Bill Text: NY S04165 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to the filling of borrow pits in Jamaica Bay.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2019-12-20 - tabled [S04165 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S04165-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4165--A
            Cal. No. 819

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      March 4, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
          -- committee discharged and said bill committed to  the  Committee  on
          Rules  --  reported  favorably from said committee, ordered to a third
          reading, passed by Senate and delivered  to  the  Assembly,  recalled,
          vote  reconsidered,  restored  to  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  the
          filling of borrow pits in Jamaica Bay; and to amend chapter 288 of the
          laws  of  2014 amending the environmental conservation law relating to
          the filling of borrow pits in Jamaica Bay, in relation to  making  the
          provisions of such chapter permanent

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1.  Legislative intent. Due to the increase in vessel size  in
     2  recent  years, New York State waterways such as channels, berthing areas
     3  and harbors are being excavated in a process known as dredging to  main-
     4  tain sufficient depth for safe and efficient vessel operation.
     5    Dredged  material  is  naturally  accumulated  sediment,  much  of the
     6  dredged material does  contain  some  contaminants  at  varying  concen-
     7  trations.
     8    Jamaica  Bay  was  dredged to supply soil for a number of construction
     9  projects. This process created borrow pits in the bay. These borrow pits
    10  have been identified as an attractive alternative for the  disposing  of
    11  dredge material.
    12    §  2.  Subdivisions  1 and 3-a of section 15-0505 of the environmental
    13  conservation law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 233 of the laws of
    14  1979 and subdivision 3-a as added by chapter 288 of the  laws  of  2014,
    15  are amended to read as follows:
    16    1.  No  person, local public corporation or interstate authority shall
    17  excavate or place fill below the mean high water level  in  any  of  the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09819-03-9
        S. 4165--A                          2

     1  navigable  waters  of the state, or in marshes, estuaries, tidal marshes
     2  and wetlands that are adjacent to and contiguous at any point to any  of
     3  the  navigable  waters  of the state and that are inundated at mean high
     4  water  level  or tide, without a permit issued pursuant to subdivision 3
     5  of this section. For the purposes of this section, fill  shall  include,
     6  but  shall  not  be  limited to, earth, clay, silt, sand, gravel, stone,
     7  rock, shale, concrete (whole  or  fragmentary),  ashes,  cinders,  slag,
     8  metal,  dredged  material  or  any other similar material whether or not
     9  enclosed or contained by (1) crib work of wood, timber,  logs,  concrete
    10  or  metal,  (2) bulkheads and cofferdams of timber sheeting, bracing and
    11  piling or steel sheet piling or steel H piling, separated or in combina-
    12  tion.  Nothing contained in this section is intended to be, nor shall be
    13  construed to limit, impair or affect  the  memorandum  of  understanding
    14  which  any  state department enters into with the Department of Environ-
    15  mental Conservation or the general powers and duties of  the  Department
    16  of Transportation relating to canals or the general powers and duties of
    17  the Department of Environmental Conservation relating to flood control.
    18    3-a.  [The  department  may  only grant a permit for the filing of the
    19  Jamaica Bay borrow pits if the proposed sediments and fill materials:
    20    (1) have been tested and the test results are in accordance  with  the
    21  requirements  set  forth in the department's technical operational guid-
    22  ance series 5.1.9 for the in water management  of  sediment  and  dredge
    23  material; and
    24    (2) meet the department's class a criteria] In filling the Jamaica Bay
    25  borrow pits the department may only grant a permit if the proposed sedi-
    26  ments and fill materials meet the following criteria:
    27    (1) comply with federal unrestricted ocean dumping criteria;
    28    (2) have been tested and test results indicate no unacceptable toxici-
    29  ty or bioaccumulation in biological test systems;
    30    (3) has no potential short-term (acute) impacts or long-term (chronic)
    31  impacts; and
    32    (4)  requires  no  special  precautionary measures are required during
    33  disposal.
    34    § 3. Section 3 of chapter 288 of the laws of 2014 amending  the  envi-
    35  ronmental  conservation  law  relating  to the filling of borrow pits in
    36  Jamaica Bay, as amended by chapter 499 of the laws of 2016,  is  amended
    37  to read as follows:
    38    §  3.  This act shall take effect immediately [and shall expire and be
    39  deemed repealed June 30, 2022].
    40    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.