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 | | Capitol Watch > Budget Priority Issues
2008 Budget Priorities for the Environment Environmental Advocates of New York supports addressing the issues below in the 2008 State Budget. Each of these issues is integral to New York’s efforts to protect our lakes and streams, the quality of our air, and the health of our public lands. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION STAFFINGEnvironmental Advocates supports adding positions to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The Governor proposes staffing levels at the DEC of 3,752 positions for State Fiscal Year 2008-09, a net increase of four positions. While we are pleased to see new positions added to the DEC’s budget, staffing levels are still far from the levels required to allow the agency to fulfill its mandates. As Environmental Advocates has highlighted in two Endangered Agency reports, the DEC does not have the level of staffing necessary to fulfill its fundamental mission to protect New York’s environment and public health and safety. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND The Legislature should increase the total State Fiscal Year 2008-09 Environmental Protection Fund appropriations from $250 million to $275 million. Funding for this increase is already available from the current Real Estate Transfer Tax allocation to the Fund and would be supplemented by revenue from the expansion of the state's bottle deposit law (the Bigger Better Bottle Bill). In addition, the Legislature should make more resources available for municipal parks improvement projects. Also, while carve-outs for some programs such as the Land Trust Alliance have been increased, we recommend similar increases for the DEC’s urban forestry program. Environmental Advocates of New York opposes the Governor’s proposal to transfer up to $125 million from the Environmental Protection Fund to the General Fund for overall budget relief. The Fund was created as a trust fund to ensure steadfast funding for environmental projects during both good times and bad. Transferring the Fund’s accumulated balance to the General Fund takes much-needed resources away from worthy projects. PARKS CAPITAL BACKLOG Environmental Advocates supports the Governor’s $110 million initiative for capital projects at state parks facilities. These upgrades are needed to ensure that our state parks are safe and accessible for all New Yorkers. In particular, many of our state parks in urban areas are in great need of repair. BROWNFIELDSEnvironmental Advocates supports including a modified version of (S. 6810/A.9810 Part E) to reform the Brownfield Tax Credits in the Enacted Budget. Prior Environmental Advocates testimony on reforming this program called for many of the measures included in this proposal. We recommend separating tax credit eligibility from program eligibility and instituting some kind of needs-based determination as to whether tax credits should be awarded. In addition, we recommend modifying the tax credit structure such that sites cleaned to the highest standard (Track 1) get the biggest tax credits, and sites cleaned to lowest standard (Track 4) get the smallest tax credits. We also call for scaling back, or capping, the tangible property credits at some appropriate level. And we call for clarifying the definition of brownfield site to ensure that all contaminated sites, regardless of where the contamination originated, are eligible for the program. Using objective clean-up standards is a move in the right direction. However, the language that creates this needs-based determination gives the DEC and other agencies extremely wide latitude in determining eligibility. Provisions could be added to require the DEC or the Department of Economic Development (DED) to issue rules describing objective criteria for making this needs-based determination. While difficult, another alternative would be for the Governor and the Legislature to better define at least some of these objective criteria in statute. PROCEEDS FROM THE REGIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS INITIATIVE Environmental Advocates supports dedicating any monies raised from the auction of carbon dioxide emissions allowances under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) for energy efficiency and renewable energy development initiatives. We support creating several new statutorily guided programs to provide grants and various forms of financial assistance to municipalities, nonprofits and electric utility ratepayers to achieve greenhouse gas reductions and other air quality goals.
BIGGER BETTER BOTTLE BILL Environmental Advocates strongly supports the Governor’s proposal to expand the definition of “beverage containers” covered by a 5-cent deposit to include all carbonated and non-carbonated drinks. The bottle bill is New York’s most effective litter prevention and recycling program, and since 1982 more than 80 billion bottles and cans have been returned and recycled. Expanding the deposit system to a new class of containers simply updates current law with
market trends.
OPERATING PERMIT PROGRAM FEE
INCREASE Environmental Advocates supports the Governor’s proposal to increase the Title V per ton operating fees on regulated air contaminants. Fees would be increased from up to $45 per ton to a maximum of $80 per ton. Fees would also be adjusted per the consumer price index. The Governor’s proposal also eliminates the existing 6,000 ton per contaminant cap. Removing the cap not only provides incentives for outdated, dirty facilities to clean up, but also makes this program more equitable for all permitted facilities. BIOHEAT TAX CREDIT Environmental Advocates supports including the bioheat tax credit as proposed in the Executive Budget. This proposal reinstates a tax credit which expired last July and helps produce cleaner air. This tax credit would provide an incentive for the use of biodiesel as a home heating fuel. The use of biodiesel will help reduce the pollutants produced from traditional home heating oil and help improve air quality in the New York metropolitan area and throughout the state.
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