Relates to electric generating facilities operating within five hundred feet of a residence

Paragraph (b) requires a plan to cease operation of any electrical generating facility located within the city of New York, that was constructed in 2001 and that is located within 500 feet of a residence, by December 31, 2009.

Justification

In 2001, the NYS Power Authority proposed the immediate construction of a number of small electric generators to prevent the same type of blackouts that plagued California to occur in the City of New York The Power Authority engaged in a an expedited siting process with only minimal community input At least one of the facilities was constructed across the street from a residential area of Rosebank in Staten Island.

The residents of Staten Island were assured by the NYS Power Authority that these facilities were only needed until larger Power plants could be sited and built. That process was ongoing. The Rosebank generator was to be used to facilitate the production of power in peak periods of demand. Contrary to their original purpose, the generators are now operating at all times of the year, regardless of demand.

This legislation would require those electrical generators that are located within the City of New York and within 500 feet of a residential area, to operate only during periods of peak demand, as originally intended.

This legislation would also require these facilities to cease operation at the end of the life of the current operating permit.

These facilities were intended as stopgap measures to meet the immediate power need of the City of New York until larger facilities could be built There is no reason to continue their operation once the larger facilities can assume the demand.

Recent disclosures by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation have demonstrated an even greater toll being imposed by the facility upon its residential neighbors. The DEC has revealed that when the facility operates it continually discharges emissions in excess of its operating permit affecting the air quality of the residents surrounding it. The State cannot allow the electrical demands of New York City to outweigh the health risks to the residents of Rosebank, Staten Island. Since the facility is unable to operate within the parameters of its license, it should be taken off line and shut down. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : 2008: S.5708 - Referred to Energy & Telecommunications/A.8841- Referred to Energy 2007: S.5708 - Reported to Rules/A.8841 - Referred to Energy 2006: S.1688 - Referred to Energy & Telecommunications/A.3786 - Referred to Energy 2005: S.1688 - Referred to Energy & Telecommunications/A.3786 - Referred to Energy 2004: S.1624 - Referred to Energy & Telecommunications/A.5903 Referred to Energy 2003: S.1624 - Referred to Energy & Telecommunications/A.5903 - Referred to Energy 2002: S.6786 - Referred to Energy and Telecommunications/A.10936 Referred to Energy

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.