Bill Text: NY S03392 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relates to the filling of the Jamaica Bay borrow pits.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-08-11 - SIGNED CHAP.288 [S03392 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-S03392-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relates to the filling of the Jamaica Bay borrow pits.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-08-11 - SIGNED CHAP.288 [S03392 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-S03392-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3392
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
February 1, 2013
___________
Introduced by Sen. ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
filling of borrow pits in Jamaica Bay
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. Due to the increase in vessel size in
2 recent years, New York State waterways such as channels, berthing areas
3 and harbors are being excavated in a process known as dredging to main-
4 tain sufficient depth for safe and efficient vessel operation.
5 Dredged material is naturally accumulated sediment, much of the
6 dredged material does contain some contaminants at varying concen-
7 trations.
8 Jamaica Bay was dredged to supply soil for a number of construction
9 projects. This process created borrow pits in the bay. These borrow
10 pits have been identified as an attractive alternative for the disposing
11 of dredge material.
12 S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 15-0505 of the environmental conserva-
13 tion law, as amended by chapter 233 of the laws of 1979, is amended and
14 a new subdivision 3-a is added to read as follows:
15 1. No person, local public corporation or interstate authority shall
16 excavate or place fill below the mean high water level in any of the
17 navigable waters of the state, or in marshes, estuaries, tidal marshes
18 and wetlands that are adjacent to and contiguous at any point to any of
19 the navigable waters of the state and that are inundated at mean high
20 water level or tide, without a permit issued pursuant to subdivision 3
21 of this section. For the purposes of this section, fill shall include,
22 but shall not be limited to, earth, clay, silt, sand, gravel, stone,
23 rock, shale, concrete (whole or fragmentary), ashes, cinders, slag,
24 metal, DREDGED MATERIAL or any other similar material whether or not
25 enclosed or contained by (1) crib work of wood, timber, logs, concrete
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00026-01-3
S. 3392 2
1 or metal, (2) bulkheads and cofferdams of timber sheeting, bracing and
2 piling or steel sheet piling or steel H piling, separated or in combina-
3 tion. Nothing contained in this section is intended to be, nor shall be
4 construed to limit, impair or affect the memorandum of understanding
5 which any state department enters into with the Department of Environ-
6 mental Conservation or the general powers and duties of the Department
7 of Transportation relating to canals or the general powers and duties of
8 the Department of Environmental Conservation relating to flood control.
9 3-A. IN FILLING THE JAMAICA BAY BORROW PITS THE DEPARTMENT MAY ONLY
10 GRANT A PERMIT IF THE PROPOSED SEDIMENTS AND FILL MATERIALS MEET THE
11 FOLLOWING CRITERIA:
12 (1) COMPLY WITH FEDERAL UNRESTRICTED OCEAN DUMPING CRITERIA;
13 (2) HAVE BEEN TESTED AND TEST RESULTS INDICATE NO UNACCEPTABLE TOXICI-
14 TY OR BIOACCUMULATION IN BIOLOGICAL TEST SYSTEMS;
15 (3) HAVE NO POTENTIAL SHORT-TERM (ACUTE) IMPACTS OR LONG-TERM (CHRON-
16 IC) IMPACTS; AND
17 (4) REQUIRE NO SPECIAL PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES ARE REQUIRED DURING
18 DISPOSAL.
19 S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
