Bill Text: NY S06689 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Makes various provisions regulating the location of environmental facilities to insure equity of treatment for minority communities or economically distressed areas; requires environmental impact statements to state whether the siting of a facility will cause or increase a disproportionate burden on such areas.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-09 - REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION [S06689 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S06689-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         6689
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                     March 9, 2012
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by Sens. STEWART-COUSINS, GIANARIS, PARKER -- 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
         location of environmental facilities
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares that
    2  each community in the state should equitably share the responsibilities,
    3  burdens,  and benefits of managing and solving the state's environmental
    4  problems and the facilities  necessary  to  accomplish  such  ends.  The
    5  legislature  further declares that there has been an inequitable pattern
    6  in the siting of environmental facilities in minority  and  economically
    7  distressed  communities, which have borne a disproportionate and inequi-
    8  table share of  such  facilities.  Consistent  with  its  commitment  to
    9  providing equal justice for its citizens, the state has a responsibility
   10  to  establish  requirements  for  the consideration of such decisions by
   11  state and local governments in order to insure equality of treatment for
   12  all communities.
   13    S 2. Section 1-0303 of the environmental conservation law  is  amended
   14  by adding three new subdivisions 26, 27, and 28 to read as follows:
   15    26. "ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREA" SHALL MEAN AN AREA CHARACTERIZED BY
   16  A POVERTY RATE OF AT LEAST TWENTY PERCENT; OR AN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF AT
   17  LEAST  ONE  HUNDRED  TWENTY-FIVE  PERCENT  OF THE STATEWIDE UNEMPLOYMENT
   18  RATE.
   19    27. "MINORITY COMMUNITY" SHALL MEAN ANY CENSUS  TRACT  OR  SUBDIVISION
   20  THEREOF THAT INCLUDES TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OR MORE OF ANY ETHNIC GROUP.
   21    28.  "ETHNIC  GROUP"  SHALL  MEAN THOSE GROUPS IDENTIFIED IN THE DEFI-
   22  NITION OF MINORITY GROUP MEMBER PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF SECTION
   23  THREE HUNDRED TEN OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
   24    S 3. Subdivision 2 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation
   25  law is amended by adding a new paragraph (h-1) to read as follows:
   26    (H-1) WHETHER SUCH ACTION MAY CAUSE OR INCREASE A DISPROPORTIONATE  OR
   27  INEQUITABLE  OR  BOTH  DISPROPORTIONATE  AND INEQUITABLE BURDEN ON THOSE
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD07209-01-1
       S. 6689                             2
    1  MINORITY COMMUNITIES OR ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OR MINORITY COMMU-
    2  NITIES AND ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS THAT ARE  DIRECTLY  OR  SIGNIF-
    3  ICANTLY INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ACTION;
    4    S  4.  The opening paragraph of subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the
    5  environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of
    6  1990, is amended to read as follows:
    7    As early as possible in the formulation of a proposal for  an  action,
    8  the responsible agency shall make an initial determination AS TO whether
    9  OR  NOT  an  environmental  impact  statement  need  be prepared for the
   10  action.  IN MAKING SUCH DETERMINATION, THE RESPONSIBLE AGENCY OR  APPLI-
   11  CANT  SHALL  CONSIDER  WHETHER  SUCH  ACTION  MAY  CAUSE  OR  INCREASE A
   12  DISPROPORTIONATE OR INEQUITABLE OR BOTH DISPROPORTIONATE AND INEQUITABLE
   13  BURDEN ON THOSE MINORITY COMMUNITIES OR ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OR
   14  MINORITY COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS THAT ARE DIRECTLY
   15  OR SIGNIFICANTLY INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ACTION. When an action is to
   16  be carried out or approved by two or more agencies,  such  determination
   17  shall  be  made  as  early as possible after the designation of the lead
   18  agency.
   19    S 5. The opening paragraph  of  paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  2  of
   20  section  8-0113  of  the  environmental  conservation  law is designated
   21  subparagraph (i) and a  new  subparagraph  (ii)  is  added  to  read  as
   22  follows:
   23    (II)  SUCH CRITERIA SHALL INCLUDE CONSIDERATION OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH
   24  A PROPOSED ACTION MAY REASONABLY BE EXPECTED  TO  CAUSE  OR  INCREASE  A
   25  DISPROPORTIONATE OR INEQUITABLE OR BOTH DISPROPORTIONATE AND INEQUITABLE
   26  BURDEN ON THOSE MINORITY COMMUNITIES OR ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OR
   27  MINORITY COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS THAT ARE DIRECTLY
   28  OR SIGNIFICANTLY INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ACTION;
   29    S  6.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
   30  have become a law; provided that section three of  this  act  shall  not
   31  apply  to  any person who has received an initial determination pursuant
   32  to subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation law
   33  prior to such date and provided further that section five  of  this  act
   34  shall  not apply to any determination of significance made prior to such
   35  date.