Bill Text: NY A06016 | 2019-2020 | 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 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to environmental conservation [A06016 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A06016-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6016 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 26, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee 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 § 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. 24 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation 25 law is amended by adding a new paragraph (h-1) to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05070-01-9A. 6016 2 1 (h-1) whether such action may cause or increase a disproportionate or 2 inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable burden on those 3 minority communities or economically distressed areas or minority commu- 4 nities and economically distressed areas that are directly or signif- 5 icantly indirectly affected by the action; 6 § 4. The opening paragraph of subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the 7 environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 219 of the laws of 8 1990, is amended to read as follows: 9 As early as possible in the formulation of a proposal for an action, 10 the responsible agency shall make an initial determination as to whether 11 or not an environmental impact statement need be prepared for the 12 action. In making such determination, the responsible agency or appli- 13 cant shall consider whether such action may cause or increase a 14 disproportionate or inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable 15 burden on those minority communities or economically distressed areas or 16 minority communities and economically distressed areas that are directly 17 or significantly indirectly affected by the action. When an action is to 18 be carried out or approved by two or more agencies, such determination 19 shall be made as early as possible after the designation of the lead 20 agency. 21 § 5. The opening paragraph of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of 22 section 8-0113 of the environmental conservation law is designated 23 subparagraph (i) and a new subparagraph (ii) is added to read as 24 follows: 25 (ii) Such criteria shall include consideration of the extent to which 26 a proposed action may reasonably be expected to cause or increase a 27 disproportionate or inequitable or both disproportionate and inequitable 28 burden on those minority communities or economically distressed areas or 29 minority communities and economically distressed areas that are directly 30 or significantly indirectly affected by the action; 31 § 6. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 32 have become a law; provided that section three of this act shall not 33 apply to any person who has received an initial determination pursuant 34 to subdivision 4 of section 8-0109 of the environmental conservation law 35 prior to such date and provided further that section five of this act 36 shall not apply to any determination of significance made prior to such 37 date.
