Bill Text: NY S00972 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the natural gas oversight fund to provide funding to the department of environmental conservation for enforcement of well drilling provisions; imposes a $2,000 fee upon the issuance of a well drilling permit in the fault-bounded Treton and/or Black River hydrothermal dolomite gas pools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S00972 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S00972-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                          972
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 9, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  LIBOUS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
       AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the environmental conservation
         law, in relation to establishing the natural gas oversight  fund;  and
         to  amend  the environmental conservation law, in relation to imposing
         an additional fee on the  issuance  of  a  well  drilling  permit  for
         certain gas pools
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1.  The state finance law is amended by adding a  new  section
    2  81 to read as follows:
    3    S  81.  NATURAL  GAS OVERSIGHT FUND. 1. THERE IS HEREBY ESTABLISHED IN
    4  THE JOINT CUSTODY OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER AND THE COMMISSIONER OF TAXA-
    5  TION AND FINANCE A SPECIAL FUND TO BE KNOWN AS THE  "NATURAL  GAS  OVER-
    6  SIGHT FUND".
    7    2. THE COMPTROLLER SHALL ESTABLISH THE FOLLOWING SEPARATE AND DISTINCT
    8  ACCOUNTS WITHIN THE NATURAL GAS OVERSIGHT FUND:
    9    (A) INTERNET PERMIT INFORMATION ACCOUNT;
   10    (B) WATER QUALITY ACCOUNT;
   11    (C) PUBLIC AWARENESS ACCOUNT;
   12    (D) INDEPENDENT SURVEY ACCOUNT; AND
   13    (E) IMPLEMENTATION ACCOUNT.
   14    3.  SUCH  FUND SHALL CONSIST OF ALL MONEYS APPROPRIATED THERETO, FUNDS
   15  TRANSFERRED FROM ANY OTHER FUND OR SOURCE, AND ALL  MONEYS  RECEIVED  BY
   16  THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION FOR THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS
   17  PURSUANT  TO  TITLE  FIVE  OF  ARTICLE TWENTY-THREE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL
   18  CONSERVATION LAW TO DRILL, DEEPEN, PLUG BACK OR CONVERT A WELL DESCRIBED
   19  IN CLAUSE (VI) OF SUBPARAGRAPH ONE OF PARAGRAPH B OF SUBDIVISION ONE  OF
   20  SECTION  23-0501 OF SUCH LAW. MONEYS DEPOSITED IN THE FUND SHALL BE HELD
   21  IN INTEREST BEARING ACCOUNTS IN PUBLIC  DEPOSITORIES  AS  PRESCRIBED  BY
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD05280-01-3
       S. 972                              2
    1  THIS  CHAPTER,  AND  MAY BE INVESTED OR REINVESTED IN SUCH SECURITIES AS
    2  ARE APPROVED BY THE STATE COMPTROLLER. INTEREST OR OTHER  INCOME  EARNED
    3  ON MONEYS DEPOSITED IN THE FUND AND ANY MONEYS WHICH MAY BE APPROPRIATED
    4  OR  OTHERWISE  BECOME  AVAILABLE  FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE FUND, SHALL BE
    5  CREDITED TO AND DEPOSITED IN THE FUND FOR  USE  AS  SET  FORTH  IN  THIS
    6  SECTION.
    7    4. THE MONEYS IN THE NATURAL GAS OVERSIGHT FUND SHALL BE KEPT SEPARATE
    8  FROM AND SHALL NOT BE COMMINGLED WITH ANY OTHER MONEYS IN THE CUSTODY OF
    9  THE STATE COMPTROLLER AND THE COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION AND FINANCE.
   10    5.    (A)  ALL  MONEYS  DEPOSITED  IN  THE INTERNET PERMIT INFORMATION
   11  ACCOUNT SHALL BE ALLOCATED TO AND EXPENDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRON-
   12  MENTAL CONSERVATION TO ESTABLISH AN INTERNET WEBSITE AND DATABASE ACCES-
   13  SIBLE TO THE PUBLIC, WHICH PROVIDES INFORMATION ON ALL APPLICATIONS  FOR
   14  PERMITS   AND   PERMITS   ISSUED  PURSUANT  TO  TITLE  FIVE  OF  ARTICLE
   15  TWENTY-THREE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION  LAW  TO  DRILL,  DEEPEN,
   16  PLUG BACK OR CONVERT A WELL DESCRIBED IN CLAUSE (VI) OF SUBPARAGRAPH ONE
   17  OF PARAGRAPH B OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 23-0501 OF SUCH LAW.
   18    (B)  MONEYS FROM THE WATER QUALITY ACCOUNT SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR
   19  THE CONDUCTING OF BASELINE AND FOLLOW-UP SURVEYS OF WATER QUALITY BY THE
   20  DEPARTMENT  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION  AT  SITES  NEAR  ANY   WELL
   21  DESCRIBED  IN CLAUSE (VI) OF SUBPARAGRAPH ONE OF PARAGRAPH B OF SUBDIVI-
   22  SION ONE OF SECTION 23-0501 OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW.
   23    (C) MONEYS FROM THE PUBLIC AWARENESS ACCOUNT SHALL BE  MADE  AVAILABLE
   24  TO  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION TO CONDUCT A PUBLIC
   25  AWARENESS PROGRAM PROVIDING INFORMATION ON THE MANNER OF NOTIFYING  SUCH
   26  DEPARTMENT  IN THE EVENT OF ANY CONCERN OR PROBLEM RELATING TO A NATURAL
   27  GAS WELL.
   28    (D) MONEYS FROM THE INDEPENDENT SURVEY ACCOUNT SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE
   29  TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION  FOR  THE  EXPENSES  OF
   30  CONTRACTING  FOR  THE PROVISION OF AN INDEPENDENT SURVEY OF SUCH DEPART-
   31  MENT'S PERFORMANCES RELATING TO THE REGULATION  OF  WELLS.  SUCH  SURVEY
   32  SHALL  BE  CONDUCTED  NOT LESS THAN THREE YEARS NOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS
   33  AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION,  SHALL  BE  SUBMITTED  TO  THE
   34  GOVERNOR,  THE  TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE
   35  ASSEMBLY.
   36    (E) MONEYS FROM THE IMPLEMENTATION ACCOUNT SHALL BE ALLOCATED  TO  AND
   37  EXPENDED  BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION SOLELY FOR THE
   38  IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE PROVISIONS OF TITLES THREE,  FIVE,
   39  SEVEN  AND  NINE  OF ARTICLE TWENTY-THREE, AND TITLE THIRTEEN OF ARTICLE
   40  SEVENTY-ONE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW.
   41    S 2.  Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 23-1903 of the  environ-
   42  mental  conservation law is relettered paragraph c and a new paragraph b
   43  is added to read as follows:
   44    B. A TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR FEE FOR EACH PERMIT TO DRILL  A  WELL  ISSUED
   45  PURSUANT  TO  CLAUSE (VI) OF SUBPARAGRAPH ONE OF PARAGRAPH B OF SUBDIVI-
   46  SION ONE OF SECTION 23-0501 OF THIS ARTICLE; AND
   47    S 3.  Section 23-0501 of the environmental conservation law is amended
   48  by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
   49    4. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER TO THE CONTRARY,  ALL
   50  FEES COLLECTED BY THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT FOR A WELL
   51  DESCRIBED  IN CLAUSE (VI) OF SUBPARAGRAPH ONE OF PARAGRAPH B OF SUBDIVI-
   52  SION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE PAID  TO  THE  STATE  COMPTROLLER  WHO
   53  SHALL  DEPOSIT  SUCH MONEY IN THE NATURAL GAS OVERSIGHT FUND ESTABLISHED
   54  PURSUANT TO SECTION EIGHTY-ONE OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW.
   55    S 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
   56  have become a law.