February 4, 2008

Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We’ll update you every other week with tidbits and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol.

Back to the Basin
Great Lakes Compact 

At the bitter end of last year’s New York State Legislative Session, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (the Compact) got derailed, despite the fact that it was supported by all the key players in the Assembly, the Senate, and the Governor’s Office.

Environmental Advocates of New York, in partnership with a powerful statewide coalition, kept up the call to pass the Compact all summer and fall. And then we waited for the 2008 session to start.

The Compact started to move.

In his recent State of the Upstate address in Buffalo, Governor Eliot Spitzer called on lawmakers to finish the Compact this year. And since then, there's been no stopping the measure, which will protect precious Great Lakes water for future generations while guaranteeing that New York has a seat at the table when it comes time for the region to make hard choices about water management.

The Compact is also on the move in the Statehouse. It has been passed by the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee and is headed to the floor. In the Assembly, the legislation passed through the Environmental Conservation and Codes committees and is headed to Ways and Means—its last stop before the floor.

If the Compact is ratified by New York State lawmakers soon, we could become the third state in the Basin to wrap up the measure.

A Compact passage primer: Adopted in Minnesota, February 2007; Adopted in Illinois, August 2007; in Indiana versions have passed in both houses and minor reconciliations are being made to get it to the Governor’s desk; in Pennsylvania it’s moving through the Senate after having passed in the house last week; in Ohio, the measure is working through committees; and in Michigan and Wisconsin, the Compact is waiting to be introduced.

The multi-state agreement, which was drafted by all eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces, will create a unified structure to manage future water withdrawals outside of the Basin. The Compact also requires states adopt water conservation and efficiency measures to help maintain the vitality of the Lakes.

Same Old, Same Old
Sewage in the Sound

While visiting Westchester County last week, Governor Spitzer suggested that New York State may choose not to hold four sewage treatment plants to their commitment to reduce the pollution they release into Long Island Sound. 

Years ago these sewage plants—all in Westchester County—entered into a voluntary consent order in which they committed to reduce the amount of nitrogen pollution they release into the Sound. The order from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) cuts the nitrogen the plants send into the Sound daily by more than half (from more than 4,500 to less than 2,000 pounds).

The Governor's comments leave us scratching our heads. 

A more environmentally responsible reply would have been along the lines of, "Failure to enforce the mandated clean-up sets a terrible precedent and will hurt New York's waters!"

While there is a significant cost to cut the sewage, regardless of who picks up the tab, Environmental Advocates of New York wants this mess cleaned up. And while County officials have approached the DEC with alternative (and less costly) approaches to clean up the sewage, the agency has rejected these approaches—because they won’t get the job done.

According to research we conducted just last year, the DEC has a problem reviewing water pollution permits statewide. More than 1,000 have gone without review for more than a decade. This means that who-knows-what could be going who-knows-where and the state isn’t meeting the requirements of the Clean Water Act.

The Governor is sending the wrong message when he says the state can turn a blind eye when it comes to water pollution. Not only does his position allow four sewage plants to walk away from their commitment to clean up their pollution, it undercuts the considerable investment that New York City and all of the communities on Long Island have made to clean up the Sound.

We also worry that every community with a consent decree will be at the agency’s door looking to cut a new (and dirty) deal.

So now the Sound and Westchester County must wait for new money or a new approach. Delaying the clean up isn’t the answer. Every day the County waits, thousands of pounds of nitrogen go into the Sound, fouling its waters and killing wildlife.

As it stands, costs to upgrade the sewage treatment plants fall to residents in the four sewage districts emptying into the Sound.

Net Metering Grades in the Mail 

Based on work by the Network for New Energy Choices, this week a broad coalition of groups, including Environmental Advocates of New York, will release the state’s official ‘grade’ when it comes to net metering.

Net metering is the policy that credits consumers for the clean power they generate and can provide a hedge against utility bills. New York currently has one of the Northeast’s most restrictive net metering policies.

We predict that New York's score will mean the Empire State needs to beat momma to the mailbox this week. Meanwhile,  New Jersey and Pennsylvania will likely land at the top of the class. 

Bills on the Move 

Details on the bills below and others are updated every week here. 

One tree for Green Power Purchasing. This bill would amend state law so that local governments may purchase electricity generated from renewable energy sources, provided the cost of said energy is not more than 15 percent above the cost of non-renewable resources.

One tree for Alternative Energy System Tax Credits. This measure would establish tax credits to offset the cost of the purchase and installation of solar and wind energy system equipment and fuel cell electric generating equipment, making it more cost-effective for consumers to generate their own clean power.

Click here to track these bills.