NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2572
SPONSOR: Englebright (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law and the transporta-
tion corporations law, in relation to prohibiting state authorizations
related to certain offshore oil and natural gas production
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To prohibit oil and natural gas drilling in New York's coastal areas.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill would amend Environmental Conservation Law § 23-1101 to
prohibit the leasing of state-owned underwater coastal lands for oil and
natural gas drilling and add a new § 23-1105 to prevent the Department
of Environmental Conservation and the Office of General Services from
authorizing leases that would result in the increase of oil or natural
gas production from federal waters. In addition, the bill would amend
the Transportation Corporations Law to restrict the powers of such
corporations to develop pipelines associated with the delivery of
natural gas or oil from the North Atlantic Planning Area.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Not applicable.
JUSTIFICATION:
In a Presidential Executive Order issued on April 28, 2017, President
Trump announced an "America-First Offshore Energy Strategy." The imple-
mentation of this Executive Order included the United States Department
of the Interior's (DOI) January 4, 2018 announcement regarding plans for
the expansion of natural gas and oil drilling, and the release of the
"2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft
Proposed Program," by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The
federal proposed offshore drilling expansion includes the potential
lease of acreage in federal offshore areas such as the approximately 270
million-acre Atlantic Region. The Atlantic Region, which extends north
to Canada, east to the territorial waters of the Bahamas, and south to
the territorial waters of Cuba, is divided into four planning areas -
North Atlantic (which includes New York), Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic,
and Straits of Florida. The BOEM proposal includes a total of nine lease
sales in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the Atlantic Region, with
two potentially taking place in the North Atlantic area that includes
New York.
Drilling off New York's Atlantic Coast has been off limits for decades
and as a result, some of the State's laws regulating oil and natural gas
drilling have not kept pace. This legislation would remedy that over-
sight and prohibit the use of the State's underwater lands for drilling.
Such a prohibition is in keeping with New York's coastal management
practices, and also protects endangered and threatened species, such as
the North Atlantic right whale, and the State's recreational and commer-
cial fishing industries. In addition, this legislation, based in part on
legislation from California, would prohibit DEC and OGS from providing
leases that would result in the increase of oil or natural gas
production from federal waters.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2018: A.9819 (similar) (Englebright) - Passed the Assembly.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
