Bill Text: NY A09366 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the completion and funding of environmental restoration projects.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-06 - referred to environmental conservation [A09366 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09366-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9366

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 6, 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, in relation to envi-
          ronmental  restoration  projects;  and to repeal certain provisions of
          such law relating thereto

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

     1    Section  1.  Section  56-0501 of the environmental conservation law is
     2  amended by adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
     3    3. Beginning in state fiscal year two thousand twenty-four--two  thou-
     4  sand twenty-five, environmental restoration projects may be funded with-
     5  in available appropriations.
     6    §  2.  Subdivision 1 of section 56-0502 of the environmental conserva-
     7  tion law is REPEALED.
     8    § 3. Subdivisions 1-a and 5 of section 56-0502  of  the  environmental
     9  conservation  law, subdivision 1-a as added and subdivision 5 as amended
    10  by section 2 of part D of chapter 577 of the laws of 2004,  are  amended
    11  and a new subdivision 1 is added to read as follows:
    12    1.  "Contaminant"  shall  mean  hazardous  waste as defined in section
    13  27-1301 of this chapter, petroleum as defined  in  section  one  hundred
    14  seventy-two  of the navigation law, and emerging contaminants as defined
    15  in section eleven hundred twelve of the public health law.
    16    1-a. "Contamination" or "contaminated" shall [have the same meaning as
    17  provided in section 27-1405 of this chapter]  mean  the  presence  of  a
    18  contaminant  in  any environmental media, including soil, surface water,
    19  groundwater, air, or indoor air.
    20    5. "Municipality", for purposes of this title,  shall  have  the  same
    21  meaning  as  provided  in subdivision fifteen of section 56-0101 of this
    22  article, except that such term shall not refer to  a  municipality  that
    23  [generated,  transported,  or  disposed of, arranged for, or that caused
    24  the generation, transportation, or disposal of contamination located  at
    25  real  property  proposed to be investigated or to be remediated under an
    26  environmental restoration project. For purposes of this title, the  term
    27  municipality includes a municipality acting in partnership with a commu-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14201-01-4
        A. 9366                             2

     1  nity  based organization], through deliberate action or inaction, inten-
     2  tionally or recklessly caused or contributed to  contamination,  outside
     3  of  its  performance  of  governmental functions, which threatens public
     4  health  or the environment, at real property to be investigated or reme-
     5  diated under an environmental restoration project.
     6    § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 56-0503 of the environ-
     7  mental conservation law, as amended by section 38 of part BB of  chapter
     8  56 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
     9    (c)  A  provision  that the municipality shall assist in identifying a
    10  responsible party by searching local  records,  including  property  tax
    11  rolls,  or  document  reviews,  and  if, in accordance with the required
    12  departmental approval of any settlement with a  responsible  party,  any
    13  responsible party payments become available to the municipality, before,
    14  during  or after the completion of an environmental restoration project,
    15  which were not included when the state share was calculated pursuant  to
    16  this  section,  [the  state assistance share shall be recalculated, and]
    17  the value of such settlement shall be used by the municipality  to  fund
    18  its  municipal share, and the state assistance share shall not be recal-
    19  culated, to the extent that the total of all such settlement amounts  is
    20  equal  to  or less than the municipal share.  To the extent the total of
    21  all such settlement amounts exceeds the  municipal  share,  the  munici-
    22  pality  shall  pay  such  exceedance  to the state, for deposit into the
    23  environmental restoration project account of the hazardous waste remedi-
    24  al fund established under section ninety-seven-b of  the  state  finance
    25  law[,  the  difference between the original state assistance payment and
    26  the recalculated state share. Recalculation of the state share shall  be
    27  done  each  time  a  payment from a responsible party is received by the
    28  municipality];
    29    § 5. Paragraphs (a), (d), and (e) of subdivision 1 of section  56-0505
    30  of the environmental conservation law, as amended by section 5 of part D
    31  of chapter 1 of the laws of 2003, are amended and two new paragraphs (f)
    32  and (g) are added to read as follows:
    33    (a)  the  benefit to the environment and public health realized by the
    34  expeditious remediation of the property proposed to be subject  to  such
    35  project;
    36    (d) real property in a designated brownfield opportunity area pursuant
    37  to  section  nine hundred seventy-r of the general municipal law or real
    38  property in a disadvantaged community pursuant to  subdivision  five  of
    39  section 75-0101 of this chapter; [and]
    40    (e)  the opportunity for other funding sources to be available for the
    41  investigation or remediation of such property, including, but not limit-
    42  ed to, enforcement actions against responsible parties (other  than  the
    43  municipality to which state assistance was provided under this title; or
    44  a  successor in title, lender, or lessee who was not otherwise a respon-
    45  sible party prior to such municipality taking title  to  the  property),
    46  state  assistance payments pursuant to title thirteen of article twenty-
    47  seven of this chapter, and the existence of private parties  willing  to
    48  remediate  such property using private funding sources. Highest priority
    49  shall be granted to projects for which other such  funding  sources  are
    50  not available[.], excluding state or federal funds for the investigation
    51  or remediation project received or to be received by the municipality;
    52    (f)  for  drinking  water  contamination  sites  as defined in section
    53  27-1201 of this chapter, any requirements made by  the  commissioner  of
    54  health  pursuant  to  section 27-1205 of this chapter, for a municipally
    55  owned public water system to take action to reduce exposure to an emerg-
    56  ing contaminant or contaminants; and
        A. 9366                             3

     1    (g)  any such other criteria deemed appropriate by the department.
     2    §  6.  Subdivision 2 of section 56-0505 of the environmental conserva-
     3  tion law is REPEALED.
     4    § 7. Subdivisions 3, 4, and 5 of section 56-0505 of the  environmental
     5  conservation law are renumbered subdivisions 2, 3, and 4 and subdivision
     6  2,  as  amended  by section 5 of part D of chapter 1 of the laws of 2003
     7  and as renumbered by this section, is amended to read as follows:
     8    2. The remediation objective of an environmental  restoration  remedi-
     9  ation  project  shall  meet  the  same standard for protection of public
    10  health and the environment that applies to remedial  actions  undertaken
    11  pursuant to [section] sections 27-1313 and 27-1205 of this chapter.
    12    §  8.  Subdivision 3 of section 56-0509 of the environmental conserva-
    13  tion law, as amended by section 4 of part D of chapter 577 of  the  laws
    14  of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
    15    3.  The  state  shall  indemnify and save harmless any municipality[,]
    16  that completes  an  environmental  restoration  remediation  project  in
    17  compliance  with the terms and conditions of a state assistance contract
    18  or written agreement pursuant to subdivision three of section 56-0503 of
    19  this title providing such assistance and any successor in title, lessee,
    20  or lender [identified in  paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  one  of  this
    21  section  in  the  amount of any judgment or settlement, obtained against
    22  such municipality, successor in title, lessee, or lender  in  any  court
    23  for  any  common  law cause of action arising out of the presence of any
    24  contamination in or on property at anytime before the effective date  of
    25  a contract entered into pursuant to this title] for judgments or settle-
    26  ments obtained against such municipality, successor in title, lessee, or
    27  lender  in  any  court for any common law cause of action arising out of
    28  municipal actions related to the  implementation  of  the  environmental
    29  restoration  remediation project. Such municipality, successor in title,
    30  lessee, or lender shall be entitled to representation  by  the  attorney
    31  general, unless the attorney general determines, or a court of competent
    32  jurisdiction  determines,  that  such  representation would constitute a
    33  conflict of interest, in which case the attorney general  shall  certify
    34  to the comptroller that such party is entitled to private counsel of its
    35  choice,  and reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses shall be reimbursed
    36  by the state. Any settlement of such an action shall be subject  to  the
    37  approval  of the attorney general as to form and amount, and this subdi-
    38  vision shall not apply to any settlement of any such  action  which  has
    39  not received such approval.
    40    § 9. Notwithstanding subdivisions a, b, and c of section 32 of chapter
    41  413  of  the  laws of 1996,   a memorandum of understanding shall not be
    42  required to make available twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) from the
    43  Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act of 1996  for state assistance payments to
    44  municipalities for environmental remediation in accordance with title  5
    45  of article 56 of the environmental conservation law.
    46    § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.