BILL NUMBER:  S2490

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the public health law, in relation
to enacting the "well water and water supply education act"

 PURPOSE :

To enact the "well water and water supply education act."

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill establishes that the act shall be known and may
be cited as the "well water and water supply education act."

Section 2 of the bill amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section
1102 of the public health law to include consequential damages as part
of a recovery. Furthermore, this bill will add a new subdivision 4 to
paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 1102 of the public health
law that will read: notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary, any action to recover damages brought by an entity having
management and control of the potable water supply of a municipality,
state or United States institution, or in the City of New York, the
commissioner of environmental protection, or the board of water supply
of the City of New York, or any entity furnishing such potable water
supply pursuant to this chapter shall be commenced no later than ten
years after the detection of a contaminant at levels exceeding one
              

half of the applicable maximum contaminant level, or within three
years after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of 2014
which added this subdivision, whichever is later.

Section 3 of the bill provides for an immediate effective date and
shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after
January 1, 2018.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Clean water is essential to our health and our quality of life
throughout the State of New York. In recent years, contamination of
our potable water supply, both with regard to our surface waters and
the underground aquifers, has been widespread and an increasingly
frequent problem. As a result, many New York communities and water
districts have been burdened with the costly task of testing, cleaning
and treating the water to make it safe for their residents, as well as
the ongoing burden of monitoring the quality of the remediated water
supplies. The constituents and rate payers of those water districts
and municipalities should not bear the expense of costly remediation
systems when the contamination can be traced to the negligent or
illegal activities of some industrial organization or other entity.

New York State law does not adequately protect the water supply at
this time. The State currently imposes a three-year deadline for
making a claim to seek monetary damages arising from harmful
substances leaking into our water supply wells, reservoirs and
aquifers. That deadline begins to run on the date that the damages are
discovered or the date by which they should have been discovered by a
"reasonably diligent party," whichever is earlier. As a result of this
relatively vague standard, courts have recognized a wide variety of
triggers for the limit of time for which a water provider can bring a
claim.

Without a definitive trigger for the time to file a claim that is
recognized by all New York State courts, water providers cannot know
for certain when they should take legal action in order to best
protect their rights and by extension, those of the citizens. A well
defined trigger and a longer time to file a claim are necessary to
best protect the purity of New York State's drinking water and the
health of its residents. This proposed bill will allow for a ten year
timeframe to bring a claim that is triggered by the detection of a
contaminant at levels exceeding one half of the applicable maximum
contaminant level, or within three years of this amendment being
signed, whichever is later. If this bill becomes law, innocent rate
payers will no longer be forced to shoulder the financial burden of
restoring their drinking water supply to the safe and clean state they
deserve.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

S.3236B (2016) - Referred to Health
S.7495 (2014) - Referred to Health

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately and will be deemed to have been in full force and effect
on and after January 1, 2018.