March 5, 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.

Wa$te Not, Want Not.

Our newest report, Wa$ted Green: How Lost Revenue & State Spending Shortchange New York Taxpayers & the Environment, shines a light on how the state is wasting resources by means of perverse tax incentives, lost revenue, and spending gone wrong.

New York is facing a significant gap—more than $4 billion—between the resources we need to run the state and the money we have to do it. Because of this projected shortfall, and as the State Legislature and Governor Spitzer begin the process of finalizing the 2008-2009 budget, Environmental Advocates of New York thinks it’s time for the state rethink how it’s spending taxpayer dollars and doling out tax credits.

We cannot afford to waste any green, especially when on Saturday the Governor and lawmakers agreed that New York State has $250 million less to spend than projected when the budget was released back in January. Our leaders should take a hard look at programs that are wasting money and operating at cross purposes to New York’s environmental policy goals.

The Brownfield Tax Credits are exposing New York to billions in lost tax revenue. The developer of one Manhattan site is eligible for $144 million in tax credits. That’s more than seven times the cost of the site’s cleanup.

Thanks to the Empire Zone Program, one of the state’s best-documented polluters, NRG Energy, received $88.7 million in tax breaks from the state while New York was actually suing the company because of its pollution.

And last but not least, New York’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund may be promoting sprawl. Our research uncovered that communities with declining populations may be using the Fund to build water lines to undeveloped areas. We found that the Monroe County Water Authority applied for a $21 million loan to build a new intake facility—despite the authority’s already ample water capacity.

Details and data are available in the complete report. Click here to download your copy.

From the People's House to Your House.  

Late last month, New York’s First Lady Silda Wall Spitzer brought her “Greening the Mansion” initiative to Washington, D.C., where she encouraged First Families to follow the Spitzer’s lead and implement green initiatives at executive residences nationwide.

The Governor and the First Lady have introduced a series of energy-saving measures at the Executive Mansion in Albany, as well as installing solar panels to supply energy and a fuel cell system to power the back-up generator, replacing an existing diesel generator.

According to news reports, the First Lady decided to take Greening the Mansion national because the U.S. releases one-quarter of total climate change pollution and has just five percent of the world's population.

Meanwhile, the Governor’s office has been working on a new bill to provide financial incentives for the construction of energy efficient residential buildings. No word on the details yet so stay tuned.

Bigger Better Bottle Bill 

Governor Spitzer and Lieutenant Governor Paterson are calling on state lawmakers to include updating New York’s bottle deposit law in this year’s budget. We think it’s time to expand our most successful recycling program and get another two billion bottles off of our roadways and out of our waters and natural areas. The Lieutenant Governor gave a rousing speech to a crowd of hundreds of bottle bill supporters on Bottle Bill Lobby Day last week.

Bills on the Move

Two trees for Environmental Justice Advisory Group. This bill would incorporate environmental justice principles into decision-making at NYS agencies, establish a permanent Environmental Justice Advisory Group within the Department of Environmental Conservation, and establish a Council to report on the effectiveness and implementation of environmental justice policies.

One tree for Ocean Sludge Dumping.  This bill would amend the Environmental Conservation Law to prohibit the disposal of dredged spoils that contain toxic pollutants into the waters of the NYS marine district.

Click here to track these bills.

Cleanup Slip-Up 

Green groups were disappointed last week after a State Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of dirtier cleanup standards for contaminated sites.

Last December, a coalition of groups, including Environmental Advocates, argued that portions of the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program regulations are not protective enough, unlawfully exclude certain sites, and jeopardize the health of New Yorkers. Sadly, the State Supreme Court didn’t see it that way. 

The original brownfields law was intended to incentivize developers to clean-up thousands of vacant and contaminated sites scarring New York’s landscape. Flawed regulations that established soil and groundwater cleanup standards were issued in the waning days of the Pataki Administration.

We’ll keep you up-to-date on this and other brownfields battles in the State Capital.