S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  3091--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 23, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on  Environmental  Conservation -- committee discharged, bill amended,
   ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to envi-
   ronmental restoration projects; and to repeal  certain  provisions  of
   such law relating thereto
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 56-0501 of the environmental  conservation  law  is
 amended by adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
   3.  BEGINNING IN STATE FISCAL YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE--TWO THOU-
 SAND TWENTY-SIX, ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION PROJECTS MAY BE FUNDED WITHIN
 AVAILABLE APPROPRIATIONS.
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 56-0502 of the  environmental  conserva-
 tion law is REPEALED.
   §  3.  Subdivisions  1-a and 5 of section 56-0502 of the environmental
 conservation law, subdivision 1-a as added and subdivision 5 as  amended
 by  section  2 of part D of chapter 577 of the laws of 2004, are amended
 and two new subdivisions 1 and 7 are added to read as follows:
   1. "CONTAMINANT" SHALL MEAN HAZARDOUS  WASTE  AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION
 27-1301  OF  THIS  CHAPTER,  PETROLEUM AS DEFINED IN SECTION ONE HUNDRED
 SEVENTY-TWO OF THE NAVIGATION LAW, THE CHEMICALS IDENTIFIED IN PARAGRAPH
 C OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED TWELVE  OF  THE  PUBLIC
 HEALTH  LAW  WHETHER  OR  NOT  LISTED  PURSUANT  TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE
 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH UNDER SUCH SECTION AND ANY OTHER  EMERGING  CONTAM-
 INANTS  AS DEFINED IN SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED TWELVE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH
 LAW, AND ANY OTHER PFAS SUBSTANCES FOR WHICH A TESTING METHOD  HAS  BEEN
 RECOMMENDED,  CERTIFIED,  APPROVED  OR  IS IN USE BY THE DEPARTMENT, THE
 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH OR THE FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.
   1-a. "Contamination" or "contaminated" shall [have the same meaning as
 provided in section 27-1405 of this chapter]  MEAN  THE  PRESENCE  OF  A
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00134-03-5
              

 A. 3091--A                          2
 
 CONTAMINANT  IN  ANY ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA, INCLUDING SOIL, SURFACE WATER,
 GROUNDWATER, AIR, OR INDOOR AIR.
   5.  "Municipality",  for  purposes  of this title, shall have the same
 meaning as provided in subdivision fifteen of section  56-0101  of  this
 article,  except  that  such term shall not refer to a municipality that
 [generated, transported, or disposed of, arranged for,  or  that  caused
 the  generation, transportation, or disposal of contamination located at
 real property proposed to be investigated or to be remediated  under  an
 environmental  restoration project. For purposes of this title, the term
 municipality includes a municipality acting in partnership with a commu-
 nity based organization], THROUGH GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR WILLFUL OR  INTEN-
 TIONAL MISCONDUCT, CAUSED OR CONTRIBUTED TO CONTAMINATION, WHICH THREAT-
 ENS   PUBLIC   HEALTH  OR  THE  ENVIRONMENT,  AT  REAL  PROPERTY  TO  BE
 INVESTIGATED OR REMEDIATED UNDER AN ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION PROJECT.
   7. "PFAS SUBSTANCES" SHALL MEAN A CLASS OF FLUORINATED ORGANIC  CHEMI-
 CALS CONTAINING AT LEAST ONE FULLY FLUORINATED CARBON ATOM.
   § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 56-0503 of the environ-
 mental  conservation law, as amended by section 38 of part BB of chapter
 56 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   (c) A provision that the municipality shall assist  in  identifying  a
 responsible  party  by  searching  local records, including property tax
 rolls, or document reviews, and if,  in  accordance  with  the  required
 departmental  approval  of  any settlement with a responsible party, any
 responsible party payments become available to the municipality, before,
 during or after the completion of an environmental restoration  project,
 which  were not included when the state share was calculated pursuant to
 this section, [the state assistance share shall  be  recalculated,  and]
 THE  VALUE  OF SUCH SETTLEMENT SHALL BE USED BY THE MUNICIPALITY TO FUND
 ITS MUNICIPAL SHARE, AND THE STATE ASSISTANCE SHARE SHALL NOT BE  RECAL-
 CULATED,  TO THE EXTENT THAT THE TOTAL OF ALL SUCH SETTLEMENT AMOUNTS IS
 EQUAL TO OR LESS THAN THE MUNICIPAL SHARE.  TO THE EXTENT THE  TOTAL  OF
 ALL  SUCH  SETTLEMENT  AMOUNTS  EXCEEDS THE MUNICIPAL SHARE, the munici-
 pality shall pay SUCH EXCEEDANCE to the  state,  for  deposit  into  the
 environmental restoration project account of the hazardous waste remedi-
 al  fund  established  under section ninety-seven-b of the state finance
 law[, the difference between the original state assistance  payment  and
 the  recalculated state share. Recalculation of the state share shall be
 done each time a payment from a responsible party  is  received  by  the
 municipality];
   §  5. Paragraphs (a), (d), and (e) of subdivision 1 of section 56-0505
 of the environmental conservation law, as amended by section 5 of part D
 of chapter 1 of the laws of 2003, are amended and a new paragraph (f) is
 added to read as follows:
   (a) the benefit to the environment AND PUBLIC HEALTH realized  by  the
 expeditious  remediation  of the property proposed to be subject to such
 project;
   (d) real property in a designated brownfield opportunity area pursuant
 to section nine hundred seventy-r of the general municipal law  OR  REAL
 PROPERTY  IN  A  DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIVE OF
 SECTION 75-0101 OF THIS CHAPTER; [and]
   (e) the opportunity for other funding sources to be available for  the
 INVESTIGATION OR remediation of such property, including, but not limit-
 ed  to,  enforcement actions against responsible parties (other than the
 municipality to which state assistance was provided under this title; or
 a successor in title, lender, or lessee who was not otherwise a  respon-
 sible  party  prior  to such municipality taking title to the property),
 A. 3091--A                          3
 
 state assistance payments pursuant to title thirteen of article  twenty-
 seven  of  this chapter, and the existence of private parties willing to
 remediate such property using private funding sources. Highest  priority
 shall  be  granted  to projects for which other such funding sources are
 not available[.]; AND
   (F) FOR DRINKING WATER  CONTAMINATION  SITES  AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION
 27-1201  OF  THIS  CHAPTER, ANY REQUIREMENTS MADE BY THE COMMISSIONER OF
 HEALTH PURSUANT TO SECTION 27-1205 OF THIS CHAPTER,  FOR  A  MUNICIPALLY
 OWNED PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM TO TAKE ACTION TO REDUCE EXPOSURE TO AN EMERG-
 ING CONTAMINANT OR CONTAMINANTS.
   §  6.  Subdivision 2 of section 56-0505 of the environmental conserva-
 tion law is REPEALED.
   § 7. Subdivisions 3, 4, and 5 of section 56-0505 of the  environmental
 conservation law are renumbered subdivisions 2, 3, and 4 and subdivision
 2,  as  amended  by section 5 of part D of chapter 1 of the laws of 2003
 and as renumbered by this section, is amended to read as follows:
   2. The remediation objective of an environmental  restoration  remedi-
 ation  project  shall  meet  the  same standard for protection of public
 health and the environment that applies to remedial  actions  undertaken
 pursuant to [section] SECTIONS 27-1313 AND 27-1205 of this chapter.
   §  8.  Subdivision 3 of section 56-0509 of the environmental conserva-
 tion law, as amended by section 4 of part D of chapter 577 of  the  laws
 of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  The  state  shall  indemnify and save harmless any municipality[,]
 THAT COMPLETES  AN  ENVIRONMENTAL  RESTORATION  REMEDIATION  PROJECT  IN
 COMPLIANCE  WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF A STATE ASSISTANCE CONTRACT
 OR WRITTEN AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION 56-0503 OF
 THIS TITLE PROVIDING SUCH ASSISTANCE AND ANY successor in title, lessee,
 or lender [identified in  paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  one  of  this
 section]  in  the amount of any judgment or settlement, obtained against
 such municipality, successor in title, lessee, or lender  in  any  court
 for  any  common law cause of action arising out of: (A) the presence of
 any contamination in or on property at anytime before the effective date
 of a contract entered into pursuant to  this  title;  OR  (B)  MUNICIPAL
 ACTIONS  RELATED  TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION
 REMEDIATION PROJECT. Such municipality, successor in title,  lessee,  or
 lender  shall  be  entitled  to  representation by the attorney general,
 unless the attorney general determines, or a court of  competent  juris-
 diction determines, that such representation would constitute a conflict
 of  interest,  in  which  case the attorney general shall certify to the
 comptroller that such party  is  entitled  to  private  counsel  of  its
 choice,  and reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses shall be reimbursed
 by the state. Any settlement of such an action shall be subject  to  the
 approval  of the attorney general as to form and amount, and this subdi-
 vision shall not apply to any settlement of any such  action  which  has
 not received such approval.
   § 9. Notwithstanding subdivisions a, b, and c of section 32 of chapter
 413  of  the  laws of 1996,   a memorandum of understanding shall not be
 required to make available twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) from the
 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act of 1996  for state assistance payments to
 municipalities for environmental remediation in accordance with title  5
 of article 56 of the environmental conservation law.
   § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.