Environmental Advocates of New York supports the measures presented below. Each is an important measure for protection of New York’s natural resources and our families’ health. For a full list of our positions on proposed legislation (posted as bills are put on committee agendas) go to our bill ratings page.

2007 Legislative Priorities for the Environment

Give New Yorkers a New Tool to Protect Community Character
2007 Super Bill: The Community Preservation Act

The use of local funds to preserve open land, working farms, or historic properties is one of the most effective tools for community preservation. This bill would give New York towns the authority to create Community Preservation Funds using a local real estate transfer fee of two percent or less, if approved by a local law and voter referendum. This would be a completely voluntary option for towns, and would provide a new tool for those towns struggling to protect open space in the face of rapid growth and development. Five towns on Long Island already have this authority and have generated more than $300 million to protect their natural and historic heritage.

Close the Loophole in New York’s Wetlands Protections
2007 Super Bill: The Clean Water Protection & Flood Prevention Act

The Bush Administration’s interpretation of the 2001 Supreme Court decision, Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC), has removed longstanding protections under the Clean Water Act for smaller and intermittent wetlands and streams. As a result, the state is giving a green light to developments that are destroying wetlands and fish and wildlife habitat in New York. Our wetlands law needs to be augmented to restore these protections, as well as to improve the criteria and mapping process. This bill would lower the threshold for state authority to protect wetlands from 12.4 acres to one acre.

Update New York’s Bottle Bill
2007 Super Bill: The Bigger Better Bottle Bill

This bill would update New York’s current “bottle bill” to match the drinking habits of today’s consumers. The Bigger Better Bottle Bill would amend the Environmental Conservation Law § 27-1003(1) and the Finance Law to expand the definition of "beverage" in the state returnable container act (the original bottle bill) to include non-carbonated drinks other than milk and liquor, and to direct the unclaimed deposit money derived from that program to the Environmental Protection Fund. The measure also makes provision for municipal assistance for New York City's bottle collection efforts and raises the handling fee for retailers.

Expand New York’s Response to Climate Change

New York can, and should, do more to lead the nation in its response to this global problem.  While we are already leading the way in establishing enforceable programs for reducing climate-altering pollution from power plants and automobiles, these initiatives only scratch the surface.
Environmental Advocates of New York will be working with legislators to develop new responses to climate change that include:

• Establishing aggressive statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits from all sources;
• Assessing the state’s financial risk from climate change, including: potential damages due to increased storm frequency, increased flooding, crop losses related to changes in temperature and precipitation, and health care costs attributable to the higher temperatures New Yorkers will have to live with;
• Prioritizing state transportation infrastructure projects that result in reduced greenhouse gas emissions;
• Providing consumers with incentives for driving more efficient automobiles and using more energy efficient products in their homes and offices; and
• Requiring that greenhouse gas emissions be considered as part of a SEQRA analysis of overall environmental effects of a proposed action.

Encourage Investment in Clean Energy by Expanding Net Metering

New York has one of the most restrictive policies in the Northeast when it comes to allowing consumers to sell their excess electricity back to the grid, known as “net metering.” New York must remove the limitation on the size of eligible systems (currently 10 kW for solar and 25 kW for wind) and make commercial and industrial systems eligible for net metering. An expanded net metering policy in New York will make additional power available during periods of peak demand, reduce stress on transmission lines, and save New Yorkers from the pollution generated by traditional power plants and diesel generators while giving businesses, residential property owners, and farmers the opportunity to invest in, and profit from, clean energy generation.

Restore New Yorkers’ Power to Challenge Decisions under SEQRA   
The Environmental Access to Justice Act

Enacted in 1975, the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) was heralded as a visionary piece of legislation crafted to protect New York’s air, water and land. The law provided fair and sensible rules to regulate environmental analysis when government entities undertake, approve or fund projects that may have a significant environmental impact. However, since a 1991 Court of Appeals ruling (Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. v. County of Suffolk), the legislative intent of the Act has been circumvented. Individuals must now demonstrate a special harm different from that suffered by the public at large to establish standing in SEQRA appeals, a burden which is nearly impossible to meet. This special harm test has resulted in numerous challenges of decisions being dismissed for lack of standing—resulting in an injustice for plaintiffs who raise legitimate claims. The proposed bill restores the original legislative intent and test for standing under SEQRA—a showing that the plaintiff has suffered an injury within the zone of interests covered by the Act.

Protect Great Lakes Water for Future Generations
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Water Resources Compact Agreement

This bill would ratify an agreement between the eight Great Lakes states that would protect the waters of the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River system. Each of the eight states must ratify the agreement before it can go into effect. Once ratified, the Compact will secure New York’s access to Great Lakes water for future generations. The interstate Compact amends the Great Lakes Charter to prohibit large-scale diversions and withdrawals of Great Lakes water outside the watershed, while protecting the right of Basin States to use their water resources. In December 2005, all eight Great Lakes governors signed the Compact, but it still needs to be approved by each state legislature and Congress.

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