Citizens' Environmental Coalition
New York Public Interest Research Group

SUPPORT S.5702/A.9120

IN SENATE, BILL NUMBER 5702. INTRODUCED BY SEN. MARCELLINO, et al.
(AT REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR)

IN ASSEMBLY, BILL NUMBER 9120. INTRODUCED BY M. OF A. DiNAPOLI, et al. (AT REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR)

AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law &c.

Summary of Provisions

S. 5702/ A.9120 refinances and reforms the state Superfund program, establishes a state groundwater remediation plan, and creates a brownfield remediation and redevelopment program.

Statement of Support

Superfund Refinancing
This bill refinances the state Superfund with an annual projected budget of $120 million, while maintaining the historic 50/50 split between industry fees and General Fund Monies and without weakening cleanup policy. A number of positive reforms to the Superfund including the expansion of the DEC authority to cover "hazardous substance" sites, the creation of technical assistance grants for community groups, and the strengthening of accountability for institutional and engineering controls employed at sites with elevated levels of contamination remaining after a remediation.

CEC and NYPIRG disagree with provisions of the bill that add liability exclusions for lenders and fiduciaries and that compel the DEC to issue liability releases, binding unto the state, from future claims for remediation costs. The bill also fails to reauthorize the Superfund Management Board to oversee the program.

Statewide Groundwater Remediation Plan
The bill establishes a statewide Groundwater Remediation Plan that will provide a publicly transparent framework for the short and long-term remediation of polluted groundwater. A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database is also established that will give a centralized, comprehensive and publicly accessible accounting of contaminated groundwater across the state.

Brownfield Remediation and Redevelopment Program
This bill creates for the first time a statutorily authorized voluntary cleanup program that will lead to the remediation and redevelopment of thousands of "brownfield" sites. The bill prioritizes permanent and complete cleanups, and protects groundwater as a drinking water source. The agencies are required to establish soil cleanup standards based on conservative risk assumptions that are protective of children and natural resources.

The bill strengthens voluntary cleanups by ensuring toxic source removal and the evaluation of remedial alternatives based on strong health and environmental criteria.
The new brownfields program also includes strong community participation and planning components including technical assistance grants for community groups and tax credits targeted to distressed urban neighborhoods. The bill also increases the accountability and enforceability of institutional and engineering controls though annual review and five year re-certification.

Our groups, however, oppose the land use based approach of this bill that will lead to varying degrees of residual contamination at sites that will be used for residential, commercial, and industrial purposes. We also oppose the use of exposure assessments that only estimate toxic exposure pathways in place of full investigations that truly characterize off site pollution. Contamination beyond the property borders of a polluted site including contaminated drinking water wells is a primary way the public is threatened by toxic chemicals, and full investigation is paramount to preventing human and environmental exposure. We are concerned about provisions that allow for site specific variations from soil standards and remedial goals, abbreviated remedial selection analysis, tight timetables for agency review, and the inclusion of "significant threat" sites with a responsible party in a voluntary rather than enforcement program.

Outstanding issues that should be addressed include the addition of low-level radioactive waste sites to Superfund, the establishment of a statewide advisory board to oversee both the Superfund and brownfield programs and financing for implementation of the statewide groundwater remediation plan.

Citizens' Environmental Coalition and NYPIRG support passage of this bill.

Home  |   Environment  |   Consumer  |   Victories  |   Fuel Buyers Group