Bill Text: NY S04378 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Establishes the "pollution justice act of 2022"; implements a plan to replace peaker plant electric generating facilities with renewable energy systems.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-02-11 - PRINT NUMBER 4378B [S04378 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S04378-Amended.html
Bill Title: Establishes the "pollution justice act of 2022"; implements a plan to replace peaker plant electric generating facilities with renewable energy systems.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-02-11 - PRINT NUMBER 4378B [S04378 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S04378-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4378--A Cal. No. 341 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 4, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. BRISPORT, HINCHEY, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environ- mental Conservation -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to establishing the "pollution justice act of 2021" and implementing a plan to replace peaker plants with renewable energy systems 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 "pollution 2 justice act of 2021". 3 § 2. Article 19 of the environmental conservation law is amended by 4 adding a new title 13 to read as follows: 5 TITLE 13 6 PEAKER PLANTS 7 Section 19-1301. Statement of findings. 8 19-1303. Definitions. 9 19-1305. Mandatory replacement and compliance plan. 10 19-1307. Extensions for cause. 11 19-1309. Prohibitions. 12 19-1311. Exemptions. 13 § 19-1301. Statement of findings. 14 1. Electric generating units that generally operate during periods of 15 peak electricity demand are known as peaker plants. Many peaker plants 16 in the state are older fossil fuel-fired units that emit greenhouse 17 gases and a variety of other harmful air pollutants including sulfur 18 oxides, nitrogen oxides, particulates and mercury. 19 2. A substantial number of peaker plants are located in or adjacent to 20 environmental justice communities in the city of New York and Long 21 Island that already bear disproportionate pollution burdens due to a EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04461-02-1S. 4378--A 2 1 history of siting pollution sources in those communities. More than one 2 million New Yorkers live within one mile of a peaker plant. 3 3. Pollutants from peaker plants contribute to significant public 4 health problems. According to the New York city department of health and 5 mental hygiene's air pollution and the health of New Yorkers report: 6 "each year, PM2.5 pollution in (New York City) causes more than 3,000 7 deaths, 2,000 hospital admissions for lung and heart conditions, and 8 approximately 6,000 emergency department visits for asthma in children 9 and adults." According to the report, each year exposures to ozone 10 concentrations above background levels cause an estimated "400 premature 11 deaths, 850 hospitalizations for asthma and 4,500 emergency department 12 visits for asthma." 13 4. Peaker plants often operate during summer months when air pollution 14 levels are highest and their emissions add to existing pollution burdens 15 in environmental justice communities and contribute to adverse health 16 effects in those communities from air pollution. 17 5. The owners and operators of peaker plants have received billions of 18 dollars in capacity payments from ratepayers over the last decade to 19 subsidize operation of their plants, even though the plants primarily 20 operate during peak load periods. 21 6. Fossil fuel-burning peaker plants can be replaced with renewable 22 energy systems that will eliminate or significantly reduce air pollution 23 impacts to environmental justice communities from peaker plant oper- 24 ations. 25 7. Replacement of fossil fuel-burning peaker plants with renewable 26 energy systems is in the public interest, will save millions of dollars 27 in environmental and human health-related damages, will promote environ- 28 mental justice and will assist in meeting the greenhouse gas emission 29 reduction and energy storage goals of the climate leadership and commu- 30 nity protection act. 31 § 19-1303. Definitions. 32 1. "Adjacent to" shall mean within a radius of one mile from the plant 33 property boundary. 34 2. "Economically distressed area" shall mean an area characterized by 35 a poverty rate of at least twenty percent or an unemployment rate of at 36 least one hundred twenty-five percent of the statewide unemployment 37 rate. 38 3. "Environmental justice community" means an economically distressed 39 area or minority community and includes, but is not limited to, environ- 40 mental justice areas identified by the department. 41 4. "Ethnic group" shall mean those groups identified in the definition 42 of minority group member in subdivision eight of section three hundred 43 ten of the executive law. 44 5. "Minority community" shall mean any census tract, census block or 45 census block group that includes twenty-five percent or more of any 46 ethnic group. 47 6. "Operating permit" shall have the meaning set forth in subdivision 48 eighteen of section 19-0107 of this article. 49 7. "Renewable energy systems" shall have the meaning set forth in 50 section sixty-six-p of the public service law and may also include firm 51 zero emission resources such as long-duration energy storage. 52 8. "Replace" or "replacement" means the construction and operation of 53 a renewable energy system, battery or energy storage, or transmission 54 and distribution infrastructure that enables the provision of the equiv- 55 alent maximum annual power output achieved by the replaceable peakerS. 4378--A 3 1 plant during any single year during the ten years preceding the 2 submission of an application to renew an operating permit. 3 9. "Replaceable peaker plant" means a major electric generating facil- 4 ity as defined in paragraph b of subdivision one of section 19-0312 of 5 this article that burns coal, oil, diesel or natural gas and was opera- 6 tional and generated electricity less than fifteen percent of the year 7 during at least two years between two thousand ten through two thousand 8 nineteen and that is located in or adjacent to an environmental justice 9 community. 10 § 19-1305. Mandatory replacement and compliance plan. 11 1. The owner or operator of a replaceable peaker plant shall submit to 12 the department as part of an application to renew an operating permit a 13 mandatory replacement and compliance plan that shall include, at a mini- 14 mum, the following: 15 a. The number of days and hours such plant operated during each of the 16 previous ten years; 17 b. The annual power output of such plant for each of the previous ten 18 years; 19 c. The fuel or fuels utilized by such plant to generate power; 20 d. A proposed strategy to replace the plant with renewable energy 21 systems or battery storage or a combination thereof. The strategy shall, 22 at a minimum, set forth the type or types of renewable energy systems 23 and battery storage to be utilized, the proposed location or locations 24 of such renewable energy systems and battery storage, and the electric 25 generating capacity of such renewable energy systems and battery stor- 26 age; 27 e. A timetable for implementation of the proposed replacement strategy 28 that shall not exceed five years from the date of renewal of the operat- 29 ing permit and that shall ensure that the renewable energy systems and 30 battery storage are fully operational, and the operations of the peaker 31 plant can be completely replaced, on or before five years from the date 32 of renewal of the operating permit; and 33 f. A demonstration of how the proposed renewable energy systems and 34 battery storage strategy and timetable for implementation will comply 35 with the renewable energy goals set forth in section sixty-six-p of the 36 public service law. 37 2. The department shall provide public notice of the mandatory 38 replacement and compliance plan and an opportunity for public comment on 39 the plan of not less than sixty days. The department shall hold at least 40 two public hearings on the plan in the affected environmental justice 41 community or communities, with such public hearings offering video 42 participation and accessibility. 43 3. After review and consideration of public comments, the department 44 shall approve, approve with modifications or disapprove the plan. 45 4. Upon approval of the mandatory replacement and compliance plan, the 46 owner or operator of the replaceable peaker plant shall implement the 47 plan in accordance with the schedule set forth in the plan and provide 48 to the department an annual compliance and progress report beginning one 49 year after the department approves the plan. The department shall make 50 each annual compliance and progress report available on its website. 51 5. If the department disapproves a proposed plan, the department shall 52 inform the owner or operator of the replaceable peaker plant in writing 53 of the reasons for such disapproval and shall identify the portions of 54 the disapproved plan that need to be modified. The owner or operator 55 shall submit a modified plan within sixty days of receiving the depart- 56 ment's written notice of disapproval. The modified plan shall be subjectS. 4378--A 4 1 to the notice and public comment and hearing procedures set forth in 2 this section. 3 § 19-1307. Extensions for cause. 4 1. The owner or operator of a replaceable peaker plant may apply to 5 the department for a single five-year extension of the deadline for 6 replacement set forth in section 19-1305 of this article. 7 2. The department shall provide public notice of the application for 8 any such extension, and an opportunity for public comment on such appli- 9 cation, of not less than sixty days. The department shall hold at least 10 two public hearings on the application in the affected environmental 11 justice community or communities, with such public hearings offering 12 video participation and accessibility. Any such public hearings shall 13 also explore the option of transitioning the replaceable peaker plant 14 into the ownership or control of the New York power authority, an entity 15 that currently owns and operates several peaker plants in the state, to 16 manage the transition to renewable energy and battery storage systems. 17 3. After review and consideration of public comments, the department 18 shall approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove the application 19 for a single five-year extension. 20 4. The department may only grant an application for an extension 21 request upon a showing by the applicant, by clear and convincing 22 evidence, that (a) replacement of the plant with renewable energy 23 systems and battery storage by the deadline is not feasible, (b) the 24 department of public service, in consultation with the New York inde- 25 pendent system operator, has made a written determination that extending 26 the deadline for the plant is necessary to maintain reliability of the 27 electric grid, and (c) the continued operation of the peaker plant would 28 not result in adverse health impacts for the impacted environmental 29 justice communities. 30 § 19-1309. Prohibitions. 31 1. Except as provided in section 19-1307 of this title, no person 32 shall operate a replaceable peaker plant that is not in compliance with 33 the requirements of this title and the department shall not issue an 34 operating permit or renew an operating permit for a replaceable peaker 35 plant that does not have an approved mandatory replacement and compli- 36 ance plan. 37 2. The department shall not issue an operating permit or renew an 38 operating permit for a replaceable peaker plant that has not completed 39 implementation of a mandatory replacement and compliance plan by the 40 deadline set forth in the plan. 41 § 19-1311. Exemptions. 42 1. A replaceable peaker plant is not subject to the requirements of 43 this title if the owner or operator of the plant has submitted written 44 notification to the department of public service that the plant will be 45 permanently retired on or before the first day of January, two thousand 46 twenty-six. 47 2. The department shall, effective on or before the first day of Janu- 48 ary, two thousand twenty-six, revoke the operating permit of a replacea- 49 ble peaker plant for which written notification has been provided to the 50 department of public service pursuant to subdivision one of this 51 section. 52 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
