Bill Text: NY A00522 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the "pollution justice act"; implements a plan to replace peaker plant electric generating facilities with renewable energy systems.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to environmental conservation [A00522 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A00522-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 522 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 9, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, FORREST, MITAYNES, SIMON, MAMDANI, COLTON, DINOWITZ, KELLES, DAVILA, L. ROSENTHAL, SEPTIMO, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to establishing the "pollution justice act of 2023" and implementing a plan to replace peaker plants with renewable energy systems The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "pollution 2 justice act of 2023". 3 § 2. Article 19 of the environmental conservation law is amended by 4 adding a new title 13 to read as follows: 5 TITLE 13 6 PEAKER PLANTS 7 Section 19-1301. Statement of findings. 8 19-1303. Definitions. 9 19-1305. Mandatory replacement and compliance plan. 10 19-1307. Extensions for cause. 11 19-1309. Prohibitions. 12 19-1311. Exemptions. 13 § 19-1301. Statement of findings. 14 1. Electric generating units that generally operate during periods of 15 peak electricity demand are known as peaker plants. Many peaker plants 16 in the state are older fossil fuel-fired units that emit greenhouse 17 gases and a variety of other harmful air pollutants including sulfur 18 oxides, nitrogen oxides, particulates and mercury. 19 2. A substantial number of peaker plants are located in or adjacent to 20 disadvantaged communities in the city of New York that already bear 21 disproportionate pollution burdens due to a history of siting pollution 22 sources in those communities. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00532-01-3A. 522 2 1 3. Pollutants from peaker plants contribute to significant public 2 health problems. According to the New York city department of health and 3 mental hygiene's air pollution and the health of New Yorkers report: 4 "each year, PM2.5 pollution in (New York city) causes more than 3,000 5 deaths, 2,000 hospital admissions for lung and heart conditions, and 6 approximately 6,000 emergency department visits for asthma in children 7 and adults." According to the report, each year exposures to ozone 8 concentrations above background levels cause an estimated "400 premature 9 deaths, 850 hospitalizations for asthma and 4,500 emergency department 10 visits for asthma." 11 4. Peaker plants often operate during summer months when air pollution 12 levels are highest and their emissions add to existing pollution burdens 13 in disadvantaged communities and contribute to adverse health effects in 14 those communities from air pollution. 15 § 19-1303. Definitions. 16 1. "Adjacent to" shall mean within a radius of one mile from the plant 17 property boundary. 18 2. "Disadvantaged community" shall have the same meaning as in subdi- 19 vision five of section 75-0101 of this chapter. 20 3. "Operating permit" shall have the meaning set forth in subdivision 21 eighteen of section 19-0107 of this article. 22 4. "Renewable energy systems" shall have the meaning set forth in 23 section sixty-six-p of the public service law and may also include firm 24 zero emission resources such as long-duration energy storage. 25 5. "Replace" or "replacement" means the construction and operation of 26 a renewable energy system or transmission and distribution infrastruc- 27 ture that enables the provision of the equivalent maximum annual power 28 output achieved by the replaceable peaker plant during any single year 29 during the ten years preceding the submission of an application to renew 30 an operating permit. 31 6. "Replaceable peaker plant" means a major electric generating facil- 32 ity as defined in paragraph b of subdivision one of section 19-0312 of 33 this article that burns coal, oil, diesel or natural gas and was opera- 34 tional and generated electricity less than fifteen percent of the year 35 during at least two years between two thousand ten through two thousand 36 nineteen and that is located in or adjacent to a disadvantaged communi- 37 ty. 38 § 19-1305. Mandatory replacement and compliance plan. 39 1. The owner or operator of a replaceable peaker plant in a city with 40 a population of one million or more, within or adjacent to a disadvan- 41 taged community, shall submit to the department as part of an applica- 42 tion to issue an operating permit or renew an operating permit, a manda- 43 tory replacement and compliance plan that shall include, at a minimum, 44 the following: 45 a. The number of days and hours such plant operated during each of the 46 previous ten years; 47 b. The annual power output of such plant for each of the previous ten 48 years; 49 c. The fuel or fuels utilized by such plant to generate power; 50 d. A proposed strategy to replace the plant with renewable energy 51 systems. The strategy shall, at a minimum, set forth the type or types 52 of renewable energy systems to be utilized, the proposed location or 53 locations of such renewable energy systems, and the electric generating 54 capacity of such renewable energy systems; 55 e. A timetable for implementation of the proposed replacement strategy 56 that shall not exceed five years from the date of renewal of the operat-A. 522 3 1 ing permit and that shall ensure that the renewable energy systems are 2 fully operational, and the operations of the peaker plant can be 3 completely replaced, on or before five years from the date of renewal of 4 the operating permit; and 5 f. A demonstration of how the proposed renewable energy systems and 6 timetable for implementation will comply with the renewable energy goals 7 set forth in section sixty-six-p of the public service law. 8 2. The department shall provide public notice of the mandatory 9 replacement and compliance plan and an opportunity for public comment on 10 the plan of not less than sixty days. The department shall hold at least 11 two public hearings on the plan in the affected disadvantaged community 12 or communities that provide meaningful opportunities for public partic- 13 ipation and maximize participation and accessibility. 14 3. After review and consideration of public comments, the department 15 shall approve, approve with modifications or disapprove the plan. 16 4. Upon approval of the mandatory replacement and compliance plan, the 17 owner or operator of the replaceable peaker plant shall implement the 18 plan in accordance with the schedule set forth in the plan and provide 19 to the department an annual compliance and progress report beginning one 20 year after the department approves the plan. The department shall make 21 each annual compliance and progress report available on its website. 22 5. If the department disapproves a proposed plan, the department shall 23 inform the owner or operator of the replaceable peaker plant in writing 24 of the reasons for such disapproval and shall identify the portions of 25 the disapproved plan that need to be modified. The owner or operator 26 shall submit a modified plan within sixty days of receiving the depart- 27 ment's written notice of disapproval. The modified plan shall be subject 28 to the notice and public comment and hearing procedures set forth in 29 this section. 30 § 19-1307. Extensions for cause. 31 1. The owner or operator of a replaceable peaker plant may apply to 32 the department for a single five-year extension of the deadline for 33 replacement set forth in section 19-1305 of this title. 34 2. The department shall provide public notice of the application for 35 any such extension, and an opportunity for public comment on such appli- 36 cation, of not less than sixty days. The department shall hold at least 37 two public hearings on the application in the affected disadvantaged 38 community or communities that provide meaningful opportunities for 39 public participation and maximize participation and accessibility. 40 3. After review and consideration of public comments, the department 41 shall approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove the application 42 for a single five-year extension. 43 4. The department may only grant an application for an extension 44 request upon a showing by the applicant, by clear and convincing 45 evidence, that (a) replacement of the plant with renewable energy 46 systems by the deadline is not feasible, (b) the department of public 47 service, in consultation with the New York independent system operator, 48 has made a written determination that extending the deadline for the 49 plant is necessary to maintain reliability of the electric grid, and (c) 50 the continued operation of the peaker plant would not result in adverse 51 health impacts for the impacted disadvantaged communities. 52 § 19-1309. Prohibitions. 53 1. No person shall operate a replaceable peaker plant that is not in 54 compliance with the requirements of this title and the department shall 55 not issue an operating permit or renew an operating permit for aA. 522 4 1 replaceable peaker plant that does not have an approved mandatory 2 replacement and compliance plan. 3 2. The department shall not issue an operating permit or renew an 4 operating permit for a replaceable peaker plant that has not completed 5 implementation of a mandatory replacement and compliance plan by the 6 deadline set forth in the plan. 7 § 19-1311. Exemptions. 8 1. A replaceable peaker plant is not subject to the requirements of 9 this title if the owner or operator of the plant has submitted written 10 notification to the department of public service that the plant will be 11 permanently retired on or before the first day of January, two thousand 12 twenty-seven. 13 2. The department shall, effective on or before the first day of Janu- 14 ary, two thousand twenty-eight, revoke the operating permit of a 15 replaceable peaker plant for which written notification has been 16 provided to the department of public service pursuant to subdivision one 17 of this section. 18 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 19 it shall have become a law and shall apply to all permit applications or 20 renewals on or after such date.
