Bill Text: NY S05915 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requires monitoring by DEC of water contamination throughout the state and notification to residents of the state of such contamination by the department of health and the public health and health planning council; provides that the department of health shall disseminate special alerts to the public through television, radio and social media outlets where DEC determines unacceptable levels of water contamination.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-27 - PRINT NUMBER 5915C [S05915 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S05915-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        5915--A
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   October 26, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced by Sen. ESPAILLAT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Rules -- committee
         discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
         to said committee
       AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law and the public health
         law, in relation to monitoring and notifying residents of the state of
         water contamination
         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 15-0319 to read as follows:
    3  S 15-0319. STUDY OF WATER CONTAMINATION.
    4    1.   FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION,  "BODIES  OF  WATER"  MEANS  PUBLIC
    5  BODIES OF WATER WHERE CONTACT RECREATION IS TAKING PLACE AND/OR DRINKING
    6  WATER IS WITHDRAWN.
    7    2.  THE  DEPARTMENT SHALL MONITOR BODIES OF WATER THROUGHOUT THE STATE
    8  AND SHALL STUDY AND RECORD SEWAGE CONTAMINATION LEVELS OF SUCH BODIES OF
    9  WATER. THE DATA SHALL BE USED TO CREATE PREDICTIVE WATER QUALITY MODELS,
   10  DETAILING LEVELS OF SEWAGE CONTAMINATION IN STATE BODIES OF WATER.    IN
   11  THE  FIRST  YEAR  THE DEPARTMENT SHALL DESIGN A WATER QUALITY STUDY THAT
   12  ADEQUATELY DESCRIBES SEWAGE IMPACTS TO THE RECREATIONAL  WATERS  OF  THE
   13  STATE  IN  ORDER TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH. ONCE DESIGNED IT MUST BE PEER
   14  REVIEWED TO ASSURE ITS EFFICIENCY.
   15    3. FOLLOWING THE COMPLETION OF THE WATER QUALITY STUDY DESIGN, IN  THE
   16  SECOND YEAR, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL BEGIN COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF WATER
   17  QUALITY  DATA. SUCH COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS MAY BE PERFORMED IN CONJUNC-
   18  TION WITH COUNTY DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH  OR  ANY  OTHER  MUNICIPALITY  OR
   19  AGENCY  TASKED  WITH  MONITORING WATER CONTAMINATION.  IN THE THIRD YEAR
   20  PREDICTIVE WATER QUALITY MODELS WILL  BE  DEVELOPED  AND  ONGOING  WATER
   21  QUALITY MONITORING WILL BE USED TO VERIFY MODEL PREDICTIONS.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD13583-02-1
       S. 5915--A                          2
    1    4.  THE  DATA RETRIEVED FROM THE STUDIES REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVI-
    2  SIONS TWO AND THREE OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE SHARED WITH THE  DEPARTMENT
    3  OF  STATE,  DEPARTMENT  OF HEALTH, THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH PLANNING
    4  COUNCIL AND ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY  WITH  AN  INTEREST  IN  SUCH
    5  INFORMATION.
    6    5.  THE  DEPARTMENT,  IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
    7  THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH PLANNING COUNCIL, SHALL ESTABLISH A  CODING
    8  SYSTEM  FOR PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF THE LEVELS OF SEWAGE CONTAMINATION IN
    9  THE WATER.   IN ADDITION TO THE CODED  NOTIFICATION  SYSTEM,  ALL  WATER
   10  QUALITY DATA SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AS IT IS COLLECTED IN
   11  AS NEAR TO REAL TIME AS POSSIBLE. WATER BODIES WHERE WATER QUALITY MONI-
   12  TORING IS NOT CONDUCTED SHALL BE LISTED AS SUCH.
   13    S 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 224-c to
   14  read as follows:
   15    S  224-C.  WATER  QUALITY INFORMATION. 1. THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH
   16  PLANNING COUNCIL SHALL PROVIDE ONGOING UPDATES TO RESIDENTS OF THE STATE
   17  REGARDING THE QUALITY OF WATER THROUGHOUT THE  STATE  USING  INFORMATION
   18  RECEIVED  BY  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION FROM WATER
   19  QUALITY MONITORING AND PREDICTIVE  WATER  QUALITY  MODELS,  PURSUANT  TO
   20  SECTION 15-0319 OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW.
   21    2.  INFORMATION  SHALL BE DELINEATED TO RESIDENTS OF THE STATE THROUGH
   22  VARIOUS METHODS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE.
   23    3. THE CODING SYSTEM, ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT, THE  DEPART-
   24  MENT  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION,  AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH
   25  PLANNING COUNCIL, PURSUANT  TO  SECTION  15-0319  OF  THE  ENVIRONMENTAL
   26  CONSERVATION  LAW,  SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE,
   27  ALONG WITH THE WATER QUALITY SAMPLING DATA AND PREDICTIVE MODEL DATA.
   28    4. IF THE DEPARTMENT OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION  DETERMINES  THAT
   29  THERE  ARE  UNACCEPTABLE  LEVELS OF SEWAGE CONTAMINATION, THE DEPARTMENT
   30  SHALL DISSEMINATE WATER QUALITY ALERTS TO THE  PUBLIC.    WATER  QUALITY
   31  ALERTS  MUST  BE  ISSUED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AND NO LATER THAN ONE HOUR
   32  AFTER THE STATE IS NOTIFIED, IN  THE  EVENT  OF  ANY  ACCIDENTAL  SEWAGE
   33  RELEASES  SUCH  AS SEWER COLLECTION AND CONVEYANCE COMPONENT FAILURE AND
   34  UNPLANNED RELEASES FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS. THE PUBLIC MUST  BE
   35  NOTIFIED  IN  REAL TIME WHEN EVENTS OR CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED, BASED
   36  ON A PREDICTIVE MODEL OR PLANNED RELEASE, TO  CAUSE  UNACCEPTABLE  WATER
   37  QUALITY,  SUCH AS HEAVY RAIN IN AN AREA WITH COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS OR
   38  PLANNED WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT BYPASSES.  THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ISSUE
   39  ALERTS TO COMMUNICATIONS OUTLETS, INCLUDING  TELEVISION  AND  RADIO  AND
   40  CREATE  AND  UTILIZE  RELEVANT  SOCIAL  MEDIA OUTLETS TO COMMUNICATE ANY
   41  SPECIAL ALERTS TO STATE AND LOCAL RESIDENTS.  AT LOCATIONS WITH  CHRONIC
   42  SEWAGE  CONTAMINATION, SUCH AS ONGOING CONTAMINATION FROM FAILING SEPTIC
   43  SYSTEMS, SIGNS SHALL BE POSTED  TO  ALERT  THE  PUBLIC  OF  UNACCEPTABLE
   44  LEVELS  OF  SEWAGE  IN THE WATER. THE SIGNS MUST BE EASILY UNDERSTOOD BY
   45  THE PUBLIC AND MUST BE  MAINTAINED  UNTIL  WATER  QUALITY  IN  THE  AREA
   46  RETURNS TO ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF SEWAGE.
   47    S  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
   48  have become a law.