Bill Text: NY A08867 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Enacts the "harmful algal bloom monitoring and prevention act"; establishes the harmful algal bloom monitoring and prevention fund.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-07 - print number 8867a [A08867 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08867-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8867

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 23, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Environmental Conservation

        AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law and the state finance
          law,  in  relation to enacting the "harmful algal bloom monitoring and
          prevention act"

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "harmful algal bloom monitoring and prevention act".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings and declarations. The legislature finds that
     4  the state of New York has a responsibility to maintain  the  health  and
     5  safety  of  its abundant clean water resources, upon which the residents
     6  of New York state, as well as its many visitors, rely on  for  drinking,
     7  agriculture,  tourism,  recreation,  and  their livelihoods. Because the
     8  waters of the state are under threat by  harmful  algal  blooms  (HABS),
     9  which  are  known  to be toxic and even fatal to humans, pets, and wild-
    10  life, the state has a responsibility to provide  coordinated,  statewide
    11  monitoring,  evaluation,  prevention  and mitigation, going beyond water
    12  body-specific data collection and isolated mitigation efforts. While the
    13  causes of HABS are complex and varied, with a coordinated and  standard-
    14  ized approach to monitoring and evaluation, patterns can more readily be
    15  identified  to  isolate  the  combination of relevant causes specific to
    16  different bodies of water across the state and determine the most effec-
    17  tive targeted interventions. To address  this  threat,  the  state  must
    18  develop  and  maintain  a  comprehensive  state  clearinghouse  to bring
    19  together existing and new available statewide cross-sectional and longi-
    20  tudinal data and information on HABS, potential and known  causes,  best
    21  practice  interventions, expertise, and funding resources. This data and
    22  subsequent report will enable the state to effectively  and  efficiently
    23  administer a central grant program supporting data-driven best practices
    24  in prevention and mitigation of harmful algal blooms.
    25    §  3.  The  environmental  conservation law is amended by adding a new
    26  section 15-0519 to read as follows:
    27  § 15-0519. Harmful algal bloom monitoring and prevention program.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14115-02-4
        A. 8867                             2

     1    1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following  terms
     2  shall have the following meanings:
     3    a.  "Harmful  algal  blooms"  shall  mean  growths  of blooms of algal
     4  species present in fresh or salt water that can produce toxins that  are
     5  harmful  to  public  health,  the economy, or recreational enjoyment, or
     6  that can impair water quality and the natural ecology therein.
     7    b. "Municipality" shall mean a county, city, town, or village.
     8    c. "Waters of the state" means  all  waterways,  or  bodies  of  water
     9  located within New York state or that part of any body of water which is
    10  adjacent  to  New York state over which the state has territorial juris-
    11  dictions.
    12    2. Comprehensive statewide data collection consolidation and  analysis
    13  report.  a.  The  commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to
    14  develop  a  program  to  further  the   comprehensive   and   consistent
    15  collection,  consolidation, analysis and meta-analysis of statewide data
    16  relating to the monitoring, evaluation, prevention,  and  mitigation  of
    17  harmful algal bloom outbreaks. The commissioner shall provide guidelines
    18  for  the submission of existing and historical harmful algal bloom moni-
    19  toring, evaluation, mitigation, and prevention data and strategies  from
    20  relevant institutions, organizations, and individuals with experience in
    21  peer-reviewed  research,  grantmaking,  or  other like activities in the
    22  area  of  water  quality  relating  to   the   monitoring,   evaluation,
    23  prevention,  and  mitigation of harmful algal bloom outbreaks, including
    24  but not limited to research programs, clinics, labs, and project manage-
    25  ment.
    26    b. The data collected, consolidated, and  analyzed  shall  consist  of
    27  elements including but not limited to longitudinal data on the incidence
    28  of  harmful  algal  blooms,  contextual factors thought to be associated
    29  with the incidence of harmful algal blooms such  as  water  temperature,
    30  turbidity,  flow  rate,  salinity,  nutrient  levels  for phosphorus and
    31  nitrogen, acidity (pH), dissolved oxygen levels, and results of  harmful
    32  algal bloom interventions in New York state.
    33    c.  The data collected, consolidated, and analyzed shall meet a stand-
    34  ard that is consistent with the practices and expertise of institutions,
    35  organizations, or individuals with experience in peer-reviewed research,
    36  grantmaking, or other like activities  in  the  area  of  water  quality
    37  relating  to  the  monitoring, evaluation, prevention, and mitigation of
    38  harmful algal bloom outbreaks, including but  not  limited  to  research
    39  programs, clinics, labs, and project management.
    40    d.  The  department shall annually publish and update a list of vetted
    41  best practice strategies for harmful algal bloom monitoring, evaluation,
    42  prevention, and mitigation, which shall be differentiated by  region  or
    43  water body with unique confirmed causal pathways for the related harmful
    44  algal bloom outbreak trends. Such strategies shall be supported by find-
    45  ings of the harmful algal bloom database created pursuant to subdivision
    46  three of this section, as well as external evaluation, including but not
    47  limited  to  strategies approved by the federal environmental protection
    48  agency, certification that such strategies meet or exceed  the  American
    49  National Standards for health effects of drinking water treatment chemi-
    50  cals  (NSF/ANSI/CAN-60), or testing for efficacy by center of excellence
    51  in healthy water solutions. The department shall publish such  list  and
    52  findings  supporting  the  strategies  on  such list on the department's
    53  website.
    54    e. No later than five years after the effective date of this  section,
    55  the  commissioner,  in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture
    56  and markets, shall prepare a report providing comprehensive analysis and
        A. 8867                             3

     1  meta-analysis of the data collected pursuant to this section,  including
     2  findings  and recommendations for establishing, maintaining, and improv-
     3  ing upon a coordinated system of monitoring, evaluation, prevention, and
     4  mitigation  of  harmful algal bloom outbreaks across New York state. The
     5  department shall:
     6    i. update the report at least once every five years after the  initial
     7  completion of the report;
     8    ii. make the report publicly available on the department's website;
     9    iii.  hold  at least six regional public comment hearings on the draft
    10  report and subsequent updates to the report, including three meetings in
    11  the upstate region and three meetings in the downstate region, and shall
    12  allow at least one hundred twenty days  for  the  submission  of  public
    13  comment;
    14    iv.  provide  meaningful  opportunities  for  public  comment from all
    15  segments of the populations that live near,  or  are  reliant  upon  for
    16  drinking,  recreation,  or  economic  activity,  the waters of the state
    17  included in the report, including but not  limited  to  institutions  or
    18  organizations  with  relevant  expertise,  citizen  scientists, and labs
    19  testing water quality in relation to harmful algal blooms;
    20    v. identify the magnitude of harmful algal blooms across the state and
    21  make recommendations on regulatory measures and  other  state  or  local
    22  actions to monitor, evaluate, prevent, or mitigate harmful algal blooms,
    23  including  existing  opportunities  for  coordination of federal, state,
    24  municipal, and non-governmental organizations;
    25    vi. identify best practices, technology, and available federal, state,
    26  municipal, or private funding for and existing  efforts  in  monitoring,
    27  evaluating, preventing, and mitigating harmful algal blooms; and
    28    vii.  identify  the  current  need in specific bodies of water for the
    29  establishment of programs or organizations to  further  the  monitoring,
    30  evaluation,  prevention, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms, and the
    31  costs therefor.
    32    3. Harmful algal bloom database. a. The commissioner  shall  establish
    33  and  maintain a website providing public access to a harmful algal bloom
    34  database which shall contain all relevant data, research, and  reporting
    35  required pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
    36    b.  Such  database,  and  analysis of the comprehensive statewide data
    37  therein, shall support the coordination of efforts across the  state  to
    38  monitor, evaluate, prevent, and mitigate harmful algal blooms, and shall
    39  include, but not be limited to:
    40    i.  the  geolocation  of harmful algal bloom outbreaks, and efforts to
    41  monitor, evaluate, prevent, and mitigate such outbreaks;
    42    ii. existing research, analysis, or reports relating to  outbreaks  of
    43  harmful  algal  blooms in the waters of the state and the causes of such
    44  outbreaks;
    45    iii. known or developing  strategies  and  best  practices  of  state,
    46  municipal,  and  non-governmental  organizations that monitor, evaluate,
    47  prevent, or mitigate  harmful  algal  bloom  outbreaks,  the  respective
    48  waters  of  the  state  in which such strategies and best practices have
    49  been conducted, and the geolocations of such waters;
    50    iv. available sources of financing for algal bloom monitoring,  evalu-
    51  ation,  prevention, and mitigation, including federal, state, municipal,
    52  and/or private funding, grants, or other monies; and
    53    v. information on institutions with expertise in peer-reviewed  grant-
    54  making  and  research  in the area of water quality and/or harmful algal
    55  blooms, including but not limited to the New York  sea  grant  at  Stony
    56  Brook  University,  the  New  York  water  resource institute at Cornell
        A. 8867                             4

     1  University, the center of excellence in  healthy  water  solutions,  the
     2  bureau of water supply protection, the New York city department of envi-
     3  ronmental  protection, the department of agriculture and markets, commu-
     4  nity-based  nonprofit  organizations  with  missions  that  specifically
     5  involve monitoring, evaluating, mitigating, or preventing harmful  algal
     6  blooms,  and  any  other  institution  or  organization  providing  data
     7  compiled pursuant to this section, and the contact information, relevant
     8  research programs, clinics, labs, staff, and published research of  such
     9  institutions.
    10    4.  Rules and regulations. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and
    11  regulations for the development of a program to support  and  coordinate
    12  efforts by federal, state, municipal, and non-governmental organizations
    13  to:
    14    a.  consistently  monitor and evaluate waters of the state that do not
    15  contain harmful algal blooms for the purposes of collecting water quali-
    16  ty data;
    17    b. limit and eliminate the causes of harmful algal bloom outbreaks;
    18    c. monitor and mitigate harmful algal bloom outbreaks;
    19    d. identify sources of financing  to  achieve  the  purposes  of  this
    20  section equitably; and
    21    e.  establish  and support new and existing programs and organizations
    22  relevant to the health of waters of the state that have not  implemented
    23  strategies  to  monitor,  evaluate,  prevent,  or mitigate harmful algal
    24  bloom outbreaks.
    25    5. Harmful algal bloom grant program. a. The commissioner, in  consul-
    26  tation with the commissioner of agriculture and markets, the commission-
    27  er  of  health, and the president of the empire state development corpo-
    28  ration, shall promulgate rules and regulations for the establishment  of
    29  a harmful algal bloom grant program which shall provide funding to muni-
    30  cipalities  and intermunicipal organizations for the deployment of harm-
    31  ful algal bloom monitoring, evaluation, prevention, and mitigation stra-
    32  tegies and best practices.
    33    b. The rules and regulations established pursuant to  paragraph  a  of
    34  this  subdivision  shall  require  that applicants for the harmful algal
    35  bloom grant program conduct and submit a study, as part of their  appli-
    36  cation, assessing the most appropriate mitigation and prevention strate-
    37  gies  for  relevant  waters of the state and best practices therefor, as
    38  informed by the harmful algal bloom database created pursuant to  subdi-
    39  vision three of this section.
    40    c. In determining which applicants shall be awarded grants pursuant to
    41  this  subdivision,  first  preference  shall  be given to applicants who
    42  propose strategies that incorporate principles of least harm and  great-
    43  est  safety to applicators, the public, and the environment, and utilize
    44  passive or non-chemical physical controls, including but not limited to:
    45    i. aeration;
    46    ii. hydrological manipulations;
    47    iii. mechanical mixing;
    48    iv. reservoir drawdown or desiccation;
    49    v. surface skimming;
    50    vi. ultrasound; or
    51    vii. other emerging technologies, as approved by the department.
    52    d. In determining which applicants shall be awarded grants pursuant to
    53  this subdivision, second preference shall be  given  to  applicants  who
    54  demonstrate  expertise with previous experience treating water bodies in
    55  the United States larger than one thousand acres,  with  proven  success
    56  using accepted strategies, including but not limited to strategies that:
        A. 8867                             5

     1    i. are aimed at reducing cyanotoxins in the water to less than harmful
     2  levels;
     3    ii. employ ready-to-use technology that is means tested, reproducible,
     4  and  generalizable,  without  limitation  of  size or shape of the water
     5  body;
     6    iii. employ technology which allows for  application  under  emergency
     7  situations and within less than ninety-six hours from approval;
     8    iv.  utilize  products that are modular and can be used as a preventa-
     9  tive measure;
    10    v. utilize products that are quick and easy to apply and are generally
    11  recognized as safe to the applicator, public, and environment;
    12    vi. utilize products that float on the surface of the water and do not
    13  sink immediately to the bottom of the water column;
    14    vii. utilize products that are  distributed  autonomously  across  the
    15  water body after a localized application;
    16    viii.  utilize  products  with  a  time-release mechanism that applies
    17  constant and prolonged oxidative stress of the  cyanobacteria  triggered
    18  by  the  programmed  cell  death  signaling  cascade, resulting in their
    19  collapse; and
    20    ix. utilize products manufactured in the United States.
    21    e. The commissioner shall make monies available from the harmful algal
    22  bloom monitoring and prevention fund, as established pursuant to section
    23  ninety-nine-rr of the state finance  law,  within  amounts  appropriated
    24  therefor,  for the purposes of awarding grants to municipalities, inter-
    25  municipal organizations, community-based nonprofits, or academic  insti-
    26  tutions  for harmful algal bloom monitoring, evaluation, prevention, and
    27  mitigation strategies pursuant to this section.
    28    § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-rr to
    29  read as follows:
    30    § 99-rr. Harmful algal bloom monitoring and prevention fund. 1.  There
    31  is  hereby established in the joint custody of the state comptroller and
    32  commissioner of taxation and finance a special fund to be known  as  the
    33  "harmful algal bloom monitoring and prevention fund".
    34    2. Such fund shall consist of all revenues received by the comptroller
    35  and all other moneys appropriated, credited, or transferred thereto from
    36  the  general  fund  or any other fund or source pursuant to law. Nothing
    37  contained in this section shall prevent the state from receiving grants,
    38  gifts, or bequests for the purposes of such  fund  and  depositing  them
    39  into such fund according to law.
    40    3.  Moneys  shall  be paid out of the fund on the audit and warrant of
    41  the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of
    42  environmental conservation or his or her designee.
    43    4. Moneys of the fund shall be available to the commissioner of  envi-
    44  ronmental  conservation  for  the  harmful  algal  bloom  monitoring and
    45  prevention program established pursuant to section 15-0519 of the  envi-
    46  ronmental conservation law.
    47    §  5.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    48  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
    49  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
    50  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
    51  on or before such effective date.