Bill Text: NY A02546 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Makes various provisions regulating the location of environmental facilities to insure equity of treatment for minority communities or economically distressed areas; requires environmental impact statements to state whether the siting of a facility will cause or increase a disproportionate burden on such areas.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-05-02 - REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION [A02546 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A02546-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2546
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   January 19, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Environmental Conservation
       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.
   13    S  2.  Section 1-0303 of the environmental conservation law is amended
   14  by adding three new subdivisions 26, 27, and 28 to read as follows:
   15    26. "ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREA" SHALL MEAN AN AREA CHARACTERIZED BY
   16  A POVERTY RATE OF AT LEAST TWENTY PERCENT; OR AN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF AT
   17  LEAST ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE  PERCENT  OF  THE  STATEWIDE  UNEMPLOYMENT
   18  RATE.
   19    27.  "MINORITY  COMMUNITY"  SHALL MEAN ANY CENSUS TRACT OR SUBDIVISION
   20  THEREOF THAT INCLUDES TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OR MORE OF ANY ETHNIC GROUP.
   21    28. "ETHNIC GROUP" SHALL MEAN THOSE GROUPS  IDENTIFIED  IN  THE  DEFI-
   22  NITION OF MINORITY GROUP MEMBER PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF SECTION
   23  THREE HUNDRED TEN OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
   24    S 3. Subdivision 2 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation
   25  law is amended by adding a new paragraph (h-1) to read as follows:
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD07209-01-1
       A. 2546                             2
    1    (H-1)  WHETHER SUCH ACTION MAY CAUSE OR INCREASE A DISPROPORTIONATE OR
    2  INEQUITABLE OR BOTH DISPROPORTIONATE AND  INEQUITABLE  BURDEN  ON  THOSE
    3  MINORITY COMMUNITIES OR ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OR MINORITY COMMU-
    4  NITIES  AND  ECONOMICALLY  DISTRESSED AREAS THAT ARE DIRECTLY OR SIGNIF-
    5  ICANTLY INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ACTION;
    6    S  4.  The opening paragraph of subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the
    7  environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of
    8  1990, is amended to read as follows:
    9    As early as possible in the formulation of a proposal for  an  action,
   10  the responsible agency shall make an initial determination AS TO whether
   11  OR  NOT  an  environmental  impact  statement  need  be prepared for the
   12  action.  IN MAKING SUCH DETERMINATION, THE RESPONSIBLE AGENCY OR  APPLI-
   13  CANT  SHALL  CONSIDER  WHETHER  SUCH  ACTION  MAY  CAUSE  OR  INCREASE A
   14  DISPROPORTIONATE OR INEQUITABLE OR BOTH DISPROPORTIONATE AND INEQUITABLE
   15  BURDEN ON THOSE MINORITY COMMUNITIES OR ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OR
   16  MINORITY COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS THAT ARE DIRECTLY
   17  OR SIGNIFICANTLY INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ACTION. When an action is to
   18  be carried out or approved by two or more agencies,  such  determination
   19  shall  be  made  as  early as possible after the designation of the lead
   20  agency.
   21    S 5. The opening paragraph  of  paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  2  of
   22  section  8-0113  of  the  environmental  conservation  law is designated
   23  subparagraph (i) and a  new  subparagraph  (ii)  is  added  to  read  as
   24  follows:
   25    (II)  SUCH CRITERIA SHALL INCLUDE CONSIDERATION OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH
   26  A PROPOSED ACTION MAY REASONABLY BE EXPECTED  TO  CAUSE  OR  INCREASE  A
   27  DISPROPORTIONATE OR INEQUITABLE OR BOTH DISPROPORTIONATE AND INEQUITABLE
   28  BURDEN ON THOSE MINORITY COMMUNITIES OR ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OR
   29  MINORITY COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS THAT ARE DIRECTLY
   30  OR SIGNIFICANTLY INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ACTION;
   31    S  6.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
   32  have become a law; provided that section three of  this  act  shall  not
   33  apply  to  any person who has received an initial determination pursuant
   34  to subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation law
   35  prior to such date and provided further that section five  of  this  act
   36  shall  not apply to any determination of significance made prior to such
   37  date.