New York State Senate Passes Legislation to Strengthen Climate and Environmental Protections

Establishing an Indirect Source Review for Warehouse Operations: This bill, S.1180B, sponsored by Senate Deputy Leader Gianaris, would require qualifying heavy distribution warehouses to obtain a permit ensuring that they reduce hazardous air pollution for local communities, and demonstrating that their operations do not contribute to violations of National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Enacting the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act: This bill, S.9072A, sponsored by Senator Harckham, would protect against greenwashing by requiring businesses with a yearly revenue above $1 billion to annually disclose their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

Prohibiting the Sale of Products Containing PFAS: This bill, S.9073A, sponsored by Senator Harckham, would prohibit and penalize the sale of certain consumer and household products containing PFAS.

Enacting the Emission Tampering Act: This bill, S.9074, sponsored by Senator Harckham, would codify prohibitions against disabling, removing, or interfering with emission control devices, or selling, distributing, or installing emission tampering devices.

Proposing Stricter Lead Contamination Standards: This bill, S.122A, sponsored by Senator Cleare, would direct the Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health to propose stricter standards for lead contamination in air, in soil, on floors, and on windowsills.

Limiting Toxic Air Contaminant Emissions: This bill, S.4030A, sponsored by Senator Fernandez, would direct the Department of Environmental Conservation to establish new ambient air quality standards for certain toxic air contaminants, and fenceline monitoring to ensure those standards are met.

Providing Funding for Municipal Environmental Remediation: This bill, S.672A, sponsored by Senator Hinchey, would allow municipalities to use funding obtained through the Environmental Restoration Program to remediate contaminated drinking water sites, would expand the program to make PFAS contamination eligible for remediation, and would earmark $20 million from the Environmental Bond Act of 1996 for municipal environmental remediation.

Enacting the PFAS Discharge Disclosure Act: This bill, S.4574B, sponsored by Senator May, would require certain industrial dischargers of wastewater likely to contain PFAS and publicly owned wastewater treatment plants to conduct testing for PFAS and report the results.

Ensuring Permits Issued by The DEC Meet Environmental Standards: This bill, S.4513, sponsored by Senator Ramos, would require applicants for all major permits from the Department of Environmental Conservation to comply with environmental justice community engagement standards and would prevent such permits from being issued until the applicant satisfies those environmental requirements.

Bill sponsor Senator Cordell Cleare said, “No amount of lead is safe in any form or fashion. We must join in unison to forever eradicate lead from our homes, from our soil and from our water supply — and this commitment must be a generational one — with complementary policy, funds and interventions that revolve and are replenished each and every year, for as long as it takes to make us all whole and healthy.”

Bill sponsor Senator Nathalia Fernandez said, “Every New Yorker deserves to breathe clean, safe air, no matter their ZIP code. For generations, communities in the Bronx have borne the health costs of pollution. Children and families have paid the price through higher rates of asthma, heart disease, and respiratory illness. S.4030A ensures New York finally sets clear, science-based standards for toxic air contaminants. This legislation puts public health, equity for all New Yorkers, and accountability at the center of our environmental policy.”

Bill sponsor Senator Michelle Hinchey said, “As PFAS and other emerging contaminants threaten drinking water across New York, local governments need access to state funding to respond. My bill unlocks three existing funding streams so municipalities can move forward with remediation and stop contamination at the source, including at landfills, before it spreads further. In 2021, New Yorkers voted to enshrine the right to clean water in our State Constitution. Living up to that responsibility means providing communities with the tools to protect public health, and this bill does exactly that.”

Bill sponsor Senator Rachel May said, “PFAS are known as 'forever chemicals' for a reason - once they enter our water and environment, they can persist for thousands of years. Whenever these toxic chemicals are released by industries and other facilities into our streams, lakes, and groundwater, New Yorkers have the right to know. I'm grateful that the Senate is advancing this bill to ensure comprehensive, statewide PFAS testing and to build on the efforts already underway to fully understand the scale of the pollution. We can't fix what we don't measure, and this bill is an important step towards reaching a PFAS-free New York.”

Bill sponsor Senator Jessica Ramos said, “For too long, communities carrying the heaviest pollution burdens have been shut out of decisions that shape their health and their future. S.4513 makes clear that environmental permitting must center public health, transparency, and meaningful community participation from the start. Families should never have to trade clean air and safe water for development, and this bill ensures that growth in New York does not come at the expense of our children or our neighbors.”

NYPIRG Senior Policy Advisor Blair Horner said, “In a time when too many elected officials are running away from protecting the environment, the Senate is showing how to make the state cleaner and healthier. Today's package offers some of the important protections that must become law. We urge support for these measures and applaud the Senate for advancing them.”

Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment said, “Protecting our air, land, and water is paramount to residents across our great state. From Montauk to Medina, the public supports clean water, healthy air, and safe waterways. In response to this concern, the New York Senate has a suite of bills that will reduce harmful emissions, protect drinking water, prevent public exposure to toxic PFAS, and combat climate change. The public applauds this effort and is heartened to see NY leaders standing up and continuing this protection agenda when the federal government is abandoning critical environment initiatives.”

Vanessa Fajans-Turner, Executive Director of Environmental Advocates NY said, “Environmental Advocates NY couldn’t be happier to see one of our 2026 Superbills, outlawing the sale of PFAS-contaminated household products, pass the Senate so early in the session. Dangerous ‘forever chemicals’ don’t belong in our homes, period. We’re grateful to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Senate Environment Committee Chair Pete Harckham for their leadership in advancing this urgently needed bill and many others to protect public health and our environment today.”

Patrick McClellan, Policy Director, New York League of Conservation Voter said, “With the federal government working to dismantle decades of environmental protections, it is critical that New York steps up to fill the void, and that is exactly what this legislative package does. From banning “forever chemicals” in consumer products – one of our Superbills – to tracking emissions, these bills represent a major step forward for public health. We applaud Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Senator Pete Harckham, and the entire majority conference, and we urge the Assembly to pass these measures with the same urgency.”

Jeremy Cherson, Riverkeeper’s Associate Director of Government Affairs said, “Riverkeeper applauds the New York State Senate Majority for advancing a critical package of clean water and public health bills. By improving transparency around toxic discharges and ensuring all communities can review and comment on projects that affect their environment, this legislation takes an important step toward a cleaner, healthier New York.”