Bill Text: NY S00922 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Enacts the "schools impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act"; prohibits the commissioner of education from approving the plans for the erection of any new schoolhouse within five hundred feet of a controlled-access highway unless the commissioner of education determines that space limitations are so severe that there is no other site to erect such new schoolhouse.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-06-02 - SUBSTITUTED BY A5735C [S00922 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S00922-Amended.html
Bill Title: Enacts the "schools impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act"; prohibits the commissioner of education from approving the plans for the erection of any new schoolhouse within five hundred feet of a controlled-access highway unless the commissioner of education determines that space limitations are so severe that there is no other site to erect such new schoolhouse.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-06-02 - SUBSTITUTED BY A5735C [S00922 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S00922-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 922--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MAY, BRISPORT, MANNION -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Trans- portation -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the highway law, in relation to enacting the "schools impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act"; and to amend the environmental conservation law and the education law, in relation to including certain schools in environmental impact statements for the construction of a major roadway 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 "schools 2 impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act". 3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The purpose of this act is to 4 address the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on Black 5 and Brown communities, specifically to protect children and young adults 6 from the health risks associated with long-term exposure to pollutants 7 which derive from living and attending school in close proximity to 8 major roadways and highway projects. Traffic is one of the most signif- 9 icant sources of air pollution in both the indoor and outdoor school 10 environment. 11 Pollutants directly emitted from cars, trucks, and other motor vehi- 12 cles are found in higher concentrations near major roads, with the high- 13 est levels within the first five hundred (500) feet of a roadway -- 14 children who attend schools near roadways have increased risks of expo- 15 sure and the detrimental health impacts therefrom. Children who experi- 16 ence consistent exposure to air pollution have increased risks of asth- 17 ma, chronic respiratory issues, reduced lung function, cardiovascular 18 effects, and neurobehavioral dysfunction. These effects are long-lasting 19 and contribute to changes in overall school performance for students. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03773-02-1S. 922--A 2 1 In addition to the health effects caused by air pollution, major road- 2 ways create a considerable amount of noise pollution. Children are 3 particularly susceptible to the effects of loud, constant noise, which 4 comes from close proximity to highways. This often causes trouble with 5 tasks at school -- reading attention, problem-solving and memory are 6 most affected. 7 Research led by the University of Minnesota and the University of 8 Washington quantified the racial gap between those who cause air 9 pollution and those who breathe it. Poor air quality is the largest 10 environmental health risk in the United States. Fine particulate matter 11 (PM), especially that which is emitted from vehicles, is especially 12 harmful and is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths annually. 13 However, not everyone is equally exposed to poor air quality, nor are 14 all people equally responsible for causing it. 15 Researchers found that fine PM pollution is disproportionately caused 16 by the non-Hispanic white majority, but disproportionately inhaled by 17 Black and Hispanic minorities. A 2019 Report commissioned by the New 18 York Civil Liberties Union found 53.1% of Black and Latinx children live 19 within 500 feet of a major roadway. 20 Black and Latinx children are already at risk for high morbidity rates 21 and exposed to urban poverty; this combination of risks has catastrophic 22 effects for their academic functioning. Schools that have larger 23 percentages of low income students and students of color are exposed to 24 more respiratory hazards from air toxins. Pastor et al. (2006) conducted 25 a study on schools, air pollution, and environmental justice. The study 26 showed Black zip codes are less healthy places for all children because 27 they tend to be close to sources of pollution such as busy highways; 28 resulting in poorer air quality. 29 Decades of racial segregation, redlining, and the systemic placement 30 of pollution-emitting infrastructure in Black and Brown communities have 31 played a role in this disparity. The American Lung Association says that 32 one of the major reasons that respiratory illnesses are so prevalent in 33 communities of color is the proximity of those communities to producers 34 of hazardous air pollutants, such as major roadways. 35 § 3. The highway law is amended by adding a new section 332 to read as 36 follows: 37 § 332. Prohibited construction of schools within six hundred feet of a 38 major roadway. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms 39 shall have the following meanings: 40 (a) "best available control technologies" (BACT) shall have the same 41 meaning as defined by 6 NYCRR 200.1, and where applicable shall include 42 without limitation the installation of a heating, ventilation, and air 43 conditioning (HVAC) system to improve air quality within the school 44 buildings, the installation of insulation within the school facility 45 walls to mitigate noise pollution, pollutant absorbing plants, indoor 46 playground options that cater to children with severe asthma, and 47 capping of all soil owned by a school within six hundred feet of school 48 facilities; 49 (b) "environmental justice community" shall have the same meaning as 50 defined by subdivision nine of section 8-0105 of the environmental 51 conservation law; 52 (c) "major roadway" shall mean a controlled access primary roadway of 53 the state highway system or state thruway system that has a traffic 54 volume along such roadway of not less than thirty thousand motor vehi- 55 cles per day;S. 922--A 3 1 (d) "pollutant" or "pollutants" shall refer to the six pollutants 2 regulated by the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 7401, including 3 ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur 4 dioxide, and nitrogen oxide, as well as other pollutants caused by major 5 roadways including but not limited to, particulate matter, carbon monox- 6 ide, oxides of nitrogen, and benzene emitted into the air; 7 (e) "school construction project" shall mean the acquisition of land, 8 expansion of an existing structure or structures or construction of 9 facilities to develop and construct a school building or buildings; 10 (f) "school facility" shall refer to buildings, grounds, playing 11 fields, and parking lots used in the facilitation of education for 12 school aged children in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade; and 13 (g) "air quality index" shall refer to the air quality classifications 14 and standards established by the department of environmental conserva- 15 tion in 6 NYCRR parts 256 and 257. 16 2. (a) Beginning five years after the effective date of this section, 17 the development and construction of any new school construction project 18 or school facility where any of the lands or grounds of such project are 19 within six hundred feet of a major roadway shall be prohibited unless 20 the department, and agency preparing the environmental impact statement 21 in accordance with article eight of the environmental conservation law, 22 have both determined that: 23 (i) the pollutants or pollution sources around such project do not and 24 will not constitute an actual or potential endangerment of public health 25 to persons who would attend or be employed at the school or school 26 facilities; 27 (ii) the pollutants or pollution sources around such project will not 28 negatively impact the air quality index in and around school facilities 29 relative to baseline index levels measured before commencement of 30 construction as measured in the existing burden report defined in 31 section 8-0105 of the environmental conservation law; and 32 (iii) neither short-term or long-term exposure to the levels of pollu- 33 tants or pollution sources around such project poses significant health 34 risks to students. 35 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivi- 36 sion, if the governing body for the school or school facility finds that 37 neither subparagraphs (ii) or (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision 38 can be met, and the governing body is unable to locate an alternative 39 site due to a severe shortage of sites that otherwise meet the require- 40 ments of this section, provided that an alternative site analysis deter- 41 mining the lack of alternative sites shall be made available to the 42 public no less than sixty days prior to such determination. 43 3. (a) The department shall, when planning the construction of a major 44 roadway and considering the location for such roadway or reviewing any 45 major roadway project over which the department of transportation has 46 oversight, identify each school facility located within six hundred feet 47 of the planned roadway and shall, to the greatest extent practicable, 48 site such roadway no less than six hundred feet from each such school 49 facility. 50 (b) If there is no available alternative for development of a major 51 roadway, such that the roadway or a portion thereof shall be located 52 within six hundred feet of an existing school facility or school 53 construction project, the department shall, in consultation with the 54 affected school district or districts, incorporate best available 55 control technologies into its development and construction plans to 56 ensure that the air quality index in and around school facilities isS. 922--A 4 1 lower during and after construction and for no fewer than three years 2 after project completion than baseline index levels before commencement 3 of construction as measured in the existing burden report defined in 4 section 8-0105 of the environmental conservation law. Nothing in this 5 section shall be construed to require the affected school district or 6 districts to expend monies on such best available control technologies 7 that exceed the amount of state and federal funding available for the 8 major roadway project. 9 § 4. Section 8-0105 of the environmental conservation law is amended 10 by adding five new subdivisions 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 to read as 11 follows: 12 9. "Environmental justice community" means an economically distressed 13 or minority community bearing a disproportionate or inequitable 14 pollution burden and shall include, but not be limited to, environmental 15 justice areas identified by the department. 16 10. "Economically distressed area" shall mean an area characterized by 17 a poverty rate of at least twenty percent; or an unemployment rate of at 18 least one hundred twenty-five percent of the statewide unemployment 19 rate. 20 11. "Minority community" shall mean any census tract, census block, or 21 census block group that includes twenty-five percent or more of any 22 ethnic group. 23 12. "Ethnic group" shall mean a group identified in paragraph (a), 24 (b), (c), or (d) of subdivision eight of section three hundred ten of 25 the executive law. 26 13. "Existing burden report" shall mean the report required by subdi- 27 vision four of section 8-0109 of this article describing the existing 28 pollution burden in an environmental justice community. 29 § 5. Paragraphs (i), (i) and (j) of subdivision 2 of section 8-0109 of 30 the environmental conservation law, paragraph (i) as added by chapter 31 182 of the laws of 1990, paragraph (i) as amended by chapter 238 of the 32 laws of 1991, and paragraph (j) as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of 33 1990, are amended and a new paragraph (k) is added to read as follows: 34 (i) effects of proposed action on solid waste management where appli- 35 cable and significant; [and] 36 [(i)] (j) effects of any proposed action on, and its consistency with, 37 the comprehensive management plan of the special groundwater protection 38 area program, as implemented by the commissioner pursuant to article 39 fifty-five of this chapter; [and] 40 (k) effects of the construction of a major roadway, as such term is 41 defined in section three hundred thirty-two of the highway law, identify 42 and set forth the name of each school located within six hundred feet of 43 the bounds of the proposed action, and consider whether the action may 44 cause or contribute to, either directly or indirectly, a dispropor- 45 tionate or inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable 46 pollution burden on an environmental justice community; and 47 [(j)] (l) such other information consistent with the purposes of this 48 article as may be prescribed in guidelines issued by the commissioner 49 pursuant to section 8-0113 of this chapter. 50 § 6. The opening paragraph of subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the 51 environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of 52 1990, is amended to read as follows: 53 As early as possible in the formulation of a proposal for an action, 54 the responsible agency shall make an initial determination as to whether 55 or not an environmental impact statement need be prepared for the 56 action. In making such determination for any proposed construction of aS. 922--A 5 1 major roadway action, as defined in section three hundred thirty-two of 2 the highway law, that is not a minor project and that may directly or 3 indirectly affect an environmental justice community school facility, 4 the responsible agency shall prepare or cause to be prepared an existing 5 burden report and shall consider such report in determining whether such 6 action may cause or contribute to, either directly or indirectly, a 7 disproportionate or inequitable, or both disproportionate and inequita- 8 ble pollution burden on an environmental justice community school facil- 9 ity. The existing burden report shall include baseline monitoring data 10 collected in the affected environmental justice community within two 11 years of the application for a permit or approval; shall identify each 12 existing pollution source or categories of sources affecting the commu- 13 nity and the potential routes of human exposure to pollution from such 14 source or categories of sources; the potential or documented cumulative 15 human health effects of such pollution; and the potential or projected 16 contribution of the proposed action to existing pollution burdens in the 17 community and potential health effects of such contribution, taking into 18 account existing pollution burdens. When an action is to be carried out 19 or approved by two or more agencies, such determination shall be made as 20 early as possible after the designation of the lead agency. 21 § 7. Subdivision 8 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation 22 law, as amended by chapter 252 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read 23 as follows: 24 8. When an agency decides to carry out or approve an action which has 25 been the subject of an environmental impact statement, it shall make an 26 explicit finding that the requirements of this section have been met and 27 that consistent with social, economic and other essential consider- 28 ations, to the maximum extent practicable, adverse environmental effects 29 revealed in the environmental impact statement process will be minimized 30 or avoided. No action related to construction of a school facility, as 31 defined in section three hundred thirty-two of the highway law, shall be 32 carried out or approved if it may cause or contribute to, either direct- 33 ly or indirectly, a disproportionate or inequitable, or both dispropor- 34 tionate and inequitable pollution burden on a school facility located in 35 an environmental justice community. 36 § 8. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 37 8-0113 of the environmental conservation law, as added by chapter 612 of 38 the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows: 39 (i) Actions or classes of actions that are likely to require prepara- 40 tion of environmental impact statements, including actions which may 41 cause or contribute to, either directly or indirectly, a dispropor- 42 tionate or inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable 43 pollution burden on a school facility in an environmental justice commu- 44 nity; 45 § 9. Subdivision 2 of section 8-0113 of the environmental conservation 46 law is amended by adding a new paragraph (m) to read as follows: 47 (m) The form and content of an existing burden report which shall, at 48 the minimum, include baseline monitoring data collected in the affected 49 environmental justice community school facility within two years of the 50 application for a permit or approval and shall identify: (i) each exist- 51 ing pollution source or categories of sources affecting the school 52 facility in an environmental justice community and the potential routes 53 of human exposure to pollution from that source or categories of sourc- 54 es; (ii) ambient concentration of regulated air pollutants and regulated 55 or unregulated toxic air pollutants; (iii) traffic volume; (iv) noise 56 and odor levels; (v) exposure or potential exposure to lead paint; (vi)S. 922--A 6 1 exposure or potential exposure to contaminated drinking water supplies; 2 (vii) proximity to solid or hazardous waste management facilities, 3 wastewater treatment plants, hazardous waste sites, and petroleum or 4 chemical manufacturing, storage, treatment or disposal facilities; 5 (viii) the potential or documented cumulative human health effects of 6 the foregoing pollution sources; and (ix) the potential or projected 7 contribution of the proposed action to existing pollution burdens on the 8 school facility and potential health effects of such contribution, 9 taking into account existing pollution burdens. 10 § 10. Section 408 of the education law is amended by adding a new 11 subdivision 7 as follows: 12 7. Beginning upon the effective date of this subdivision, no school 13 building shall be erected, purchased, or enlarged within a distance of 14 six hundred feet of a major roadway, as defined in section three hundred 15 thirty-two of the highway law, nor shall the advertisement for bids for 16 the execution of the plans and specifications for such school buildings 17 be placed in any school district until the plans and specifications 18 shall have been submitted to the commissioner and her approval endorsed 19 thereon. The commissioner shall not approve such plans and specifica- 20 tions unless the department of transportation and the agency preparing 21 the environmental impact statement in accordance with article eight of 22 the environmental conservation law have determined that the pollution 23 sources around such project do not and will not constitute an actual or 24 potential endangerment of public health to persons who would attend or 25 be employed at or otherwise use the school building or the exceptions 26 set forth in section three hundred thirty-two of the highway law would 27 otherwise apply. 28 § 11. 1. (a) Within 90 days of the effective date of this section, the 29 New York State Department of Transportation or designee shall begin a 30 statewide census of public school facilities currently enrolling 31 students that are within 600 feet of a major roadway. The New York State 32 Department of Transportation shall make this data available annually on 33 its public-facing website, indicating each school by its name and zip 34 code, as well as reporting the average air quality index for the year as 35 compiled by the Department of Environmental Conservation and asthma 36 outcomes as compiled by the Department of Health. 37 (b) The Department of Environmental Conservation may request and shall 38 receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission or 39 other agency of the state or any state public authority such assistance, 40 information and data as will enable it to properly carry out its powers 41 and duties under this section. 42 2. (a) After the first year of implementation, upon determination of 43 sufficient available resources, school districts with a school located 44 near a major roadway as defined in section 332 of the highway law shall 45 report updates on maintenance and quality assurance for air quality 46 mitigation measures, including but not limited to whether school facili- 47 ties currently have ventilation systems, including but not limited to: 48 (i) the name and model of ventilation system; 49 (ii) the date of installation; 50 (iii) the date of the last maintenance check; and 51 (iv) the dates of any upcoming maintenance checks or updates to the 52 system. 53 (b) Previous year data collections shall remain available to the 54 public on the school's website. 55 § 12. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding 56 the date upon which it shall have become a law; provided, however, thatS. 922--A 7 1 section ten of this act shall take effect five years after it shall have 2 become law; and provided further that school construction projects with 3 requests for qualifications issued prior to such effective date shall be 4 permitted to continue notwithstanding the provisions of this act. Effec- 5 tive immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or 6 regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective 7 date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective 8 date.