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A05851 Summary:

BILL NOA05851
 
SAME ASSAME AS S07052
 
SPONSORLevenberg
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §3-0322, En Con L
 
Establishes a wastewater infrastructure and drinking water program for the purpose of making payments toward the replacement and rehabilitation of existing local municipally-owned and funded drinking water, storm water and sanitary sewer systems; appropriates six million dollars to initially fund such program.
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A05851 Actions:

BILL NOA05851
 
03/23/2023referred to environmental conservation
01/03/2024referred to environmental conservation
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A05851 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A5851
 
SPONSOR: Levenberg
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to establishing the wastewater infrastructure and drinking water program; and making an appropriation therefor   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to legislatively expand the Environmental Planning Grant available for wastewater projects to include drinking water projects, and to appropriate six million dollars for this purpose.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1. A new section 3-0322 is added to the Environmental Conserva- tion Law, which establishes the Wastewater Infrastructure and Drinking Water Program. This program shall apply to any drinking water system, storm water system, or sanitary sewer system that is under maintenance and/or operational jurisdiction of a county, city, town, village or public authority, and provided such system is not maintained or operated by a private entity. The Commissioner, with the Environmental Facilities corporation shall promulgate all necessary rules and regulations to see that the program is distributed equitably. The program shall offer grants to municipalities to pay for the initial planning of eligible projects. Funding will be used for the preparation of an engineering report. Section 2. Six million dollars with be appropriated to the Department of Environmental Conservation out of the State's General Fund. Section 3. Establishes the effective date.   DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE): This portion of this memorandum is not applicable at this time.   JUSTIFICATION: In 2022, the Construction Industry Council collaborated with Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress on a report that examined the past 10 years of infrastructure investments across a nine-county region directly north of New York City. The most urgent findings of the report were related to water and sewer infrastructure, and while since 2015, the NYS Legisla- ture has appropriated approximately $4 billion for upgrades to these systems, only 18% of that money reached our communities. The research showed that many small and medium sized communities found the applica- tion process challenging, the up-front costs intimidating, or they wrongly believed the programs were not intended for their villages, hamlets or towns. As a result, monies are not reaching the communities so desperately in need of these infrastructure upgrades. This legis- lation is one of two steps that can be taken legislatively, in the near- term, so that these challenges facing small and medium communities can be minimized. Currently, Environmental Planning Grants managed by the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation steer small and medium towns to state funding to provide vital help with up-front engineering assist- ance. Last year, about $3 million dollars were awarded statewide for wastewater projects. This same engineering/planning is also necessary to improve access to drinking water funds. This legislation will expand the current Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grant to include Drinking Water so that water quality projects will be affordable for all communities.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is new legislation.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: The current fiscal implications are unknown at this time.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the 120th day after is shall have become law.
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A05851 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          5851
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     March 23, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  LEVENBERG  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
        AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
          establishing the wastewater infrastructure and drinking water 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. The environmental conservation law is amended by  adding  a
     2  new section 3-0322 to read as follows:
     3  § 3-0322. Wastewater infrastructure and drinking water program.
     4    1.  Notwithstanding  any other provisions of this chapter or any other
     5  law, rule or regulation, and subject to an appropriation  made  therefor
     6  and in accordance with the provisions of this section and with the rules
     7  and regulations promulgated by the commissioner in connection therewith,
     8  on  and after the first day of April, two thousand twenty-four, a waste-
     9  water infrastructure and drinking water program  is  hereby  established
    10  for  the purpose of making payments toward the replacement and rehabili-
    11  tation of existing local municipally-owned and  funded  drinking  water,
    12  storm  water  and  sanitary sewer systems. For purposes of this section,
    13  such program shall apply to  any  drinking  water  system,  storm  water
    14  system or sanitary sewer system within the state that is under the main-
    15  tenance and/or operational jurisdiction of a county, city, town, village
    16  or  public  authority;  provided, however, that such system shall not be
    17  under the maintenance and/or operational jurisdiction of a private enti-
    18  ty. The commissioner, in conjunction with the  environmental  facilities
    19  corporation,  shall  promulgate  all  necessary rules and regulations to
    20  carry out the program so that an equitable distribution of aid shall  be
    21  made  for  the  general operation and/or general maintenance of any such
    22  existing drinking water system, storm water  system  or  sanitary  sewer
    23  system.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10009-01-3

        A. 5851                             2
 
     1    2.  Such  program shall offer grants to municipalities to help pay for
     2  the initial planning  of  eligible  Clean  Water  State  Revolving  Fund
     3  (CWSRF) water quality projects.
     4    3.  Funding  may  be  used by municipalities for the preparation of an
     5  engineering report. This includes planning activities to  determine  the
     6  scope  of  water  quality  issues,  evaluation  of alternatives, and the
     7  recommendation of a capital improvement project. In addition, the  costs
     8  to  conduct  an environmental review for the recommended alternative are
     9  eligible. Design and construction costs are not eligible. Priority shall
    10  be given to municipalities proposing planning activities that are:
    11    (a) required by an executed Order on Consent; or
    12    (b) required by a draft or final State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
    13  System (SPDES) permit (e.g. nutrient removal, inflow  and  infiltration,
    14  disinfection); or
    15    (c) upgrading or replacing an existing wastewater system; or
    16    (d)  constructing  a wastewater treatment and/or collection system for
    17  an area with failing onsite septic systems; or
    18    (e) addressing a pollutant of concern in  a  watershed  implementation
    19  plan (i.e. Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), Nine Element Watershed Plan,
    20  or DEC HABs Action Plan).
    21    §  2.  The sum of six million dollars ($6,000,000) is hereby appropri-
    22  ated to the department of environmental conservation out of  any  moneys
    23  in  the  state treasury in the general fund, not otherwise appropriated,
    24  and made immediately available, for the purposes of providing  emergency
    25  municipal  drinking  water,  wastewater  and  storm water infrastructure
    26  grants for infrastructure projects where there is an imminent threat  to
    27  the  environment and/or the public health, specifically for the wastewa-
    28  ter infrastructure and drinking water  program.  Such  moneys  shall  be
    29  payable  on  the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certi-
    30  fied or approved by the department of environmental conservation.
    31    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    32  it shall have become a law.
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