Senate Bill S1737

                                BILL NUMBER:S1737

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to environmental laboratory tests or sample analyses for
mineral resources permits

PURPOSE:  This bill requires that environmental testing under Article
23 ("Mineral Resources") of the environmental conservation law must be
performed by a certified environmental laboratory, as is currently the
case with testing under Articles 17 (water pollution), 19 (air
Pollution) and 27 (solid and hazardous waste).

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends section 3-0119 of the environmental conservation law
(ECL) to require that any laboratory tests or sample analysis required
pursuant to ECL Article 23 for which the Commissioner of Health issues
a certificate of approval pursuant to Public Health Law § 502 shall be
conducted by a laboratory which has been issued a certificate of
approval.

Section 2. Effective date.

EXISTING LAW:  ECL § 3-0119 currently provides that any laboratory
tests or sample analysis required pursuant to ECL Articles 17, 19 or
27 for which the Commissioner of Health issues certifications under
              

the Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP) must be conducted
by an ELAP-certified laboratory. This bill will extend this
requirement to environmental samples taken pursuant to Article 23.

JUSTIFICATION:  Since 1963, ECL § 3-0119 has required that all
laboratory tests or sample analyses required for air, water and solid
and hazardous waste permits must be conducted by an environmental
laboratory certified under Public Health Law § 502, if the Department
of Health issues certificates of approval for the applicable analyte
or category of testing. Under the ELAP program, DOH may issue
certificates of approval covering laboratory tests within such
categories as wastewater, potable waters, sediments, solid wastes, and
air.

To obtain approval, the laboratory must demonstrate that its staff is
qualified to conduct such tests, must use state-approved analytical
methods and quality assurance procedures, and must perform
satisfactorily in proficiency testing and a biennial on-site
inspection. The original law was enacted to address concerns that
allowing environmental permit-holders to conduct "self-monitoring"
provided abundant opportunities for manipulation of sample quality or
inaccurate testing.

Recent developments in technology have increased the potential impacts
of mineral extraction on public health and the environment. In
particular, higly-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in deep shale
formations could result in significant volumes of wastewater, drill
cuttings and sediments potentially contaminated with toxic substances,
pyrite and naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). DEC's
proposed HVHF regulations require that such wastes must be tested but,
except for those water tests that would be required under a State


Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit under ECL Article 19, no
ELAP certification or any other testing standards are specified.

It is as important to provide for quality assurance and control in
tests of drilling wastes and byproducts as in testing under those
programs currently covered by § 3-0119. Requiring that samples that
require testing under a permit issued pursuant to Article 23 must be
analyzed in an ELAP-certified laboratory will help ensure that
potentially contaminated wastes are handled and disposed of safely and
appropriately.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  2013-14: S1984/A2188 - Environmental
Conservation Committee/3rd
         Reading Calendar 2012: S7169/A10037 - Environmental
Conservation Committee/3rd Reading
        Calendar

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect on the first of January
next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law, and
shall apply to all laboratory tests or sample analyses submitted for
testing on or after such date.