STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4371--B 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 3, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BIAGGI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to emis- sions of toxic air contaminants; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the community benefit fund The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a 2 new section 19-0329 to read as follows: 3 § 19-0329. Air quality standards for toxic air contaminants. 4 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms 5 shall have the following meanings: 6 a. "Adjacent to" shall mean within a radius of one mile. 7 b. "Economically distressed area" shall mean an area characterized by 8 a poverty rate of at least twenty percent; or an unemployment rate of at 9 least one hundred twenty-five percent of the statewide unemployment 10 rate. 11 c. "Ethnic group" shall mean those groups identified in the definition 12 of minority group member in subdivision eight of section three hundred 13 ten of the executive law. 14 d. "Environmental justice community" shall mean an economically 15 distressed or minority community and includes, but is not limited to, 16 environmental justice areas identified by the department. 17 e. "Fenceline" shall mean the property boundary of a major source. 18 f. "Major source" shall mean stationary air contamination source that 19 emits or has the potential to emit ten tons per year or more of a toxic EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08074-03-1S. 4371--B 2 1 air contaminant or twenty-five tons per year or more of a combination of 2 toxic contaminants. 3 g. "Minority community" shall mean any census tract, census block or 4 census block group that includes twenty-five percent or more of any 5 ethnic group. 6 h. "Toxic air contaminant" shall mean benzene, formaldehyde, vinyl 7 chloride, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, 8 trichloroethylene and mercury. 9 2. Promulgation of standards. a. The department shall, on or before 10 July first, two thousand twenty-two, promulgate ambient air quality 11 standards for the following toxic air contaminants: benzene, formaldeh- 12 yde, vinyl chloride, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated 13 dibenzofurans, trichloroethylene and mercury. Such standards may be 14 hourly, rolling eight-hour or annual, or any combination thereof, as 15 determined by the department in consultation with the department of 16 health. 17 b. The ambient air quality standards for toxic air contaminants shall 18 be based on the best available scientific data concerning the potential 19 adverse human health effects of each contaminant and shall protect 20 public health with an adequate margin of safety. 21 c. The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as 22 deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this section. 23 3. Monitoring and reporting. a. The owner or operator of a major 24 source located in or adjacent to an environmental justice community 25 shall, no later than July first, two thousand twenty-two, submit to the 26 department a plan to install, operate and maintain a fenceline monitor- 27 ing system at such source to measure ambient air concentrations of each 28 toxic air contaminant the source emits or has the potential to emit. The 29 department shall review and approve such plan within sixty days of 30 receipt. 31 b. The owner or operator of a major source subject to this subdivision 32 shall install, operate and maintain a fenceline monitor system meeting 33 the requirements of this subdivision no later than thirty days after 34 approval of the fenceline monitoring system plan by the department. 35 c. The owner or operator of a major source subject to this subdivision 36 shall submit to the department, on a quarterly basis, a report comparing 37 the fenceline monitoring results with the ambient air quality standards 38 for each toxic air contaminant the source emits or has the potential to 39 emit. The comparison of the fenceline monitoring results with the ambi- 40 ent air quality standards shall not make adjustments to account for 41 actual or potential offsite upwind source of toxic air contaminants. 42 d. The quarterly reports required by this subdivision shall be made 43 available to the public on the department's website. 44 e. The department may grant an extension of the deadline in paragraph 45 (a) of this subdivision upon a written showing by the owner or operator 46 of a major source that compliance with the monitoring requirements of 47 this subdivision will cause economic hardship; provided, however, that 48 the extension granted by the department shall not exceed eighteen 49 months. 50 4. Prohibitions. a. No person shall emit or cause to be emitted from 51 an air contamination source a toxic air contaminant in an amount or 52 level that causes or contributes to a violation of an ambient air quali- 53 ty standard for that contaminant. 54 b. The department shall not issue a permit, certificate or other 55 approval under this article to the owner or operator of a major source 56 that emits or has the potential to emit a toxic air contaminant unlessS. 4371--B 3 1 the source owner or operator demonstrates that the source's emissions of 2 such contaminant will not cause or contribute to a violation of any 3 applicable ambient air quality standard for toxic air contaminants. 4 5. Violations and penalties. a. Any person who violates an ambient air 5 quality for a toxic air contaminant or fails to perform any duty imposed 6 by any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this section shall be 7 subject to the civil and administrative sanctions set forth in section 8 71-2113 of this chapter. 9 b. Penalties. A civil penalty for violations of this section by a 10 major source subject to the provisions of subdivision three of this 11 section shall be deposited into the community benefit fund established 12 pursuant to section ninety-seven-ccc of the state finance law, provided 13 however, that deposit of the civil penalty into a community benefit fund 14 shall not diminish the payable portion of such civil penalty. 15 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-ccc 16 to read as follows: 17 § 97-ccc. Community benefit fund. 1. There is hereby established in 18 the joint custody of the comptroller, the commissioner of taxation and 19 finance, and the commissioner of environmental conservation a special 20 fund to be known as the community benefit fund. 21 2. Such fund shall consist of all moneys deposited pursuant to para- 22 graph b of subdivision five of section 19-0329 of the environmental 23 conservation law. 24 3. The moneys in the fund shall be expended by the department for 25 environmental conservation for the purpose of implementing one or more 26 environmental benefit projects that directly and verifiably benefit the 27 adjacent environmental justice community. 28 4. On or before the first day of February each year, the comptroller 29 shall certify to the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker 30 of the assembly, the amount of money deposited by source in the fund 31 during the preceding calendar year, as well as all disbursements from 32 the fund during the preceding calendar year. 33 5. Moneys shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of 34 the comptroller on vouchers certified and approved by the commissioner 35 of environmental conservation. 36 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 37 have become a law.