BILL NUMBER: S8791

SPONSOR: BRESLIN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act authorizing the city of Albany to alienate certain lands used as
parkland and to dedicate certain other lands as parklands

 
PURPOSE:

To alienate a portion of Lincoln Park to allow for the construction of a
new disinfection and floatables control project, and associated infras-
tructure  
ALSO KNOWN AS THE BEAVER CREEK CLEAN RIVER PROJECT (SCREENING
AND DISINFECTION SATELLITE TREATMENT FACILITY) pursuant to a New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation consent order.

Under the legislation, consistent with other requirements of law, the
City of Albany will dedicate lands to replace the discontinued parkland
in an amount equal or greater to the fair market value of the alienated
parkland, or provide for capital improvements to the remaining parkland
in an amount equal to or greater than the fair market value of the
              

alienated parkland.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 authorizes the City of Albany to alienate the parkland for the
purpose of building a new disinfection and floatables control project,
and associated infrastructure (also known as the Beaver Creek Clean
River Project (screening and disinfection satellite treatment facili-
ty)).

Section 2 requires the City of Albany to dedicate lands in an amount
equal to or greater than the fair market value of the parklands
described in section three of this act as additional parklands of the
city and/or for capital improvements to the existing park and recre-
ational facilities. In the event that the parklands to be dedicated by
the city of Albany pursuant to this act are not equal to or greater than
the fair market value of the parkland to be discontinued, the city of
Albany shall dedicate the difference of the fair market value of the
lands to be alienated and the lands to be dedicated for the acquisition
of additional parklands and/or for capital improvements to the existing
park and recreational facilities.

Section 3 describes the relevant parkland and specifies acreage and
borders.

Section 4 requires the City of Albany, if it received any funding
support or assistance from the federal government for the purchase,
maintenance or improvement of the parklands, to comply with any federal
requirements pertaining to the alienation or conversion of such park-
lands, including compliance with all conditions which the secretary of
the interior deems necessary to assure that the substitution of other
lands shall be equivalent in fair market value and usefulness to the
lands being alienated or converted.

Section 5 provides that the act shall take effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Following nearly a decade of review and planning overseen by the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and United
States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the City of Albany and the
other Albany Pool Communities, consisting of the 'cities of Cohoes,
Rensselaer, Troy and Watervliet, and the Village of Green Island, devel-
oped and 'must implement a Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP) to comply with
water quality standards for the Hudson River, in compliance with the
Federal Clean Water Act.

Following submission and analysis of the LTCP, NYSDEC approved the LTCP,
the City and the other communities executed pursuant to an Order on
Consent with NYSDEC requiring implementation of the LTCP.

The LTCP represented an unprecedented, regional program solely focused
on protecting the environment and public health by the abatement of the
discharge of untreated wastewater flowing into the Hudson River.  During
rain or snowmelt events, the capacity of the existing system may be
exceeded and the excess flow is discharged to waterbodies (rivers,
streams, estuaries, and coastal waters), including the Hudson River.
This type of system is common in older cities across New York.

The LTCP provides for the construction of a new disinfection and floata-
bles control project, and associated infrastructure  
ALSO KNOWN AS THE
BEAVER CREEK CLEAN RIVER PROJECT (SCREENING AND DISINFECTION SATELLITE
TREATMENT FACILITY). This is a critical component of the city's
combined sewer system and will benefit the Hudson River. The LTCP iden-
tified this facility among its priorities to reduce existing combined
sewer overflow conditions into the Hudson River and to reduce the risk
of further pollution. Under existing conditions, the discharge into the
Hudson River is a significant health risk, particularly for downstream
communities.

Failure to act on this alienation endangers millions of dollars in State
funding that have been allocated for this important project and would
prolong the prohibited combined sewer overflow discharges the City is
seeking to mitigate as part of its Consent Order with NYSDEC and thereby
have a negative environmental and public safety effect.  It would poten-
tially hamper economic development in the City as well.

There are several additional potential public benefits identified as
part of the overall project; improved traffic patterns, a Reflection and
Learning Garden (including the placement of eight to ten feet of fill
material to eliminate the low-lying area within the ravine, and develop
new usable space in the park), green infrastructure elements, an educa-
tional component, wetland creation and other park amenities.  An exist-
ing sinkhole and the low-lying area within the ravine where the current
system can surcharge into the park during extreme weather events will
also be corrected.

To comply with the NYSDEC Consent Order, the LTCP requires this project
to be completed. The project, by its very nature, is required to be
located along the Beaver Creek sewer system which runs under Lincoln
Park to the Hudson River, and, after review of available alternatives,
the proposed location is ideal.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

No cost to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.