- What happened: New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Cumulative Impact Act into law. The Act expands existing environmental review procedures under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), a state analogous to the National Environmental Policy Act, to include environmental justice (EJ) considerations and the approval of certain agencies, including the approval of permits. requires a cumulative impact assessment for the actions of
- Important points: The law makes New York the second state, after New Jersey, to incorporate EJ considerations into environmental permitting decisions. Moving forward, many New York institutions will have to consider the cumulative impact of their actions on disadvantaged communities. The passage of this law marks a growing trend for states to propose and enact laws that make permitting decisions conditional on EJ’s influence.
fine print
New York’s Cumulative Impact Bill was signed into law on December 31, 2022 and is expected to take effect in late June 2023. The new law infuses SEQRA with environmental justice considerations. The economic impact of most discretionary body decisions to approve, fund, or directly carry out actions that may affect the environment. The new law does not change the scope of SEQRA, so if SEQRA covered an activity in the past it will continue to be covered and if it was exempt it will continue to be exempt.
Under the Cumulative Impact Bill, agencies must consider the environmental justice consequences of proposed actions from the outset, starting with determining whether an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required under SEQRA. start. In determining whether an EIS is necessary, the agency should “disproportionately or unfairly, or disproportionately and unfairly, treat disadvantaged communities directly or significantly indirectly affected by such actions.” consideration should be given to the possibility of “causing or increasing
If an EIS is required, state agencies will need to assess the impact of the proposed action on disadvantaged communities. This includes whether the measure may “cause or increase a disproportionate or unfair burden of pollution on disadvantaged communities.” Government agencies authorize actions that “may directly or indirectly cause or contribute to disproportionate or unfair, or disproportionate and unfair, pollution loads to disadvantaged communities.” It is forbidden to
In addition, when assessing permits for projects subject to SEQRA review that may impact disadvantaged communities, the Department of Conservation and Conservation (DEC) now uses an “Existing Loads Report” to assess existing pollution loads in communities. ” must be created or requested. DEC must use the results of existing burden reports to determine whether a project causes or contributes to disproportionate and/or unfair burdens on disadvantaged communities. DEC is required to adopt regulations that establish requirements for existing burden reports.
The law adopts the definition of “disadvantaged community” from the Communities and Leaders Protection Act (CLCPA). This “has the burden of adverse public health impacts, environmental pollution, and climate change impacts and has specific socio-economic criteria or, as outlined by the state’s Climate Justice Working Group, Low- and middle-income households are concentrated.CLCPA calls on the Climate Justice Working Group to establish criteria for identifying disadvantaged communities and a list of disadvantaged communities. doing.
Conclusion
New York law follows New Jersey’s landmark EJ Act of 2020, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has determined that certain facilities may be overloaded when reviewing many types of environmental permit applications. must consider the cumulative impact on their communities. While the NJDEP is typically required to deny permits for facilities that have a disproportionate and cumulative impact on overburdened communities, the State of New Jersey will allow facilities that provide essential environmental, health, or safety functions in these communities. I make an exception for New York law has no such exception, making it the most aggressive EJ law ever enacted, and now his second law to incorporate EJ directly into permit considerations. . But Governor Ho-Chol’s approval memo indicates that New York law could be amended to significantly narrow its scope. New York State uses “chapter amendments,” post-passage negotiations between the legislature and the governor’s office, to agree on changes that bypass the veto. The governor argues that the bill, as written, would require considerable resources and would cause widespread confusion among the regulated community and regulators. Agreed to sign the bill in agreement with Congress to make amendments that balance sexuality and protection of disadvantaged communities. There is no update on when this amendment is expected, but it could significantly change the impact of the law. As with most laws, the devil is in the details of regulation, so industry stakeholders should keep an eye out for upcoming regulatory enforcement and opportunities for comment.
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