Establishes the Long Island water quality control act and the Long Island commission on aquifer protection

Summary of provisions

This bill would:

* Require the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to promulgate rules and regulations establishing both narrative and numeric water quality criteria for Long Island's ground and surface waters on a watershed basis to protect and restore the physical, biological and chemical integrity of Long island's waters;

* Require new construction and substantial re-construction to have denitrification systems;

* Require denitrification systems (from a list of approved systems developed by Nassau and Suffolk counties in consultation with the DEC) to be in used in priority areas identified by the counties effective January 1, 2017,

* Prohibit, effective January 1, 2017, repairs to cesspools, other than minor repairs. Instead, systems would be required to comply with current sanitary code unless the county DOH determines that the current code cannot be met and the alternative system design would still be protective of human health;

* Require DEC and the Department of Agriculture and Markets (DAM) to prepare guidance documents for farmers for nutrient reduction recommended fertilizer and pesticide application rates;

* Require DEC to prepare a pesticide evaluation report containing information regarding the extent of pesticide-related contamination, an action plan to prioritize the evaluation of registered pesticides and make specific recommendations to prevent and/or remediate future pesticide contamination;

* Require DEC to hold at least two public hearings on the report and plan with a public comment period of not less than sixty days;

* Require DEC to give priority to funding hazardous waste and industrial waste collection days when determining environmental benefit projects in Nassau and Suffolk County for violations of SPDES, wetlands and pesticide statutes;

* Require DEC to appoint a regional planning board and complete a Long Island water resources management strategy and study of water resources by January 1, 2017;

* Clarify that nothing in the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EPC) statutory authority for the revolving loan funds should be interpreted to limit decentralized or community wastewater systems;

* Expand water withdrawal reporting, requirements to include large agricultural withdrawals from non-municipal sources;

* Require the Long Island Commission on Aquifer Protection to prepare a State of the Aquifer report within one year and update such report annually;

* Require all well permits to include a 90 day DEC notice provision prior to sealing such wells in order to allow for their use as sentinel monitoring wells;

* Require automatic sprinkler systems installed on or after January 1, 2016 to be equipped with rain sensor devices;

* Require EFC, no later than two years after the effective date, to conduct a pilot program to finance small scale community wastewater systems in areas identified as priority sewering areas by DEC; and,

* Authorize DEC to enter into agreements with the counties to perform tasks

Justification

Long Island's water resources are unique in the region, unusual in the nation and of exceptional importance to the State of New York because of the economic, environmental and public health values that Long Island's water resources provide to the millions of people who live and recreate on Long Island. Long Island's water resources have continued to be impacted by increasing quantities of nutrients, pathogens, pesticides, volatile organic contaminants and saltwater intrusion, as well as a number of merging threats such as prescription drugs and sea level rise.

In response to these environmental impacts, the region has already experienced an increasing number of harmful algal blooms and other documented declines in key biological indicators which demonstrate continued and increasing stress on the region's groundwater resources and coastal ecosystems. Continued water quality and coastal habitat decline will result in more harmful algal blooms, shell fishing closures, beach closures and fishing restrictions, along with the further contamination of private and public wells These impacts will inevitably have significant negative effects on the entire economy of Long Island and on the quality of life and public health for the millions of residents of the region This legislation would implement control measures and planning provisions to stem the tide of Long island's declining water quality.

Legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after enactment.