Bill Text: NY A09213 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires the owner or operator of a vessel to establish and maintain with the department evidence of financial responsibility sufficient to meet the amount of liability.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-06 - RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY [A09213 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09213-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9213--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 16, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. FAHY, DINOWITZ, WEPRIN, GLICK, COLTON, LUCAS,
          SIMON, SHIMSKY, SLATER, BURDICK, FORREST, THIELE,  EPSTEIN,  L. ROSEN-
          THAL  --  read  once  and  referred  to the Committee on Environmental
          Conservation -- reported and referred to the  Committee  on  Codes  --
          reported   and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Rules  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        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 vessel shall establish and maintain
     7  with  the  department evidence of financial responsibility sufficient to
     8  meet the amount of liability established pursuant to  paragraph  (a)  of
     9  this  subdivision.  A  person may not cause or permit the operation of a
    10  vessel in the state until the person has furnished  to  the  department,
    11  and  the department has approved such evidence. The owner or operator of
    12  any vessel which demonstrates financial responsibility pursuant  to  the
    13  requirements of the Federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et
    14  seq.),  shall be deemed to have demonstrated financial responsibility in
    15  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 plus an annual inflation adjustment,  determined  by
    21  the  commissioner  from  the increase in the consumer price index in the
    22  one-year period ending on the March thirty-first prior to such inflation
    23  adjustment effective on the ensuing September first, per  incident,  for

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14222-02-4
        A. 9213--A                          2

     1  each barrel of total petroleum storage capacity at the facility, subject
     2  to  a  maximum  of  one  million dollars per incident per facility in an
     3  aggregate not to exceed two million dollars  plus  an  annual  inflation
     4  adjustment,  determined  by  the  commissioner  from the increase in the
     5  consumer price index in the one-year period ending on the March  thirty-
     6  first  prior  to  such  inflation  adjustment  effective  on the ensuing
     7  September first, per facility per year; provided, however, that  if  the
     8  owner  or  operator  establishes to the satisfaction of the commissioner
     9  that a lesser amount will be sufficient to protect the  environment  and
    10  public  health,  safety  and  welfare,  the  commissioner  shall  accept
    11  evidence of financial responsibility in such lesser amount. In determin-
    12  ing the sufficiency of the amount of financial  responsibility  required
    13  under this section, the commissioner and the superintendent of financial
    14  services  shall take into consideration facility size, storage capacity,
    15  throughput, proximity to environmentally sensitive areas, type of petro-
    16  leum handled, and other factors relevant to the risks posed by the class
    17  or category of facility, as well as the availability  and  affordability
    18  of  pollution  liability insurance. Any regulations promulgated pursuant
    19  to this subparagraph shall not  take  effect  until  forty-eight  months
    20  after the effective date of this section.
    21    (iii) Financial responsibility under this paragraph may be established
    22  by  any  one or a combination of the following methods acceptable to the
    23  commissioner  in  consultation  with  the  superintendent  of  financial
    24  services:  evidence  of  insurance,  surety  bonds, guarantee, letter of
    25  credit, qualification as a self-insurer, or other evidence of  financial
    26  responsibility, including certifications which qualify under the Federal
    27  Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).
    28    (iv)  The liability of a third-party insurer providing proof of finan-
    29  cial responsibility on behalf of a  person  required  to  establish  and
    30  maintain  evidence  of  financial  responsibility  under this section is
    31  limited to the type of risk assumed and the amount of coverage specified
    32  in the proof of financial responsibility furnished to  and  approved  by
    33  the  department. For the purposes of this section, the term "third-party
    34  insurer" means a third-party insurer, surety, guarantor, person furnish-
    35  ing a letter of credit, or other group  or  person  providing  proof  of
    36  financial  responsibility  on  behalf  of  another  person;  it does not
    37  include the person required to establish and maintain evidence  of  such
    38  financial responsibility.
    39    (f) (i) Acceptance of proof of financial responsibility shall expire:
    40    (1) one year from its issuance for self-insurance;
    41    (2)  on  the effective date of a change in the surety bond, guarantee,
    42  insurance agreement, letter of  credit,  or  other  proof  of  financial
    43  responsibility; or
    44    (3)  on  the expiration or cancellation of the surety bond, guarantee,
    45  insurance agreement, letter of  credit,  or  other  proof  of  financial
    46  responsibility.
    47    (ii) The person whose proof of financial responsibility is accepted by
    48  the  department  under this section shall notify the department at least
    49  thirty days before the effective date of a change, expiration or cancel-
    50  lation in the surety bond, guarantee,  insurance  agreement,  letter  of
    51  credit,  or  other  proof  of  financial responsibility. Application for
    52  renewal of acceptance of proof of financial  responsibility  under  this
    53  section  must  be  filed at least thirty days before the date of expira-
    54  tion.
    55    (iii) The department, after notice and hearing, may revoke  acceptance
    56  of proof of financial responsibility if it determines that:
        A. 9213--A                          3

     1    (1) acceptance was procured by fraud or misrepresentation; or
     2    (2)  a  change of circumstance has occurred other than a change speci-
     3  fied in clauses one through three of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph,
     4  which would have warranted denial of the application.
     5    (iv) Upon acceptance and approval of proof of financial responsibility
     6  under this section, the  department  shall  issue  to  the  applicant  a
     7  certificate  stating  that the state's financial responsibility require-
     8  ments have been satisfied. The certificate must include the name of  the
     9  major facility, vessel, or pipeline for which it is issued and the expi-
    10  ration date of the certificate.
    11    §  2.  The  navigation law is amended by adding a new section 181-f to
    12  read as follows:
    13    § 181-f. Railroad financial  preparedness.  1.  The  department  shall
    14  annually  require  a  railroad  company that transports crude oil in the
    15  state to submit information relating to the railroad  company's  ability
    16  to pay in the event of a discharge involving the transport of crude oil.
    17  The  information submitted to the department must include a statement of
    18  whether the railroad has the ability to  pay  for  discharges  resulting
    19  from  a  reasonable worst case discharge as determined by the department
    20  pursuant to rules and regulations. For the purposes of this section:
    21    a. "Crude oil" shall mean any naturally occurring hydrocarbons  coming
    22  from  the  earth  that are liquid at twenty-five degrees Celsius and one
    23  atmosphere of pressure including, but not limited to, crude oil, bitumen
    24  and diluted bitumen, synthetic crude oil, and natural gas  well  conden-
    25  sate.
    26    b.  "Railroad"  shall have the same meaning as provided in subdivision
    27  twenty-four of section two of the transportation law.
    28    c. "Railroad company" shall have  the  same  meaning  as  provided  in
    29  subdivision twenty-five of section two of the transportation law.
    30    d. "Street railroad" shall have the same meaning as provided in subdi-
    31  vision twenty-nine of section two of the transportation law.
    32    2.  The department shall make such information available on its public
    33  website not later than February first of each  year.  In  addition,  the
    34  department  shall also provide recommendations to the legislature on how
    35  to address any financial deficiencies identified by railroad companies.
    36    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    37  it shall have become a law.