Bill Text: NY A01849 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the protection of public health from exposure to radon in natural gas; requires continuous monitoring of the level of radon in the natural gas delivered; relates to a compliance assurance system; requires public reporting.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - referred to health [A01849 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A01849-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1849 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 23, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, OTIS, PAULIN, DINOWITZ, GUNTHER, STECK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COLTON, COOK, GLICK, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law and the public service law, in relation to the protection of public health from exposure to radon in natural gas The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that 2 radon and its radioactive progeny are a major cause of lung cancer, and 3 that there is no safe exposure level for public health protection. New 4 York State has benefited from low levels of those elements in natural 5 gas delivered to consumers, due to the low levels of radioactivity 6 occurring in the gas from the sources upon which New York has primarily 7 relied. However, there is now concern that natural gas may be coming to 8 New York State from sources with high levels of radioactivity from those 9 elements. It is the intent of this act to prevent levels of radon and 10 its radioactive progeny from exceeding current levels in gas distributed 11 to residential and other consumers, mindful of internationally-recog- 12 nized mitigation action levels. It is the intent of this act to only 13 regulate the distribution of gas within the state. 14 § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new article 35-B to 15 read as follows: 16 ARTICLE 35-B 17 RADON 18 Section 3560. Definitions. 19 3561. Protection from radon. 20 3562. Gas corporation requirements. 21 § 3560. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context 22 clearly requires otherwise: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06492-01-3A. 1849 2 1 1. "Bq/m{3}" means Becquerel per cubic meter, where 1 Bq corresponds 2 to one radioactive disintegration per second. 100 Bq/m{3} is equal to 3 2.7 pCi/l. 4 2. "Curie" is a unit of radioactivity. One Curie is equal to 3.7 x 5 10{10} radioactive decays per second. One pico Curie (pCi) is 1x10{-12} 6 Curies. 7 3. "Delivery point" means, as determined by the commissioner under 8 this article, a point in a gas corporation's distribution system. 9 4. "Gas" and "gas corporation" shall have the same meanings as they 10 are defined and used in the public service law. 11 § 3561. Protection from radon. 1. It is the responsibility of the 12 commissioner to minimize, through the application of the ALARA (as low 13 as reasonably achievable) principle, the risk to members of the public 14 posed by exposure to radon and its radioactive progeny. To achieve this 15 goal, the commissioner may call for the assistance of the department of 16 environmental conservation and the public service commission as neces- 17 sary to support permitting, monitoring, compliance auditing and enforce- 18 ment action as directed by the commissioner. 19 2. The commissioner shall establish a system for determining, and 20 (where the commissioner deems it appropriate) designating, delivery 21 points where gas from a pipeline is transferred to a gas corporation's 22 distribution system that are appropriate and practicable for monitoring 23 levels of radon and its radioactive progeny to achieve the purposes of 24 this article. 25 3. In order to achieve the goals established in this section, every 26 gas corporation selling or otherwise providing gas to customers in New 27 York shall, consistent with this article, establish and maintain a 28 program to continuously monitor the level of radon and its radioactive 29 progeny, measured as gross alpha activity, in the natural gas delivered 30 to the gas corporation at each delivery point, reporting such levels 31 through a publicly-accessible website on a real time basis. The program 32 shall include provision for generating alerts to the gas corporation 33 relating to the monitored levels and appropriate responses. 34 4. The commissioner shall establish a compliance assurance system for 35 the monitoring systems required pursuant to subdivision two of this 36 section, including a periodic physical inspection and measurement 37 program to be implemented by the department at the various delivery 38 points. This program shall be designed so that each delivery point is 39 inspected and sampled at least twice per year by the department. 40 5. (a) The commissioner shall make regulations and establish a program 41 to implement and enforce this article. The commissioner shall comply 42 with this paragraph within one year after this article shall become a 43 law. 44 (b) As part of this enforcement program, whenever the commissioner 45 determines that a gas corporation is not in compliance with the require- 46 ments of this article, he or she shall issue an order requiring such gas 47 corporation to comply, including the development and implementation of a 48 plan of correction. Where necessary, the commissioner may order the flow 49 of natural gas at any delivery point that is not in compliance with the 50 requirements of this article be shut off until a gas corporation brings 51 that delivery point into compliance with this article. The commissioner 52 may impose a civil fine of up to twenty-five thousand dollars per day 53 per delivery point on the gas corporation until the radon and its radio- 54 active progeny levels at each delivery point that is out of compliance 55 have been brought into compliance with this article. The commissioner 56 may commence a civil action or proceeding whenever a gas corporationA. 1849 3 1 fails to comply with an order issued by the commissioner under this 2 article. 3 6. Any person may commence a civil action or proceeding against: 4 (a) any gas corporation that is not in compliance with the require- 5 ments of this article, and 6 (b) the commissioner if he or she fails to enforce the requirements of 7 this article, provided that the commissioner has received notice of the 8 intent to commence such civil action or proceeding and has failed within 9 thirty days of receiving such notice to take enforcement action against 10 a gas corporation that is not in compliance with this article. The court 11 in such action or proceeding may issue an injunction or other order 12 compelling compliance and shall enter an order requiring a gas corpo- 13 ration or the commissioner, as the case may be, to pay the reasonable 14 legal fees and expenses incurred by the individual or organization that 15 commenced the civil action or proceeding. 16 § 3562. Gas corporation requirements. 1. Each gas corporation shall 17 establish and implement a radon mitigation response program to ensure 18 that the level of radon and its radioactive progeny at any delivery 19 point shall not exceed: 100 Bq/m{3} (equivalent to 2.7 pCi/l) averaged 20 over any one hour period, 75 Bq/m{3} (equivalent to 2.02 pCi/l) averaged 21 over any 24 hour period, 50 Bq/m{3} (equivalent to 1.37 pCi/l) averaged 22 over any seven day period. 23 2. Gas corporations are prohibited from building new or additional 24 storage facilities to mitigate radon levels. 25 3. It is unlawful for any gas corporation to pass harmful effects of 26 mitigation to other regions in the state. 27 4. No gas corporation shall distribute gas unless it is reasonably 28 certain that the level of radon and its radioactive progeny in the gas 29 when it is received by residential or other consumers will be at or 30 below the level of 100 Bq/m{3} (equivalent to 2.7 pCi/l) averaged over 31 any one hour period. 32 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 18-a of the public service law, as 33 amended by section 2 of part NN of chapter 59 of the laws of 2009, is 34 amended to read as follows: 35 1. All costs and expenses of the department and commission shall be 36 paid pursuant to appropriation on the certification of the chairman of 37 the department and upon the audit and warrant of the comptroller. The 38 costs and expenses of the department and commission shall include an 39 amount to be suballocated to the department of health for the costs and 40 expenses of administering article thirty-five-B of the public health 41 law. The state treasury shall be reimbursed [therefore] therefor by 42 payments to be made thereto from all moneys collected pursuant to this 43 chapter. The total of such costs and expenses shall be borne by the 44 public utility companies (including for the purposes of this section 45 municipalities other than municipalities as defined in section eighty- 46 nine-l of this chapter), corporations (including the power authority of 47 the state of New York), and persons subject to the commission's regu- 48 lation, to be assessed in the manner provided in subdivisions two, three 49 and four of this section and section two hundred seventeen of this chap- 50 ter. 51 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 18-a of the public 52 service law, as amended by section 2 of part A of chapter 173 of the 53 laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 54 (a) The chairman of the department shall estimate prior to the start 55 of each state fiscal year the total costs and expenses, including the 56 compensation and expenses of the commission and the department, theirA. 1849 4 1 officers, agents and employees, and including the cost of retirement 2 contributions, social security, health and dental insurance, survivor's 3 benefits, workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and other fringe 4 benefits required to be paid by the state for the personnel of the 5 commission and the department, and including all other items of mainte- 6 nance and operation expenses, and all other direct and indirect costs. 7 The estimate by the chairman of the department relating to the costs and 8 expenses of the department of health of administering article thirty- 9 five-B of the public health law shall be made in agreement with the 10 commissioner of health and the director of the budget. Based on such 11 estimates, the chairman shall determine the amount to be paid by each 12 assessed public utility company and the Long Island power authority and 13 a bill shall be rendered to each such public utility company and author- 14 ity. 15 § 5. If any provision of this act, or any application of any provision 16 of this act, is held to be invalid, or to violate or be inconsistent 17 with any federal law or regulation, that shall not affect the validity 18 or effectiveness of any other provision of this act, or of any other 19 application of any provision of this act, which can be given effect 20 without that provision or application; and to that end, the provisions 21 and applications of this act are severable. 22 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 23 section two of this act shall take effect sixty days after it shall 24 become a law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of health, the 25 chair of the public service commission, the comptroller, and the direc- 26 tor of the budget are authorized to make regulations and take any other 27 measures necessary to implement this act on its effective date.
