S 672: Relates to the completion and funding of environmental restoration projects.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 672 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to envi- ronmental restoration projects; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 56-0501 of the environmental conservation law is 2 amended by adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows: 3 3. Beginning in state fiscal year two thousand twenty-five--two thou- 4 sand twenty-six, environmental restoration projects may be funded within 5 available appropriations. 6 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 56-0502 of the environmental conserva- 7 tion law is REPEALED. 8 § 3. Subdivisions 1-a and 5 of section 56-0502 of the environmental 9 conservation law, subdivision 1-a as added and subdivision 5 as amended 10 by section 2 of part D of chapter 577 of the laws of 2004, are amended 11 and a new subdivision 1 is added to read as follows: 12 1. "Contaminant" shall mean hazardous waste as defined in section 13 27-1301 of this chapter, petroleum as defined in section one hundred 14 seventy-two of the navigation law, and emerging contaminants as defined 15 in section eleven hundred twelve of the public health law. 16 1-a. "Contamination" or "contaminated" shall [have the same meaning as 17 provided in section 27-1405 of this chapter] mean the presence of a 18 contaminant in any environmental media, including soil, surface water, 19 groundwater, air, or indoor air. 20 5. "Municipality", for purposes of this title, shall have the same 21 meaning as provided in subdivision fifteen of section 56-0101 of this 22 article, except that such term shall not refer to a municipality that 23 [generated, transported, or disposed of, arranged for, or that caused EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00134-01-5 
 S. 672 2 1 the generation, transportation, or disposal of contamination located at 2 real property proposed to be investigated or to be remediated under an 3 environmental restoration project. For purposes of this title, the term 4 municipality includes a municipality acting in partnership with a commu- 5 nity based organization], through deliberate action or inaction, inten- 6 tionally or recklessly caused or contributed to contamination, outside 7 of its performance of governmental functions, which threatens public 8 health or the environment, at real property to be investigated or reme- 9 diated under an environmental restoration project. 10 § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 56-0503 of the environ- 11 mental conservation law, as amended by section 38 of part BB of chapter 12 56 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 13 (c) A provision that the municipality shall assist in identifying a 14 responsible party by searching local records, including property tax 15 rolls, or document reviews, and if, in accordance with the required 16 departmental approval of any settlement with a responsible party, any 17 responsible party payments become available to the municipality, before, 18 during or after the completion of an environmental restoration project, 19 which were not included when the state share was calculated pursuant to 20 this section, [the state assistance share shall be recalculated, and] 21 the value of such settlement shall be used by the municipality to fund 22 its municipal share, and the state assistance share shall not be recal- 23 culated, to the extent that the total of all such settlement amounts is 24 equal to or less than the municipal share. To the extent the total of 25 all such settlement amounts exceeds the municipal share, the munici- 26 pality shall pay such exceedance to the state, for deposit into the 27 environmental restoration project account of the hazardous waste remedi- 28 al fund established under section ninety-seven-b of the state finance 29 law[, the difference between the original state assistance payment and 30 the recalculated state share. Recalculation of the state share shall be 31 done each time a payment from a responsible party is received by the 32 municipality]; 33 § 5. Paragraphs (a), (d), and (e) of subdivision 1 of section 56-0505 34 of the environmental conservation law, as amended by section 5 of part D 35 of chapter 1 of the laws of 2003, are amended and two new paragraphs (f) 36 and (g) are added to read as follows: 37 (a) the benefit to the environment and public health realized by the 38 expeditious remediation of the property proposed to be subject to such 39 project; 40 (d) real property in a designated brownfield opportunity area pursuant 41 to section nine hundred seventy-r of the general municipal law or real 42 property in a disadvantaged community pursuant to subdivision five of 43 section 75-0101 of this chapter; [and] 44 (e) the opportunity for other funding sources to be available for the 45 investigation or remediation of such property, including, but not limit- 46 ed to, enforcement actions against responsible parties (other than the 47 municipality to which state assistance was provided under this title; or 48 a successor in title, lender, or lessee who was not otherwise a respon- 49 sible party prior to such municipality taking title to the property), 50 state assistance payments pursuant to title thirteen of article twenty- 51 seven of this chapter, and the existence of private parties willing to 52 remediate such property using private funding sources. Highest priority 53 shall be granted to projects for which other such funding sources are 54 not available[.], excluding state or federal funds for the investigation 55 or remediation project received or to be received by the municipality; 
 S. 672 3 1 (f) for drinking water contamination sites as defined in section 2 27-1201 of this chapter, any requirements made by the commissioner of 3 health pursuant to section 27-1205 of this chapter, for a municipally 4 owned public water system to take action to reduce exposure to an emerg- 5 ing contaminant or contaminants; and 6 (g) any such other criteria deemed appropriate by the department. 7 § 6. Subdivision 2 of section 56-0505 of the environmental conserva- 8 tion law is REPEALED. 9 § 7. Subdivisions 3, 4, and 5 of section 56-0505 of the environmental 10 conservation law are renumbered subdivisions 2, 3, and 4 and subdivision 11 2, as amended by section 5 of part D of chapter 1 of the laws of 2003 12 and as renumbered by this section, is amended to read as follows: 13 2. The remediation objective of an environmental restoration remedi- 14 ation project shall meet the same standard for protection of public 15 health and the environment that applies to remedial actions undertaken 16 pursuant to [section] sections 27-1313 and 27-1205 of this chapter. 17 § 8. Subdivision 3 of section 56-0509 of the environmental conserva- 18 tion law, as amended by section 4 of part D of chapter 577 of the laws 19 of 2004, is amended to read as follows: 20 3. The state shall indemnify and save harmless any municipality[,] 21 that completes an environmental restoration remediation project in 22 compliance with the terms and conditions of a state assistance contract 23 or written agreement pursuant to subdivision three of section 56-0503 of 24 this title providing such assistance and any successor in title, lessee, 25 or lender [identified in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this 26 section in the amount of any judgment or settlement, obtained against 27 such municipality, successor in title, lessee, or lender in any court 28 for any common law cause of action arising out of the presence of any 29 contamination in or on property at anytime before the effective date of 30 a contract entered into pursuant to this title] for judgments or settle- 31 ments obtained against such municipality, successor in title, lessee, or 32 lender in any court for any common law cause of action arising out of 33 municipal actions related to the implementation of the environmental 34 restoration remediation project. Such municipality, successor in title, 35 lessee, or lender shall be entitled to representation by the attorney 36 general, unless the attorney general determines, or a court of competent 37 jurisdiction determines, that such representation would constitute a 38 conflict of interest, in which case the attorney general shall certify 39 to the comptroller that such party is entitled to private counsel of its 40 choice, and reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses shall be reimbursed 41 by the state. Any settlement of such an action shall be subject to the 42 approval of the attorney general as to form and amount, and this subdi- 43 vision shall not apply to any settlement of any such action which has 44 not received such approval. 45 § 9. Notwithstanding subdivisions a, b, and c of section 32 of chapter 46 413 of the laws of 1996, a memorandum of understanding shall not be 47 required to make available twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) from the 48 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act of 1996 for state assistance payments to 49 municipalities for environmental remediation in accordance with title 5 50 of article 56 of the environmental conservation law. 51 § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.