November 10, 2003

Environmental Group Presents Legislator of the Year Award
Senator Marcellino Recognized for Historic Brownfields Legislation

(Oyster Bay, NY) – EPL/Environmental Advocates, a leading New York State Environmental Group, has given its Legislator of the Year Award to Sen. Carl Marcellino in recognition of his outstanding leadership on contaminated site cleanup legislation. The award was announced in the group’s annual Voters’ Guide, a comprehensive review of the environmental record of state lawmakers. The award was presented at a press conference today at Western Waterfront in Oyster Bay. The ceremony took place at the former Jakobson Shipyard, a remediated brownfield.

In September, the state Senate passed Senator Marcellino’s landmark Superfund/brownfields bill. The measure had already passed the Assembly in June. It has since been signed into law by Gov. George Pataki. The new cleanup program leads the nation in setting high cleanup standards coupled with economic incentives for the restoration of contaminated properties. It also refinances and saves the state Superfund, which cleans up New York’s most polluted sites.

“This historic brownfields bill launches a new era in New York’s efforts to clean up its contaminated lands,” said EPL/Environmental Advocates Communications Director Jeff Jones. “Unique among programs of its type, this bill targets downtown properties. It not only protects public health, but helps protect the environment by controlling sprawl. This legislation could not have happened without the leadership of Sen. Carl Marcellino, and that is why we have honored him with our Legislator of the Year Award.”

Senator Marcellino is chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. The bill’s Assembly sponsor, Thomas DiNapoli, chairs the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee. “The collaborative effort of the two committee leaders has been very good for New York,” Jones said. “We look forward to more environmental victories as a result of their work together in the future.”

“It is an honor for me to be the recipient of the EPL/Environmental Advocates Legislator of the Year Award,” said Senator Carl Marcellino. “The passage of the brownfields legislation was a collective victory. If not for the hard work of my colleague Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli, and the efforts of Val Washington and Environmental Advocates, we would not have this historic piece of legislation. I look forward to building on this coalition to protect the health of New Yorkers, safeguard and improve the quality of our environment, and preserve our natural resources.”

“Sustainable Long Island has been a leader in efforts to clean up brownfields in Nassau and Suffolk Counties,” said Sustainable Long Island Executive Director Patrick Duggan. “We applaud Senator Marcellino’s leadership. The new state brownfields program will benefit Long Islanders, and all New Yorkers. It is a wonderful opportunity for environmental protection on Long Island to have both Senator Marcellino and Assemblyman DiNapoli chairing the Legislature’s environmental conservation committees.”

Assemblymember Tom DiNapoli added: “It has been a pleasure to work with my colleague, Senator Carl Marcellino, to protect our natural resources and improve the quality of the environment on Long Island and throughout the state. I look forward to continuing this productive partnership on behalf of the people of New York.”

For more information about the new brownfields legislation, including a summary of the bill, visit www.eany.org. Look under “Latest News.”