S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9213
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 16, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. FAHY -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the navigation law, in relation to  financial  responsi-
   bility for the liability of a major facility or vessel
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section 181 of the  navi-
 gation  law,  as amended by chapter 584 of the laws of 1992 and subpara-
 graphs (ii) and (iii) as amended by chapter 585 of the laws of 1992  and
 as further amended by section 104 of part A of chapter 62 of the laws of
 2011, is amended and a new paragraph (f) is added to read as follows:
   (e)  (i)  The  owner or operator of a MAJOR FACILITY OR A vessel shall
 establish and maintain with the department evidence of financial respon-
 sibility sufficient to meet the amount of liability established pursuant
 to paragraph (a) of this subdivision. A PERSON MAY NOT CAUSE  OR  PERMIT
 THE  OPERATION  OF  A  MAJOR  FACILITY  OR VESSEL IN THE STATE UNTIL THE
 PERSON HAS FURNISHED TO THE DEPARTMENT, AND THE DEPARTMENT HAS  APPROVED
 SUCH  EVIDENCE.  The  owner or operator of any vessel which demonstrates
 financial responsibility pursuant to the requirements of the Federal Oil
 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), shall be deemed to  have
 demonstrated financial responsibility in accordance with this paragraph.
   (ii)  [The  commissioner  in  consultation  with the superintendent of
 financial services may promulgate regulations  requiring  the  owner  or
 operator  of a major facility other than a vessel to establish and main-
 tain evidence of financial responsibility in an  amount  not  to  exceed
 twenty-five  dollars,  per  incident, for each barrel of total petroleum
 storage capacity at the facility, subject to a maximum  of  one  million
 dollars  per  incident  per  facility  in an aggregate not to exceed two
 million dollars per facility per year; provided, however,  that  if  the
 owner  or  operator  establishes to the satisfaction of the commissioner
 that a lesser amount will be sufficient to protect the  environment  and
 public  health,  safety  and  welfare,  the  commissioner  shall  accept
 evidence of financial responsibility in such lesser amount. In determin-
 ing the sufficiency of the amount of financial  responsibility  required

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

                                                            LBD14222-01-4
 A. 9213                             2

 under this section, the commissioner and the superintendent of financial
 services  shall take into consideration facility size, storage capacity,
 throughput, proximity to environmentally sensitive areas, type of petro-
 leum handled, and other factors relevant to the risks posed by the class
 or  category  of facility, as well as the availability and affordability
 of pollution liability insurance. Any regulations  promulgated  pursuant
 to  this  subparagraph  shall  not  take effect until forty-eight months
 after the effective date of this section.
   (iii)] Financial responsibility under this  paragraph  may  be  estab-
 lished  by  any one or a combination of the following methods acceptable
 to the commissioner in consultation with the superintendent of financial
 services: evidence of insurance,  surety  bonds,  guarantee,  letter  of
 credit,  qualification as a self-insurer, or other evidence of financial
 responsibility, including certifications which qualify under the Federal
 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).
   [(iv)] (III) The liability of a third-party insurer providing proof of
 financial responsibility on behalf of a person required to establish and
 maintain evidence of financial  responsibility  under  this  section  is
 limited to the type of risk assumed and the amount of coverage specified
 in  the  proof  of financial responsibility furnished to and approved by
 the department. For the purposes of this section, the term  "third-party
 insurer" means a third-party insurer, surety, guarantor, person furnish-
 ing  a  letter  of  credit,  or other group or person providing proof of
 financial responsibility on  behalf  of  another  person;  it  does  not
 include  the  person required to establish and maintain evidence of such
 financial responsibility.
   (F) (I) ACCEPTANCE OF PROOF OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY SHALL EXPIRE:
   (1) ONE YEAR FROM ITS ISSUANCE FOR SELF-INSURANCE;
   (2) ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF A CHANGE IN THE SURETY  BOND,  GUARANTEE,
 INSURANCE  AGREEMENT,  LETTER  OF  CREDIT,  OR  OTHER PROOF OF FINANCIAL
 RESPONSIBILITY; OR
   (3) ON THE EXPIRATION OR CANCELLATION OF THE SURETY  BOND,  GUARANTEE,
 INSURANCE  AGREEMENT,  LETTER  OF  CREDIT,  OR  OTHER PROOF OF FINANCIAL
 RESPONSIBILITY.
   (II) THE PERSON WHOSE PROOF OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IS ACCEPTED BY
 THE DEPARTMENT UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL NOTIFY THE DEPARTMENT  AT  LEAST
 THIRTY DAYS BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF A CHANGE, EXPIRATION OR CANCEL-
 LATION  IN  THE  SURETY  BOND, GUARANTEE, INSURANCE AGREEMENT, LETTER OF
 CREDIT, OR OTHER PROOF  OF  FINANCIAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  APPLICATION  FOR
 RENEWAL  OF  ACCEPTANCE  OF PROOF OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY UNDER THIS
 SECTION MUST BE FILED AT LEAST THIRTY DAYS BEFORE THE  DATE  OF  EXPIRA-
 TION.
   (III)  THE DEPARTMENT, AFTER NOTICE AND HEARING, MAY REVOKE ACCEPTANCE
 OF PROOF OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IF IT DETERMINES THAT:
   (1) ACCEPTANCE WAS PROCURED BY FRAUD OR MISREPRESENTATION; OR
   (2) A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCE HAS OCCURRED OTHER THAN A  CHANGE  SPECI-
 FIED IN CLAUSES ONE THROUGH THREE OF SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH,
 WHICH WOULD HAVE WARRANTED DENIAL OF THE APPLICATION.
   (IV) UPON ACCEPTANCE AND APPROVAL OF PROOF OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
 UNDER  THIS  SECTION,  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL  ISSUE  TO THE APPLICANT A
 CERTIFICATE STATING THAT THE STATE'S FINANCIAL  RESPONSIBILITY  REQUIRE-
 MENTS  HAVE BEEN SATISFIED. THE CERTIFICATE MUST INCLUDE THE NAME OF THE
 MAJOR FACILITY, VESSEL, OR PIPELINE FOR WHICH IT IS ISSUED AND THE EXPI-
 RATION DATE OF THE CERTIFICATE.
   § 2. The navigation law is amended by adding a new  section  181-f  to
 read as follows:
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   §  181-F.  RAILROAD  FINANCIAL  PREPAREDNESS.  1. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL
 ANNUALLY REQUIRE A RAILROAD COMPANY THAT TRANSPORTS  CRUDE  OIL  IN  THE
 STATE  TO  SUBMIT INFORMATION RELATING TO THE RAILROAD COMPANY'S ABILITY
 TO PAY IN THE EVENT OF A DISCHARGE INVOLVING THE TRANSPORT OF CRUDE OIL.
 THE  INFORMATION SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT MUST INCLUDE A STATEMENT OF
 WHETHER THE RAILROAD HAS THE ABILITY TO  PAY  FOR  DISCHARGES  RESULTING
 FROM  A  REASONABLE WORST CASE DISCHARGE AS DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT
 PURSUANT TO RULES AND REGULATIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   A. "CRUDE OIL" SHALL MEAN ANY NATURALLY OCCURRING HYDROCARBONS  COMING
 FROM  THE  EARTH  THAT ARE LIQUID AT TWENTY-FIVE DEGREES CELSIUS AND ONE
 ATMOSPHERE OF PRESSURE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CRUDE OIL, BITUMEN
 AND DILUTED BITUMEN, SYNTHETIC CRUDE OIL, AND NATURAL GAS  WELL  CONDEN-
 SATE.
   B.  "RAILROAD"  SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION
 TWENTY-FOUR OF SECTION TWO OF THE TRANSPORTATION LAW.
   C. "RAILROAD COMPANY" SHALL HAVE  THE  SAME  MEANING  AS  PROVIDED  IN
 SUBDIVISION TWENTY-FIVE OF SECTION TWO OF THE TRANSPORTATION LAW.
   D. "STREET RAILROAD" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS PROVIDED IN SUBDI-
 VISION TWENTY-NINE OF SECTION TWO OF THE TRANSPORTATION LAW.
   2.  THE DEPARTMENT SHALL MAKE SUCH INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON ITS PUBLIC
 WEBSITE NOT LATER THAN FEBRUARY FIRST OF EACH  YEAR.  IN  ADDITION,  THE
 DEPARTMENT  SHALL ALSO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE LEGISLATURE ON HOW
 TO ADDRESS ANY FINANCIAL DEFICIENCIES IDENTIFIED BY RAILROAD COMPANIES.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.