Bill Text: NY A01773 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to financial liability for major facilities, vessels, and railroads.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-04-24 - REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION [A01773 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A01773-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1773
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 13, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  FAHY, STECK, ORTIZ, GALEF, BRINDISI, MOSLEY,
          BARRETT, GOTTFRIED, SKOUFIS, STIRPE, LOPEZ, ROSENTHAL, OTIS, DINOWITZ,
          THIELE, KAVANAGH, HUNTER, HARRIS -- Multi-Sponsored by  --  M.  of  A.
          GLICK,  LUPARDO,  McDONALD,  SIMON  --  read  once and referred to the
          Committee on Environmental Conservation
        AN ACT to amend the navigation law, in relation to  financial  responsi-
          bility for the liability of a major facility or vessel
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section 181 of the  navi-
     2  gation  law,  as amended by chapter 584 of the laws of 1992 and subpara-
     3  graphs (ii) and (iii) as amended by chapter 585 of the laws of 1992  and
     4  as further amended by section 104 of part A of chapter 62 of the laws of
     5  2011, is amended and a new paragraph (f) is added to read as follows:
     6    (e)  (i)  The  owner or operator of a major facility or a vessel shall
     7  establish and maintain with the department evidence of financial respon-
     8  sibility sufficient to meet the amount of liability established pursuant
     9  to paragraph (a) of this subdivision. A person may not cause  or  permit
    10  the  operation  of  a  major  facility  or vessel in the state until the
    11  person has furnished to the department, and the department has  approved
    12  such  evidence.  The  owner or operator of any vessel which demonstrates
    13  financial responsibility pursuant to the requirements of the Federal Oil
    14  Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), shall be deemed to  have
    15  demonstrated financial responsibility in accordance with this paragraph.
    16    (ii)  [The  commissioner  in  consultation  with the superintendent of
    17  financial services may promulgate regulations  requiring  the  owner  or
    18  operator  of a major facility other than a vessel to establish and main-
    19  tain evidence of financial responsibility in an  amount  not  to  exceed
    20  twenty-five  dollars,  per  incident, for each barrel of total petroleum
    21  storage capacity at the facility, subject to a maximum  of  one  million
    22  dollars  per  incident  per  facility  in an aggregate not to exceed two

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01216-01-7
        A. 1773                             2

     1  million dollars per facility per year; provided, however,  that  if  the
     2  owner  or  operator  establishes to the satisfaction of the commissioner
     3  that a lesser amount will be sufficient to protect the  environment  and
     4  public  health,  safety  and  welfare,  the  commissioner  shall  accept
     5  evidence of financial responsibility in such lesser amount. In determin-
     6  ing the sufficiency of the amount of financial  responsibility  required
     7  under this section, the commissioner and the superintendent of financial
     8  services  shall take into consideration facility size, storage capacity,
     9  throughput, proximity to environmentally sensitive areas, type of petro-
    10  leum handled, and other factors relevant to the risks posed by the class
    11  or category of facility, as well as the availability  and  affordability
    12  of  pollution  liability insurance. Any regulations promulgated pursuant
    13  to this subparagraph shall not  take  effect  until  forty-eight  months
    14  after the effective date of this section.
    15    (iii)]  Financial  responsibility  under  this paragraph may be estab-
    16  lished by any one or a combination of the following  methods  acceptable
    17  to the commissioner in consultation with the superintendent of financial
    18  services:  evidence  of  insurance,  surety  bonds, guarantee, letter of
    19  credit, qualification as a self-insurer, or other evidence of  financial
    20  responsibility, including certifications which qualify under the Federal
    21  Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).
    22    [(iv)] (iii) The liability of a third-party insurer providing proof of
    23  financial responsibility on behalf of a person required to establish and
    24  maintain  evidence  of  financial  responsibility  under this section is
    25  limited to the type of risk assumed and the amount of coverage specified
    26  in the proof of financial responsibility furnished to  and  approved  by
    27  the  department. For the purposes of this section, the term "third-party
    28  insurer" means a third-party insurer, surety, guarantor, person furnish-
    29  ing a letter of credit, or other group  or  person  providing  proof  of
    30  financial  responsibility  on  behalf  of  another  person;  it does not
    31  include the person required to establish and maintain evidence  of  such
    32  financial responsibility.
    33    (f) (i) Acceptance of proof of financial responsibility shall expire:
    34    (1) one year from its issuance for self-insurance;
    35    (2)  on  the effective date of a change in the surety bond, guarantee,
    36  insurance agreement, letter of  credit,  or  other  proof  of  financial
    37  responsibility; or
    38    (3)  on  the expiration or cancellation of the surety bond, guarantee,
    39  insurance agreement, letter of  credit,  or  other  proof  of  financial
    40  responsibility.
    41    (ii) The person whose proof of financial responsibility is accepted by
    42  the  department  under this section shall notify the department at least
    43  thirty days before the effective date of a change, expiration or cancel-
    44  lation in the surety bond, guarantee,  insurance  agreement,  letter  of
    45  credit,  or  other  proof  of  financial responsibility. Application for
    46  renewal of acceptance of proof of financial  responsibility  under  this
    47  section  must  be  filed at least thirty days before the date of expira-
    48  tion.
    49    (iii) The department, after notice and hearing, may revoke  acceptance
    50  of proof of financial responsibility if it determines that:
    51    (1) acceptance was procured by fraud or misrepresentation; or
    52    (2)  a  change of circumstance has occurred other than a change speci-
    53  fied in clauses one through three of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph,
    54  which would have warranted denial of the application.
    55    (iv) Upon acceptance and approval of proof of financial responsibility
    56  under this section, the  department  shall  issue  to  the  applicant  a
        A. 1773                             3
     1  certificate  stating  that the state's financial responsibility require-
     2  ments have been satisfied. The certificate must include the name of  the
     3  major facility, vessel, or pipeline for which it is issued and the expi-
     4  ration date of the certificate.
     5    §  2.  The  navigation law is amended by adding a new section 181-f to
     6  read as follows:
     7    § 181-f. Railroad financial  preparedness.  1.  The  department  shall
     8  annually  require  a  railroad  company that transports crude oil in the
     9  state to submit information relating to the railroad  company's  ability
    10  to pay in the event of a discharge involving the transport of crude oil.
    11  The  information submitted to the department must include a statement of
    12  whether the railroad has the ability to  pay  for  discharges  resulting
    13  from  a  reasonable worst case discharge as determined by the department
    14  pursuant to rules and regulations. For the purposes of this section:
    15    a. "Crude oil" shall mean any naturally occurring hydrocarbons  coming
    16  from  the  earth  that are liquid at twenty-five degrees Celsius and one
    17  atmosphere of pressure including, but not limited to, crude oil, bitumen
    18  and diluted bitumen, synthetic crude oil, and natural gas  well  conden-
    19  sate.
    20    b.  "Railroad"  shall have the same meaning as provided in subdivision
    21  twenty-four of section two of the transportation law.
    22    c. "Railroad company" shall have  the  same  meaning  as  provided  in
    23  subdivision twenty-five of section two of the transportation law.
    24    d. "Street railroad" shall have the same meaning as provided in subdi-
    25  vision twenty-nine of section two of the transportation law.
    26    2.  The department shall make such information available on its public
    27  website not later than February first of each  year.  In  addition,  the
    28  department  shall also provide recommendations to the legislature on how
    29  to address any financial deficiencies identified by railroad companies.
    30    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    31  it shall have become a law.