Senate Bill S195

2017-2018 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

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health 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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to health
Jan 04, 2017	referred to health

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health
Versions Introduced in 2015-2016 Legislative Session:: S8193

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S195

 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
pursuantto 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.

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    195
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. MARCHIONE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 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.
   § 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.
   § 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04412-01-7

 S. 195                              2
 
 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
 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.
   § 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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Senate Bill S195

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

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2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Kathleen A. Marchione

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Actions

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S195 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments