Another bill fails on the floor of the NYS Senate

This is a good bill, part of the Earth Day Lobby Day priority list (0.00 / 0)

SEQRA, the State Environmental Quality Review Act (analogous  to federal NEPA) is supposed to allow pubicl participation before polluters are granted permits.
But under current law, a Court of Appeals decision c 1991, partly revised by a decision last year, standing to sue to enforce SEQRA  is restricted to citizens who can show special harm, more than the general public.
Therefore, if a project pollutes the environment in general, eg by emitting huge quantities of greenhouse gases, nobody has standing to sue to  challenge a permit.

Here is a link for EDLD and the priority bills:

http://www.eany.org/news/04202...

E

arth Day Lobby Day is the State Capital's largest annual environmental event and this year marks its 20th anniversary.
In visits with Legislators from across the state advocated for the environmental community's priority "Super Bills," which include:
The Global Warming Pollution Control Act (S.4315A Thompson/A.7572A Sweeney) would require an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from all sources by 2050, as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cuts like these will help stave off the worst effects of climate change.

The Electronic Equipment Recycling & Reuse Act (S.6047A Thompson/A.9049 Sweeney) requires electronics manufacturers to take back e-waste and ensure that it is properly recycled, establishing mandatory minimum recovery rates that step up as they phase in over time. This legislation will effectively reduce toxic e-waste, the fastest growing segment of our waste stream.

The Environmental Access to Justice Act (S.1635 Thompson/A. 9480 Sweeney), also known as the SEQRA Standing Bill, restores the original intent of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) by allowing groups or individuals to challenge decisions if they can demonstrate that they will suffer injury from a proposed project's environmental impact, without having to show that the harm they will suffer is different than that suffered by the public at large.

A legal and regulatory framework to protect New York from potential dangers of natural gas drilling. The gas industry is eager to drill in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations underlying Central New York, the Southern Tier and Catskills regions using technology-known as hydraulic fracturing or "fracking"-which has contaminated water sources and polluted air in other parts of the country. New York does not have the legal protections or regulations to safeguard the state's natural resources.  

The need to restore environmental funding in the New York State Budget. The Governor cut major environmental programs in his budget proposal, including a $69 million cut to the Environmental Protection Fund, a 34 percent reduction for the Department of Environmental Conservation, and a nearly 20 percent reduction for the Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation that will result in the closure of 41 parks and many historic sites.

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by: Albanius @ Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 02:52:22 AM UTC