NY State Senate Bill 2015-S8193

Senate Bill S8193

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Authorizes and directs the commissioner of the department of health to conduct biomonitoring on the residents of Hoosick Falls, Hoosick, and Petersburgh regarding PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) contamination

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Sep 16, 2016	referred to rules

2015-S8193 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Public Health
Versions Introduced in 2017-2018 Legislative Session:: S195

2015-S8193 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S8193 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S8193

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act authorizing and directing the commissioner of
health to conduct biomonitoring on the residents of Hoosick Falls,
Hoosick, and Petersburgh regarding PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid)
contamination; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon
expiration thereof

 PURPOSE :

To ensure that biomonitoring for PFOA continues in the Village of
Hoosick Falls, the Town of Hoosick and the Town of Petersburgh .

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 directs the Commissioner of Health to continue to implement
a biomonitoring study for Hoosick Falls, Hoosick and Petersburg to
include blood tests every two years.

Section 2 requires a report on the results of the biomonitoring
studies every two years after each blood testing to be transmitted to
the Governor, the Temporary President of the Senate, the Speaker of
the Assembly, the Chair of the Senate Health Committee and the Chair
of the Assembly Health Committee. Each individual tested shall receive
their own blood test results as well as the report.

Section 3 provides that the costs associated with this Act shall be
borne by the State Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund. The Commissioners of
Environmental Conservation and Health shall make all reasonable
efforts to recover the full amount of any funds expended from the fund
pursuant to this section through voluntary agreements or court orders.

Section 4 states the effective date, expiration date and repeal date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

The recent discovery of water contamination caused by
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh has
raised great alarm to residents of those areas, as well as, alarm
across the State. These instances of contamination have been cited as
the potential cause of many previously unexplained illnesses by
members, workers and visitors of those communities. The illnesses
include kidney and testicular cancer, pre-eclampsia, ulcerative
colitis, changes in thyroid hormone and high cholesterol levels.

Biomonitoring by blood sample has been offered to all people exposed
to the contaminated water. Those tested received their personal
results which amounted to a number indicating the level of PFOA in
their bloodstream with many indicating significant elevated levels of
PFOA.

This single biomonitoring measurement is but one snapshot in time. To
give effective analysis, it must be repeated over time and also
compared with other similar biomonitoring studies elsewhere.

Biomonitoring does not give information as to how long a substance has
been in the body or how it got there, but it serves as a guide for
further research to: reinforce regulatory actions by providing actual
data about which chemicals get into people at what levels; improve
exposure assessments; establish baselines to reference ranges;
facilitate people's right to know what chemicals are in their bodies;
establish priorities for tackling environmental health-related
problems and identify health disparities. (Toxipedia)

In Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh, continued biomonitoring will help to
make sense of what the high levels of PFOA in the bloodstream means;
it will help to make more certain what harm human exposure to PFOA
causes. Continued biomonitoring will strengthen the research on PFOA
and in turn help those that have been afflicted not just in Hoosick
Falls and Petersburgh, but throughout New York State.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.

2015-S8193 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  8193

                            I N  S E N A T E

                           September 16, 2016
                               ___________

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

AN  ACT  authorizing and directing the commissioner of health to conduct
  biomonitoring on the residents of Hoosick Falls, Hoosick, and  Peters-
  burgh  regarding  PFOA  (perfluorooctanoic  acid)  contamination;  and
  providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

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

  Section  1.  The  commissioner  of  health  is  hereby  authorized and
directed to implement or continue to implement a biomonitoring study  in
the  village  of Hoosick Falls, town of Hoosick and town of Petersburgh.
Such study shall be conducted to document the residents' actual exposure
to PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and to  monitor  PFOA  levels  of  each
individual  in  the  study. Such study shall include blood samples taken
from its subjects every two years.  This study shall include those indi-
viduals who were a part of the biomonitoring and blood testing performed
by the department of health in 2016.
  S 2. Such biomonitoring shall continue  for  each  individual  in  the
study  until  such individual's PFOA blood level is reduced to two parts
per billion. Upon completion of each blood testing, a  report  including
the  number  of subjects in each locality, the aggregate results of such
testing, and any recommendations shall be transmitted to  the  governor,
the  temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the
chair of the senate health committee, and  the  chair  of  the  assembly
health committee. Each individual in the study shall also receive a copy
of the report as well as a copy of their blood test results.
  S 3. All costs associated with implementing the provisions of this act
shall be borne by the state hazardous waste remedial fund as established
by  section  97-b of the state finance law. The commissioner of environ-
mental conservation and  the  commissioner  of  health  shall  make  all
reasonable efforts to recover the full amount of any funds expended from
the  fund  pursuant to this act through litigation or cooperative agree-
ments with responsible persons. Any and all moneys  recovered  or  reim-
bursed  pursuant  to  this section through voluntary agreements or court

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

                                                           LBD16000-06-6

S. 8193                             2

orders shall be deposited with  the  comptroller  and  credited  to  the
account  of  such fund from which such expenditures were made. If at any
time the hazardous waste remedial fund does not have  sufficient  monies
for  payment for the study, then the commissioner of health shall report
this determination to the comptroller, along with the amount which  will
be necessary to continue the study. No more than four days after receiv-
ing  such  a  determination  the  comptroller  shall transfer the amount
determined by the commissioner of health to be necessary from the gener-
al fund to the hazardous waste remedial fund.  Nothing contained in this
section shall prevent the state from receiving grants,  gifts,  bequests
or any means of receiving federal monies for the purposes of the hazard-
ous  waste  remedial fund as defined in this section and depositing them
into the hazardous waste remedial fund according to law.
  S 4.  This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire  and  be
deemed  repealed on the one hundred twentieth day after the commissioner
of health has submitted a report as required by section two of this  act
that  states  that  all individuals receiving blood testing in the study
have a PFOA blood level not exceeding two parts  per  billion,  provided
that the commissioner of health shall notify the legislative bill draft-
ing  commission  upon the occurrence of the submission of such report as
required by section two of this act in order  that  the  commission  may
maintain an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text
of  the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the
provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of  the
public officers law.

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