STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4371 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 3, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BIAGGI -- 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 emis- sions of toxic air contaminants; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the community benefit fund The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a 2 new section 19-0329 to read as follows: 3 § 19-0329. Air quality standards for toxic air contaminants. 4 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms 5 shall have the following meanings: 6 a. "Adjacent to" shall mean within a radius of one mile. 7 b. "Economically distressed area" shall mean an area characterized by 8 a poverty rate of at least twenty percent; or an unemployment rate of at 9 least one hundred twenty-five percent of the statewide unemployment 10 rate. 11 c. "Ethnic group" shall mean those groups identified in the definition 12 of minority group member in subdivision eight of section three hundred 13 ten of the executive law. 14 d. "Environmental justice community" shall mean an economically 15 distressed or minority community and includes, but is not limited to, 16 environmental justice areas identified by the department. 17 e. "Fenceline" shall mean the property boundary of a major source. 18 f. "Major source" shall mean an air contamination source that emits or 19 has the potential to emit five pounds per year or more of a toxic air 20 contaminant. 21 g. "Minority community" shall mean any census tract, census block or 22 census block group that includes twenty-five percent or more of any 23 ethnic group. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08074-01-1S. 4371 2 1 h. "Toxic air contaminant" shall mean benzene, formaldehyde, vinyl 2 chloride, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, 3 trichloroethylene and mercury. 4 2. Promulgation of standards. a. The department shall, on or before 5 July first, two thousand twenty-two, promulgate ambient air quality 6 standards for the following toxic air contaminants: benzene, formaldeh- 7 yde, vinyl chloride, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated 8 dibenzofurans, trichloroethylene and mercury. Such standards may be 9 hourly, rolling eight-hour or annual, or any combination thereof, as 10 determined by the department in consultation with the department of 11 health. 12 b. The ambient air quality standards for toxic air contaminants shall 13 be based on the best available scientific data concerning the potential 14 adverse human health effects of each contaminant and shall protect 15 public health with an adequate margin of safety. 16 c. The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as 17 deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this section. 18 3. Monitoring and reporting. a. The owner or operator of a major 19 source located in or adjacent to an environmental justice community 20 shall, no later than July first, two thousand twenty-two, submit to the 21 department a plan to install, operate and maintain a fenceline monitor- 22 ing system at such source to measure ambient air concentrations of each 23 toxic air contaminant the source emits or has the potential to emit. The 24 department shall review and approve such plan within sixty days of 25 receipt. 26 b. The owner or operator of a major source subject to this subdivision 27 shall install, operate and maintain a fenceline monitor system meeting 28 the requirements of this subdivision no later than thirty days after 29 approval of the fenceline monitoring system plan by the department. 30 c. The owner or operator of a major source subject to this subdivision 31 shall submit to the department, on a quarterly basis, a report comparing 32 the fenceline monitoring results with the ambient air quality standards 33 for each toxic air contaminant the source emits or has the potential to 34 emit. The comparison of the fenceline monitoring results with the ambi- 35 ent air quality standards shall not make adjustments to account for 36 actual or potential offsite upwind source of toxic air contaminants. 37 d. The quarterly reports required by this subdivision shall be made 38 available to the public on the department's website. 39 4. Prohibitions. a. No person shall emit or cause to be emitted from 40 an air contamination source a toxic air contaminant in an amount or 41 level that causes or contributes to a violation of an ambient air quali- 42 ty standard for that contaminant. 43 b. The department shall not issue a permit, certificate or other 44 approval under this article to the owner or operator of a major source 45 that emits or has the potential to emit a toxic air contaminant unless 46 the source owner or operator demonstrates that the source's emissions of 47 such contaminant will not cause or contribute to a violation of any 48 applicable ambient air quality standard for toxic air contaminants. 49 5. Violations and penalties. a. Any person who violates an ambient air 50 quality for a toxic air contaminant or fails to perform any duty imposed 51 by any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this section shall be 52 subject to the civil and administrative sanctions set forth in section 53 71-2113 of this chapter. 54 b. Penalties. A civil penalty for violations of this section by a 55 major source subject to the provisions of subdivision three of this 56 section shall be deposited into the community benefit fund establishedS. 4371 3 1 pursuant to section ninety-seven-ccc of the state finance law, provided 2 however, that deposit of the civil penalty into a community benefit fund 3 shall not diminish the payable portion of such civil penalty. 4 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-ccc 5 to read as follows: 6 § 97-ccc. Community benefit fund. 1. There is hereby established in 7 the joint custody of the comptroller, the commissioner of taxation and 8 finance, and the commissioner of environmental conservation a special 9 fund to be known as the community benefit fund. 10 2. Such fund shall consist of all moneys deposited pursuant to para- 11 graph b of subdivision five of section 19-0329 of the environmental 12 conservation law. 13 3. The moneys in the fund shall be expended by the department for 14 environmental conservation for the purpose of implementing one or more 15 environmental benefit projects that directly and verifiably benefit the 16 adjacent environmental justice community. 17 4. On or before the first day of February each year, the comptroller 18 shall certify to the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker 19 of the assembly, the amount of money deposited by source in the fund 20 during the preceding calendar year, as well as all disbursements from 21 the fund during the preceding calendar year. 22 5. Moneys shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of 23 the comptroller on vouchers certified and approved by the commissioner 24 of environmental conservation. 25 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 26 have become a law.