Bill Text: NY S04371 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Directs the department of environmental conservation to promulgate air quality standards for emissions of certain toxic air contaminants.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2022-12-09 - VETOED MEMO.96 [S04371 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S04371-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4371--B

                               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
          -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
          and  recommitted  to  said  committee  --  committee  discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee

        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 stationary air contamination source  that
    19  emits  or has the potential to emit ten tons per year or more of a toxic

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08074-03-1
        S. 4371--B                          2

     1  air contaminant or twenty-five tons per year or more of a combination of
     2  toxic contaminants.
     3    g.  "Minority  community" shall mean any census tract, census block or
     4  census block group that includes twenty-five  percent  or  more  of  any
     5  ethnic group.
     6    h.  "Toxic  air  contaminant"  shall mean benzene, formaldehyde, vinyl
     7  chloride, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans,
     8  trichloroethylene and mercury.
     9    2. Promulgation of standards. a. The department shall,  on  or  before
    10  July  first,  two  thousand  twenty-two,  promulgate ambient air quality
    11  standards for the following toxic air contaminants: benzene,  formaldeh-
    12  yde,  vinyl  chloride,  polychlorinated  dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated
    13  dibenzofurans, trichloroethylene and  mercury.  Such  standards  may  be
    14  hourly,  rolling  eight-hour  or  annual, or any combination thereof, as
    15  determined by the department in  consultation  with  the  department  of
    16  health.
    17    b.  The ambient air quality standards for toxic air contaminants shall
    18  be based on the best available scientific data concerning the  potential
    19  adverse  human  health  effects  of  each  contaminant and shall protect
    20  public health with an adequate margin of safety.
    21    c. The department shall  promulgate  such  rules  and  regulations  as
    22  deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
    23    3.  Monitoring  and  reporting.  a.  The  owner or operator of a major
    24  source located in or adjacent  to  an  environmental  justice  community
    25  shall,  no later than July first, two thousand twenty-two, submit to the
    26  department a plan to install, operate and maintain a fenceline  monitor-
    27  ing  system at such source to measure ambient air concentrations of each
    28  toxic air contaminant the source emits or has the potential to emit. The
    29  department shall review and approve  such  plan  within  sixty  days  of
    30  receipt.
    31    b. The owner or operator of a major source subject to this subdivision
    32  shall  install,  operate and maintain a fenceline monitor system meeting
    33  the requirements of this subdivision no later  than  thirty  days  after
    34  approval of the fenceline monitoring system plan by the department.
    35    c. The owner or operator of a major source subject to this subdivision
    36  shall submit to the department, on a quarterly basis, a report comparing
    37  the  fenceline monitoring results with the ambient air quality standards
    38  for each toxic air contaminant the source emits or has the potential  to
    39  emit.  The comparison of the fenceline monitoring results with the ambi-
    40  ent air quality standards shall not  make  adjustments  to  account  for
    41  actual or potential offsite upwind source of toxic air contaminants.
    42    d.  The  quarterly  reports required by this subdivision shall be made
    43  available to the public on the department's website.
    44    e. The department may grant an extension of the deadline in  paragraph
    45  (a)  of this subdivision upon a written showing by the owner or operator
    46  of a major source that compliance with the  monitoring  requirements  of
    47  this  subdivision  will cause economic hardship; provided, however, that
    48  the extension granted  by  the  department  shall  not  exceed  eighteen
    49  months.
    50    4.  Prohibitions.  a. No person shall emit or cause to be emitted from
    51  an air contamination source a toxic air  contaminant  in  an  amount  or
    52  level that causes or contributes to a violation of an ambient air quali-
    53  ty standard for that contaminant.
    54    b.  The  department  shall  not  issue  a permit, certificate or other
    55  approval under this article to the owner or operator of a  major  source
    56  that  emits  or has the potential to emit a toxic air contaminant unless
        S. 4371--B                          3

     1  the source owner or operator demonstrates that the source's emissions of
     2  such contaminant will not cause or contribute  to  a  violation  of  any
     3  applicable ambient air quality standard for toxic air contaminants.
     4    5. Violations and penalties. a. Any person who violates an ambient air
     5  quality for a toxic air contaminant or fails to perform any duty imposed
     6  by  any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this section shall be
     7  subject to the civil and administrative sanctions set forth  in  section
     8  71-2113 of this chapter.
     9    b.  Penalties.  A  civil  penalty  for violations of this section by a
    10  major source subject to the provisions  of  subdivision  three  of  this
    11  section  shall  be deposited into the community benefit fund established
    12  pursuant to section ninety-seven-ccc of the state finance law,  provided
    13  however, that deposit of the civil penalty into a community benefit fund
    14  shall not diminish the payable portion of such civil penalty.
    15    §  2.  The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-ccc
    16  to read as follows:
    17    § 97-ccc. Community benefit fund. 1. There is  hereby  established  in
    18  the  joint  custody of the comptroller, the commissioner of taxation and
    19  finance, and the commissioner of environmental  conservation  a  special
    20  fund to be known as the community benefit fund.
    21    2.  Such  fund shall consist of all moneys deposited pursuant to para-
    22  graph b of subdivision five of  section  19-0329  of  the  environmental
    23  conservation law.
    24    3.  The  moneys  in  the  fund shall be expended by the department for
    25  environmental conservation for the purpose of implementing one  or  more
    26  environmental  benefit projects that directly and verifiably benefit the
    27  adjacent environmental justice community.
    28    4. On or before the first day of February each year,  the  comptroller
    29  shall  certify to the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker
    30  of the assembly, the amount of money deposited by  source  in  the  fund
    31  during  the  preceding  calendar year, as well as all disbursements from
    32  the fund during the preceding calendar year.
    33    5. Moneys shall be payable from the fund on the audit and  warrant  of
    34  the  comptroller  on vouchers certified and approved by the commissioner
    35  of environmental conservation.
    36    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    37  have become a law.