Bill Text: NY S03606 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires operators of nuclear power plants (or designee) to give notice of: scheduled releases of radioactive materials at least 24 hours before the release is planned to occur; unscheduled releases of such materials as soon as possible, but not more than 24 hours after discovery of the release; and breakdowns or malfunction; specifies that such notice shall be given to specified parties, including to the public via a toll free number; specifies elements to be contained in the notice (i.e. the total amount of radioactivity released or planned to be released, the estimated individual dose that may occur due to the event, weather conditions at the time of release, the area affected or anticipated to be affected, the equipment that malfunctioned or the operator error or other condition that caused the release, and the corrective action taken); requires study thereof by the commissioner of health; requires preparation and distribution of a report thereupon by the commissioner of health; provides for submission of annual reports by operators of nuclear power plants; provides monetary penalties for violations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS [S03606 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S03606-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3606
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    February 11, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
          ty and Military Affairs
        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to notice of emissions at
          nuclear power plants
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  The executive law is amended by adding a new section 29-f
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 29-f. Emissions from nuclear power plants; purpose, notice required,
     4  reports and penalties. 1.  The  legislature  finds  that  nuclear  power
     5  plants routinely release radioactive materials to the environment. These
     6  radioactive  materials are generally released in a controlled manner and
     7  within the limits established by the United  States  nuclear  regulatory
     8  commission.  Some of these releases have been unplanned, unscheduled and
     9  inadvertent. On occasion, they exceed  technical  specification  limits.
    10  Most  authorities  agree that it should be assumed that radiation at any
    11  dose level has a finite risk. The legislature finds, therefore, that the
    12  public welfare will be better protected if the public is fully  informed
    13  on any release of radioactive materials to the environment.
    14    2.  For the purposes of this section, "operator" shall mean the corpo-
    15  ration, or other business entity, that owns or manages a  nuclear  power
    16  plant.
    17    3.  The  operator  of  any  nuclear  power plant in this state, or its
    18  designee, shall maintain a toll-free telephone number for the purpose of
    19  making information related to the events detailed in subdivision four of
    20  this section available to the public.  Any  such  operator  or  designee
    21  shall  also provide notice of the events detailed in subdivision four of
    22  this section to:
    23    (a) the public;
    24    (b) the commissioner of health;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09571-01-9

        S. 3606                             2
     1    (c) the chief executive officer of the county  in  which  the  nuclear
     2  power plant is located; and
     3    (d)  the chief executive officer of the city, town or village in which
     4  the nuclear power plant is located.
     5    4. The notice required in subdivision three of this section  shall  be
     6  for any of the following:
     7    (a)  scheduled  releases of radioactive materials at least twenty-four
     8  hours before the release is planned to occur;
     9    (b) unscheduled releases of radioactive materials, as soon  as  possi-
    10  ble,  but  not  more  than  twenty-four hours after the discovery of the
    11  release; and
    12    (c) breakdowns or malfunctions of any  safety-related  equipment  that
    13  must  be  reported  under the United States Code of Federal Regulations,
    14  Title 10, Part 21, as soon as possible, but not  more  than  twenty-four
    15  hours after the discovery of the breakdown or malfunction.
    16    5.  The notice required by this section shall contain a description of
    17  the following:
    18    (a) the total amount  of  radioactivity  released  or  planned  to  be
    19  released;
    20    (b) the estimated individual dose that may occur due to the event;
    21    (c)  weather conditions or predicted weather conditions at the time of
    22  the release or scheduled release;
    23    (d) the area affected or anticipated to be affected by the event;
    24    (e) the equipment that malfunctioned, or the operator error  or  other
    25  condition that caused the release; and
    26    (f) corrective actions taken.
    27    6.    (a)  The  information  provided  in  the notice required by this
    28  section shall be submitted in the form of a report to the department  of
    29  health.
    30    (b)  The  commissioner of health, or his or her designee, shall review
    31  and study the reports, if any, and consolidate them for distribution  to
    32  the  public  service  commission,  state  agencies  and public officials
    33  concerned with nuclear energy and interested members of the public. Such
    34  report shall include an abstract that is easily understood by the gener-
    35  al public.
    36    (c) Reports of release which exceed technical specification limits  or
    37  result in overexposure to plant personnel or members of the public shall
    38  be  reviewed  expeditiously by the commissioner of health, or his or her
    39  designee, and a report shall be forwarded to the individuals  and  agen-
    40  cies as provided in this section.
    41    7.  The  operator  of any nuclear power plant in this state, or his or
    42  her designee, shall submit an annual report by  March  thirty-first,  to
    43  the  public  service  commission, with a copy sent to the New York state
    44  library; which shall include the following information:
    45    (a) a list and summary description of any safety-related incidents  at
    46  that nuclear power plant reported to the United States nuclear regulato-
    47  ry  commission  during the previous calendar year, including a statement
    48  of the cause of the incident, its effects on human health and the  envi-
    49  ronment, corrective measures which have been taken and the costs;
    50    (b)  a  list and summary description of those unresolved safety issues
    51  as defined by the United  States  nuclear  regulatory  commission  which
    52  pertain  to  that  nuclear  power plant and the status of resolution and
    53  implementation of those unresolved safety issues; and
    54    (c) a list and summary description of  any  unresolved  safety  issues
    55  which  have  been  converted  to regulation by the United States nuclear
    56  regulatory commission for implementation at that  nuclear  power  plant,

        S. 3606                             3
     1  together with the best available estimates of the cost and time required
     2  for that implementation.
     3    8.  Any  operator  of a nuclear power plant in this state who fails to
     4  comply with the provisions of this section shall be subject to a fine of
     5  not less than one thousand dollars and not to exceed  twenty-five  thou-
     6  sand  dollars  per  violation  to  be levied by the department of health
     7  after notice and opportunity to be heard pursuant to section twelve-a of
     8  the public health law.
     9    § 2.  This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
    10  the date on which it shall have become a law.
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