NY State Senate Bill 2011-S2088

Senate Bill S2088

2011-2012 Legislative Session

Requires school districts in N.Y. city to investigate and report on the status of PCBs in school buildings

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 18, 2011	referred to education

2011-S2088 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3641, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2009-2010 Legislative Session:: S4442

2011-S2088 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires school districts in a city with one million or more to investigate and report on the status of PCB's in school buildings; provides for report to be submitted to the commissioner by January 1, next succeeding the close of the school year in which the inspection was conducted with all buildings being inspected by January 1, 2014; provides that 50% shall be inspected by July 1, 2013.

2011-S2088 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S2088

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the education law, in relation to requiring school districts in
a city of one million or more to investigate and report on the status of
polychlorinated biphenyls

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To require school
districts in a city
of one million or more to test and submit a report to the
commissioner about the status of polychlorinated biphenyls in
buildings constructed or renovated prior to 1977.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends
subdivision 4 of
section 3641 of the education law by adding a new paragraph e to
require school districts of one million or more to test for the
presence of polychlorinated biphenyls and to submit a report to the
commissioner on the status of PCBs in schools constructed or
renovated prior to 1977.

JUSTIFICATION:
On April 7, 2008, the New York Daily

News reported on
the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in hundreds of New
York City public schools. Despite requests from parents, teachers,
elected officials, and other community members for a comprehensive
testing and remediation, the New York City Department of Education
(DOE) and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
have repeatedly refused to address the situation beyond the initial
tests conducted on the schools following the Daily News story.

PCBs are prohibited by the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act, but
persist in many school buildings that were constructed or renovated
prior to 1977, when the federal ban on PCBs went into effect. The New
York State Department of Education (NYSED) published protocols for
addressing PCBs during school renovations in June 2007, but school
districts are currently not required to follow these recommended
guidelines; this bill would make the state's protocols a requirement.
This bill would require the DOE to test for the presence of PCBs and
to report these findings to NYSED on an annual basis, with all
inspections completed by 2011. NYSED is required to publish the
findings on its website in a timely manner for public access.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2011-S2088 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2088

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 18, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KRUGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education  law,  in  relation  to  requiring  school
  districts  in  a city of one million or more to investigate and report
  on the status of polychlorinated biphenyls

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  4  of  section  3641 of the education law is
amended by adding a new paragraph e to read as follows:
  E. (1) SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN A CITY OF ONE MILLION OR  MORE  SHALL  TEST
FOR  THE  PRESENCE  OF  POLYCHLORINATED  BIPHENYLS  (PCBS) IN AND AROUND
SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND SHALL SUBMIT TO THE COMMISSIONER  AND  THE  COMMIS-
SIONER  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION  A REPORT ON THE RESULTS.   SUCH
REPORT SHALL BE IN THE FORM PRESCRIBED BY THE COMMISSIONER, IN CONSULTA-
TION WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION.  THE  SAMPLING
METHODS SHALL MEET THE PROTOCOL FOR SAMPLING CAULK AND SOIL CONTAINED IN
THE  PROTOCOL  FOR  ADDRESSING  POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS ADOPTED BY THE
DEPARTMENT IN JUNE TWO THOUSAND SEVEN.  THE  REPORT  SHALL  REFLECT  THE
RESULTS  OF INSPECTIONS OF ALL SCHOOL BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED OR RENOVATED
IN A MANNER REQUIRING THE USE OF CAULK BETWEEN  NINETEEN  HUNDRED  FIFTY
AND  NINETEEN  HUNDRED EIGHTY AND SHALL INCLUDE THE TESTING OF EXPANSION
JOINT CAULKING AND DOOR AND WINDOW CAULKING  AS  WELL  AS  SOIL  IN  AND
AROUND  SCHOOL  BUILDINGS.   ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES SHALL BE CONDUCTED BY A
LABORATORY CERTIFIED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF  HEALTH  PURSUANT  TO  SECTION
FIVE  HUNDRED  TWO  OF  THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW. THE STATE SHALL REIMBURSE
EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE AMOUNT OF FIFTY DOLLARS PER  SAMPLE.    SUCH
REPORT  SHALL  BE SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSIONER, AND THE COMMISSIONER OF
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, BY THE FIRST OF JANUARY NEXT SUCCEEDING  THE
CLOSE  OF  THE  SCHOOL  YEAR IN WHICH THE LAST INSPECTION WAS CONDUCTED,
WITH ALL BUILDINGS BEING INSPECTED BY JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND  FOUR-
TEEN.   FIFTY PERCENT OF SUCH BUILDINGS SHALL BE TESTED PURSUANT TO THIS

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02251-01-1

S. 2088                             2

SUBPARAGRAPH BY JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN.  THE DEPARTMENT,  AND
THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION,  SHALL POST THE REPORT
PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN A TIMELY MANNER ON  THEIR  RESPECTIVE
WEBSITES.  THE DISTRICT SHALL PROVIDE TO THE DEPARTMENT, AND THE DEPART-
MENT  OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, AND THE DEPARTMENT, AND THE DEPART-
MENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, SHALL PROMPTLY POST ON THEIR RESPEC-
TIVE WEBSITES, INSPECTION AND TEST RESULTS FOR  EACH  INDIVIDUAL  SCHOOL
BUILDING  AS  THE  TESTS  ARE  COMPLETED  ON  A  SCHOOL-BY-SCHOOL BASIS.
SCHOOL-BY-SCHOOL RESULTS SHALL BE SENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH,  THE
UNITED  STATES  ENVIRONMENTAL  PROTECTION AGENCY, EACH SCHOOL'S ADMINIS-
TRATION AND THE PARENTS OF STUDENTS ATTENDING EACH SCHOOL.  THE ORDER IN
WHICH SCHOOLS ARE INSPECTED SHALL BE DETERMINED BY RANDOM DRAW.
  (2) THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION  SHALL  ENFORCE  THE
PROVISIONS  CONTAINED  IN SUBPARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS PARAGRAPH IN A TIMELY
MANNER.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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