high-volume hydraulic fracturing  and  their  related  activities.  Such
     5  analysis and information should serve as a tool for the people and their
     6  representatives to make informed decisions regarding actions to be taken
     7  with  respect to horizontal gas drilling and high-volume hydraulic frac-
     8  turing activities in the state.
     9    § 2. A School of Public Health within the State University of New York
    10  (hereinafter "the School of Public Health") shall conduct  a  comprehen-
    11  sive  health  impacts  assessment,  following a model recommended by the
    12  United States  Centers  For  Disease  Control  and  Prevention  and  the
    13  National Academy of Sciences, to examine potential public health impacts
    14  that  could be caused by horizontal gas drilling and high-volume hydrau-
    15  lic fracturing and related activities conducted in connection with  such
    16  drilling.
    17    §  3.  Prior  to  the  commencement  of research, the School of Public
    18  Health shall prepare a scoping document that will establish the scope of
    19  assessments to be made by the health  impacts  assessment.  The  scoping
    20  document  shall  include  the required analyses contained in this act as
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00181-01-5

        S. 902                              2
 
     1  well as any other potential analyses  to  be  conducted,  and  shall  be
     2  subject to public review, comment and revision.
     3    §  4.  Such health impacts assessment shall include, at a minimum, the
     4  following analyses:
     5    (a) Identification and assessment of potential localized and statewide
     6  health impacts from horizontal gas drilling  and  high-volume  hydraulic
     7  fracturing, extraction and related activities in the state;
     8    (b)  Identification  and assessment of potential health impacts deter-
     9  mining the magnitude, nature, extent and likelihood of potential  health
    10  impacts utilizing multiple methods and information derived from a combi-
    11  nation  of  public  health  tools including risk assessment, literature,
    12  population analysis and expert opinions from multiple sources;
    13    (c) Identification and assessment of potential health impacts as  they
    14  relate to environmental justice concerns;
    15    (d) Estimated costs of any health impacts from horizontal drilling and
    16  related  activities  to  the  state, local governments, health insurers,
    17  employers and the state's public and private health care  systems  as  a
    18  whole;
    19    (e) Recommendations for any mitigation of potential health impacts and
    20  the  methods  and evidence used to arrive at such recommendations, which
    21  may include potential recommendations against any or all drilling activ-
    22  ities; and
    23    (f) A long-term plan for monitoring, evaluation, follow-up  and  miti-
    24  gation of potential health impacts throughout the period that horizontal
    25  drilling  would take place in the state if such activity is to be recom-
    26  mended.
    27    § 5. A draft of the health impacts assessment directed  under  section
    28  two  of this act shall be released to the public for review and comment.
    29  The School of Public Health shall conduct a minimum of two public  hear-
    30  ings  regarding  the findings of the draft health impacts assessment and
    31  allow at least one hundred eighty days for the public to submit comments
    32  to the School of Public Health. Upon the closing of the  public  comment
    33  period, the School of Public Health shall categorize, review and respond
    34  to  all  public  comments.  If substantive changes to the health impacts
    35  assessment are made as a result of public comments, the School of Public
    36  Health shall issue a supplemental draft. Such supplemental  draft  shall
    37  similarly  be  subject  to public comment and review, in compliance with
    38  the parameters set out for the initial draft.
    39    § 6. Upon completion of response  to  public  comments  on  the  final
    40  draft, the School of Public Health shall submit the final health impacts
    41  assessment  to  the department of health. The department of health shall
    42  adopt the final health impacts assessment, which shall be  available  to
    43  the public and a copy delivered to each house of the legislature and the
    44  governor.
    45    §  7.  No  horizontal gas drilling or high-volume hydraulic fracturing
    46  shall be conducted in the state, and the state shall  issue  no  permits
    47  for  extraction  of  oil  or natural gas using the process of horizontal
    48  drilling or high-volume hydraulic fracturing, prior to the  adoption  of
    49  the  final  health  impacts  assessment  by the department of health, as
    50  required by section six of this act, and the state has in  all  material
    51  respects  implemented  the  recommendations  made  by  such final health
    52  impacts assessment.
    53    § 8. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
    54  deemed  repealed  on the one hundred twentieth day after the adoption by
    55  the department  of  health  of  the  final  health  impacts  assessment;
    56  provided that, the commissioner of the department of health shall notify

        S. 902                              3
 
     1  the  legislative bill drafting commission upon the adoption of the final
     2  health impacts assessment in order that such commission may maintain  an
     3  accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws
     4  of  the  state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions
     5  of section 44 of the legislative law and  section  70-b  of  the  public
     6  officers law.
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