Establishes environmental standards for public authorities

Summary of provisions

Section one of the bill adds a new title 13 to the public authorities law to impose energy conservation standards on a specific list of the larger state public authorities. The new title would, among other things:

1. establish energy conservation targets and timetables to be met by these state public authorities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, overall energy consumption and water usage;

2. require these state public authorities to perform an energy assessment of their buildings and facilities;

3. require these state public authorities to prepare and implement an energy conservation plan and a solid waste management plan;

4. require these state public authorities to appoint an energy conservation coordinator to organize, coordinate, oversee and report on the energy conservation activities of the public authority;

5. require all new building and facilities built, owned or operated by state public authorities to comply with the State Green Building Construction Act;

6. require all purchases made by these state public authorities to be from lists and specifications promulgated by the state interagency council on sustainability and green procurement; and

7. Require DEC to establish a state authorities energy conservation council to approve plans submitted by the state public authorities, and to monitor and report on the actions taken by state authorities to meet the energy conservation targets and timetables.

Section two of this bill sets forth the severability clause.

Section three provides for an immediate effective date.

Justification

There is no disagreement or dispute over the importance and need to conserve energy and reduce our dependence on non-renewable energy sources. As stated in the Energy law, it is the policy of this state to encourage energy conservation and to provide the development and use of renewable energy sources.

There are currently over 300 state public authorities in this State, which own, lease, control or operate thousands of buildings and facilities throughout the state. Public authorities spend tens of millions of dollars every year to purchase and pay for energy and water usage. Yet, there is no single state agency responsible for studying and reviewing the energy consumed by the public authorities. No one agency knows the total number of buildings and facilities that are owned, leased, controlled or operated by the public authorities, the total number of square footage or how much energy is being consumed.

To both protect the environment and to reduce costs, it is vital to reduce energy consumption and produce cost savings in the operations of this state's public authorities. To achieve these goals, this bill will require public authorities to:

* benchmark their historic and current usage patterns;

* take an inventory of their energy conservation activities;

* identify and prioritize buildings and facilities of 10,000 square feet or more for energy efficiency upgrades;

* assess their energy and water usage, and develop and implement a plan to meet certain energy conservation targets and timetables;

* develop and implement a plan to manage waste disposal; and

* report op the progress of meeting the targets and timetables.

By setting clean energy targets and developing energy conservation practices, public authorities, with their presence in every part of this state, can also play an important role in the development and support of new and local green technologies, fostering innovation and benefiting the New York state economy.

Legislative history

New Bill.

Fiscal implications

Minimal administrative cost associated with assessment and inventory analyses however these actions will result in long term savings due to operating efficiencies.

Effective date

Immediately.