Amd §§8-0105, 8-0109, 8-0113 & 70-0107, add §70-0118, En Con L
Makes various provisions regulating equitable siting of environmental facilities; requires environmental impact statements to state whether the siting of a facility will cause or increase a disproportionate burden on disadvantaged communities.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2103--D
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW, LAVINE, THIELE, ANDERSON, REYES, SIMON,
L. ROSENTHAL, GOTTFRIED, GLICK, SEPTIMO, NIOU, ZINERMAN, TAYLOR,
RAMOS, HUNTER, STIRPE, BURGOS, HEVESI, SOLAGES, COLTON, JACOBSON,
QUART, MAMDANI, EPSTEIN, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, LUPARDO, DICKENS, WALKER,
SAYEGH, MITAYNES, BURDICK, ABINANTI, FORREST, JEAN-PIERRE, FERNANDEZ,
AUBRY, DAVILA, GIBBS, LUNSFORD, CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Environmental Conservation -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Environmental
Conservation in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amend-
ments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
-- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
location of environmental facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares that
2 each community in the state should equitably share the responsibilities,
3 burdens, and benefits of managing and solving the state's environmental
4 problems and the facilities necessary to accomplish such ends. The
5 legislature further declares that there has been an inequitable pattern
6 in the siting of environmental facilities in minority and economically
7 distressed communities, which have borne a disproportionate and inequi-
8 table share of such facilities. Consistent with its commitment to
9 providing equal justice for its citizens, the state has a responsibility
10 to establish requirements for the consideration of such decisions by
11 state and local governments in order to insure equality of treatment for
12 all communities.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00519-12-2
A. 2103--D 2
1 § 2. Section 8-0105 of the environmental conservation law is amended
2 by adding a new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
3 9. "Disadvantaged community" shall have the same meaning as subdivi-
4 sion five of section 75-0101 of this chapter.
5 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation
6 law, as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of 1990, paragraph (h) as
7 amended by chapter 519 of the laws of 1992, paragraph (i) as added by
8 chapter 182 of the laws of 1990, and paragraph (i) as amended by chapter
9 238 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read as follows:
10 2. All agencies (or applicant as hereinafter provided) shall prepare,
11 or cause to be prepared by contract or otherwise an environmental impact
12 statement on any action they propose or approve which may have a signif-
13 icant effect on the environment. Such a statement shall include a
14 detailed statement setting forth the following:
15 (a) a description of the proposed action and its environmental
16 setting;
17 (b) the environmental impact of the proposed action including short-
18 term and long-term effects;
19 (c) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should
20 the proposal be implemented;
21 (d) alternatives to the proposed action;
22 (e) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which
23 would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented;
24 (f) mitigation measures proposed to minimize the environmental impact;
25 (g) the growth-inducing aspects of the proposed action, where applica-
26 ble and significant;
27 (h) effects of the proposed action on the use and conservation of
28 energy resources, where applicable and significant, provided that in the
29 case of an electric generating facility, the statement shall include a
30 demonstration that the facility will satisfy electric generating capaci-
31 ty needs or other electric systems needs in a manner reasonably consist-
32 ent with the most recent state energy plan;
33 (i) effects of proposed action on solid waste management where appli-
34 cable and significant; [and
35 (i)] (j) effects of any proposed action on, and its consistency with,
36 the comprehensive management plan of the special groundwater protection
37 area program, as implemented by the commissioner pursuant to article
38 fifty-five of this chapter; [and
39 (j)] (k) such other information consistent with the purposes of this
40 article as may be prescribed in guidelines issued by the commissioner
41 pursuant to section 8-0113 of this chapter[.]; and
42 (l) effects of any proposed action on disadvantaged communities,
43 including whether the action may cause or increase a disproportionate or
44 inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable pollution burden on
45 a disadvantaged community.
46 Such a statement shall also include copies or a summary of the
47 substantive comments received by the agency pursuant to subdivision four
48 of this section, and the agency response to such comments. The purpose
49 of an environmental impact statement is to provide detailed information
50 about the effect which a proposed action is likely to have on the envi-
51 ronment, to list ways in which any adverse effects of such an action
52 might be minimized, and to suggest alternatives to such an action so as
53 to form the basis for a decision whether or not to undertake or approve
54 such action. Such statement should be clearly written in a concise
55 manner capable of being read and understood by the public, should deal
56 with the specific significant environmental impacts which can be reason-
A. 2103--D 3
1 ably anticipated and should not contain more detail than is appropriate
2 considering the nature and magnitude of the proposed action and the
3 significance of its potential impacts.
4 § 4. The opening paragraph of subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the
5 environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of
6 1990, is amended to read as follows:
7 As early as possible in the formulation of a proposal for an action,
8 the responsible agency shall make an initial determination as to whether
9 or not an environmental impact statement need be prepared for the
10 action. In making such determination for any proposed action that is
11 not a minor project as defined in subdivision three of section 70-0105
12 of this chapter the responsible agency shall consider whether such
13 action may cause or increase a disproportionate or inequitable or both
14 disproportionate and inequitable burden on a disadvantaged community
15 that is directly or significantly indirectly affected by such action.
16 When an action is to be carried out or approved by two or more agencies,
17 such determination shall be made as early as possible after the desig-
18 nation of the lead agency.
19 § 5. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section
20 8-0113 of the environmental conservation law, as added by chapter 612 of
21 the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows:
22 (i) Actions or classes of actions that are likely to require prepara-
23 tion of environmental impact statements, including actions which may
24 cause or increase, either directly or indirectly, a disproportionate or
25 inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable pollution burden on
26 a disadvantaged community;
27 § 6. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 8-0113 of the environ-
28 mental conservation law, as amended by chapter 252 of the laws of 1977,
29 is amended to read as follows:
30 (b) (i) Criteria for determining whether or not a proposed action may
31 have a significant effect on the environment, taking into account social
32 and economic factors to be considered in determining the significance of
33 an environmental effect;
34 (ii) Such criteria shall include consideration of the extent to which
35 a proposed action may reasonably be expected to cause or increase a
36 disproportionate or inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable
37 burden on disadvantaged communities;
38 § 7. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new
39 section 70-0118 to read as follows:
40 § 70-0118. Disproportionate impacts on disadvantaged communities.
41 1. For the purposes of this section:
42 (a) "Disadvantaged communities" shall have the same meaning as subdi-
43 vision five of section 75-0101 of this chapter.
44 (b) "Existing burden report" shall mean the report required by this
45 section describing the existing pollution burden in a disadvantaged
46 community.
47 2. When issuing a permit for any project that is not a minor project
48 as defined in subdivision three of section 70-0105 of this article and
49 that may directly or indirectly affect a disadvantaged community, the
50 department shall prepare or cause to be prepared an existing burden
51 report and shall consider such report in determining whether such
52 project may cause or contribute to, either directly or indirectly, a
53 disproportionate or inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable
54 pollution burden on a disadvantaged community.
55 3. No permit shall be approved or renewed by the department if it may
56 cause or contribute to, either directly or indirectly, a dispropor-
A. 2103--D 4
1 tionate or inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable
2 pollution burden on a disadvantaged community.
3 § 8. Subdivision 1 of section 70-0107 of the environmental conserva-
4 tion law, as added by chapter 723 of the laws of 1977, is amended to
5 read as follows:
6 1. The department, after public hearing, shall adopt rules and regu-
7 lations to assure the efficient and expeditious administration of this
8 article. Such rules and regulations shall include but not be limited to
9 provisions regarding notice, review, public participation and public
10 hearings. Such rules and regulations shall also include the form and
11 content of an existing burden report which shall, at a minimum, include
12 baseline monitoring data collected in the affected disadvantaged commu-
13 nity within two years of the application for a permit or approval and
14 shall identify: (a) each existing pollution source or categories of
15 sources affecting a disadvantaged community and the potential routes of
16 human exposure to pollution from that source or categories of sources;
17 (b) ambient concentration of regulated air pollutants and regulated or
18 unregulated toxic air pollutants; (c) traffic volume; (d) noise and
19 odor levels; (e) exposure or potential exposure to lead paint; (f) expo-
20 sure or potential exposure to contaminated drinking water supplies; (g)
21 proximity to solid or hazardous waste management facilities, wastewater
22 treatment plants, hazardous waste sites, incinerators, recycling
23 facilities, waste transfer facilities and petroleum or chemical manufac-
24 turing, storage, treatment or disposal facilities; (h) the potential or
25 documented cumulative human health effects of the foregoing pollution
26 sources; (i) the potential or projected contribution of the proposed
27 action to existing pollution burdens in the community and potential
28 health effects of such contribution, taking into account existing
29 pollution burdens.
30 § 9. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
31 it shall have become a law; provided that section three of this act
32 shall not apply to any person who has received an initial determination
33 pursuant to subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conser-
34 vation law prior to such date and provided further that section five of
35 this act shall not apply to any determination of significance made prior
36 to such date.
