S 5484: Establishes the office of wastewater surveillance; creates a grant program; provides such office shall monitor wastewater testing and analyze wastewater test results; provides the grant program shall assist labs in conducting wastewater testing; establishes an advisory council which shall provide advice on: best practices for wastewater sampling, testing and test results analysis; the creation of standards and systems of reporting on wastewater surveillance; the creation of a dashboard; integrate wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 into the office of wastewater surveillance; and any topics deemed essential by the commissioner of health.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5484 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the office of wastewater surveillance and creating a grant program; and making an appropriation therefor The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Article 11 of the public health law is amended by adding a 2 new title V to read as follows: 3 TITLE V 4 WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE 5 Section 1180. Office of wastewater surveillance. 6 1181. Grant program. 7 1182. Advisory council. 8 § 1180. Office of wastewater surveillance. 1. The commissioner in 9 conjunction with the commissioner of environmental conservation shall 10 establish an office within the department that shall monitor wastewater 11 surveillance including the testing and analysis of wastewater for public 12 health. 13 2. The office shall partner and coordinate with: 14 (a) labs established pursuant to this article that as of the effective 15 date of this section, are engaged in COVID-19 wastewater testing, in 16 order to expand testing to include other pathogens; and 17 (b) the state university of New York and other institutions of higher 18 learning that as of the effective date of this section, are engaged in 19 wastewater surveillance. 20 3. The office shall create a standardized system for labs to report 21 wastewater test results and shall provide incentives for such labs to 22 report accurate wastewater test results. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09685-01-5 
 S. 5484 2 1 4. The office shall create an online public-facing dashboard where 2 data from wastewater surveillance are published and such dashboard shall 3 comply with the health insurance portability and accountability act. 4 5. (a) The office shall prepare and submit a report within one year of 5 the effective date of this section and annually thereafter to the gover- 6 nor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, 7 minority leader of the senate, minority leader of the assembly, chair of 8 the senate committee on health and the chair of the assembly health 9 committee of its policy recommendations based on the results from waste- 10 water surveillance. 11 (b) In the event that wastewater surveillance shows an abnormally high 12 level of pathogens which is indicative of a possible community wide 13 infection of such pathogen, the office shall notify and make policy 14 recommendations to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, 15 the speaker of the assembly, minority leader of the senate, minority 16 leader of the assembly, chair of the senate committee on health and the 17 chair of the assembly health committee as soon as practicable. 18 § 1181. Grant program. The commissioner shall establish and adminis- 19 ter a grant program that shall assist labs established pursuant to this 20 article in conducting wastewater testing. 21 § 1182. Advisory council. 1. The commissioner in conjunction with the 22 commissioner of environmental conservation shall establish an advisory 23 council, which shall provide advice on: 24 (a) best practices for wastewater sampling, wastewater testing and 25 analysis of wastewater test results; 26 (b) the creation of standards and systems of reporting on wastewater 27 surveillance; 28 (c) the creation of the dashboard established pursuant to subdivision 29 four of section eleven hundred eighty of this title; 30 (d) integrating wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 into the office 31 of wastewater surveillance established pursuant to section eleven 32 hundred eighty of this title; and 33 (e) any topics deemed essential by the commissioner. 34 2. The advisory council shall consist of a minimum of five members and 35 no more than nine members with such members coming from public and 36 private institutions of higher learning with experience in wastewater 37 surveillance who shall be appointed by the commissioner in conjunction 38 with the commissioner of environmental conservation. Such members shall 39 include, but not be limited to persons who have a background and/or 40 experience in the following fields: 41 (a) microbiologist; 42 (b) chemist; 43 (c) environmental engineer; 44 (d) epidemiologist; and 45 (e) geographer. 46 3. Membership on the advisory council shall be geographically repre- 47 sentative of the state. The members shall serve three-year terms. The 48 chairperson shall be selected by majority vote of the members of the 49 council. The council shall meet at the call of the commissioner, but no 50 less than four times per year. A majority of the members shall consti- 51 tute a quorum. 52 4. The members of the advisory council shall receive no compensation 53 for their services as members of the council, but each of them shall be 54 allowed the necessary and actual expenses which they shall incur in the 55 performance of their duties under this section. The department shall 
 S. 5484 3 1 provide staff and support necessary for the advisory council to carry 2 out its duties and responsibilities. 3 5. The advisory council shall convene its first meeting within forty- 4 five days of the effective date of this section. 5 6. The advisory council shall report its findings to the office of 6 wastewater surveillance established pursuant to section eleven hundred 7 eighty of this title within one year of its first meeting and annually 8 thereafter. 9 § 2. The sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars 10 ($1,500,000), or so much thereof as may be available, is hereby appro- 11 priated to the department of health from any moneys in the state treas- 12 ury in the general fund to the credit of the state purposes account, not 13 otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available, for the purposes 14 of establishing the office of wastewater surveillance and for the 15 creation of the grant program with an annual appropriation thereafter to 16 be determined by the commissioner of health. Such moneys shall be paya- 17 ble on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified or 18 approved by the commissioner of health in the manner prescribed by law. 19 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 20 sections 1180 and 1181 of the public health law as added by section one 21 of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it 22 shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment 23 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation 24 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 25 completed on or before such effective date.