Bill Text: NY S03205 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Makes various provisions regulating the location of environmental facilities to insure equity of treatment for minority communities or economically distressed areas; requires environmental impact statements to state whether the siting of a facility will cause or increase a disproportionate burden on such areas.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-06 - REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION [S03205 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-S03205-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3205
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
February 3, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sens. STEWART-COUSINS, DILAN, GIANARIS, MONTGOMERY, SERRA-
NO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed
to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
location of environmental facilities
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares that
2 each community in the state should equitably share the responsibilities,
3 burdens, and benefits of managing and solving the state's environmental
4 problems and the facilities necessary to accomplish such ends. The
5 legislature further declares that there has been an inequitable pattern
6 in the siting of environmental facilities in minority and economically
7 distressed communities, which have borne a disproportionate and inequi-
8 table share of such facilities. Consistent with its commitment to
9 providing equal justice for its citizens, the state has a responsibility
10 to establish requirements for the consideration of such decisions by
11 state and local governments in order to insure equality of treatment for
12 all communities.
13 S 2. Section 1-0303 of the environmental conservation law is amended
14 by adding three new subdivisions 26, 27, and 28 to read as follows:
15 26. "ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREA" SHALL MEAN AN AREA CHARACTERIZED BY
16 A POVERTY RATE OF AT LEAST TWENTY PERCENT; OR AN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF AT
17 LEAST ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE STATEWIDE UNEMPLOYMENT
18 RATE.
19 27. "MINORITY COMMUNITY" SHALL MEAN ANY CENSUS TRACT OR SUBDIVISION
20 THEREOF THAT INCLUDES TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OR MORE OF ANY ETHNIC GROUP.
21 28. "ETHNIC GROUP" SHALL MEAN THOSE GROUPS IDENTIFIED IN THE DEFI-
22 NITION OF MINORITY GROUP MEMBER PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF SECTION
23 THREE HUNDRED TEN OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02557-01-5
S. 3205 2
1 S 3. Subdivision 2 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation
2 law is amended by adding a new paragraph (h-1) to read as follows:
3 (H-1) WHETHER SUCH ACTION MAY CAUSE OR INCREASE A DISPROPORTIONATE OR
4 INEQUITABLE OR BOTH DISPROPORTIONATE AND INEQUITABLE BURDEN ON THOSE
5 MINORITY COMMUNITIES OR ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OR MINORITY COMMU-
6 NITIES AND ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS THAT ARE DIRECTLY OR SIGNIF-
7 ICANTLY INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ACTION;
8 S 4. The opening paragraph of subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the
9 environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of
10 1990, is amended to read as follows:
11 As early as possible in the formulation of a proposal for an action,
12 the responsible agency shall make an initial determination AS TO whether
13 OR NOT an environmental impact statement need be prepared for the
14 action. IN MAKING SUCH DETERMINATION, THE RESPONSIBLE AGENCY OR APPLI-
15 CANT SHALL CONSIDER WHETHER SUCH ACTION MAY CAUSE OR INCREASE A
16 DISPROPORTIONATE OR INEQUITABLE OR BOTH DISPROPORTIONATE AND INEQUITABLE
17 BURDEN ON THOSE MINORITY COMMUNITIES OR ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OR
18 MINORITY COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS THAT ARE DIRECTLY
19 OR SIGNIFICANTLY INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ACTION. When an action is to
20 be carried out or approved by two or more agencies, such determination
21 shall be made as early as possible after the designation of the lead
22 agency.
23 S 5. The opening paragraph of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of
24 section 8-0113 of the environmental conservation law is designated
25 subparagraph (i) and a new subparagraph (ii) is added to read as
26 follows:
27 (II) SUCH CRITERIA SHALL INCLUDE CONSIDERATION OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH
28 A PROPOSED ACTION MAY REASONABLY BE EXPECTED TO CAUSE OR INCREASE A
29 DISPROPORTIONATE OR INEQUITABLE OR BOTH DISPROPORTIONATE AND INEQUITABLE
30 BURDEN ON THOSE MINORITY COMMUNITIES OR ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OR
31 MINORITY COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS THAT ARE DIRECTLY
32 OR SIGNIFICANTLY INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ACTION;
33 S 6. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
34 have become a law; provided that section three of this act shall not
35 apply to any person who has received an initial determination pursuant
36 to subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation law
37 prior to such date and provided further that section five of this act
38 shall not apply to any determination of significance made prior to such
39 date.
