BILL NUMBER:  S481

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
prohibiting the disposal of dredged spoils containing toxic pollutants
into the waters of the marine district


 PURPOSE :
Prohibits disposal of spoils containing toxic pollutants into the
waters of the marine district.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
This legislation amends § 17-0503 of the Environmental Conservation
Law by adding a new subdivision 3. "Marine district" is defined in §
17-0501 as the waters of the Atlantic Ocean within 3 nautical miles
from the coast line and all other tidal waters within the State,
except the Hudson River northerly of the south end of Manhattan
Island.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The Army Corps of Engineers (COE) has been and is currently exploring
a plan to use underwater pits near the shores of Richmond County and
Kings County to bury dredged material that does not meet federal ocean
dumping standards.

              

The Army Corps' proposal is to dump millions of cubic yards of highly
contaminated dredged spoils in pre-existing borrow pits located within
3 miles of Coney Island and Staten Island. The material to be dumped
contains elevated levels of Dioxin 2, 3, 7 and 8, TCDD, PVBs,
petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and arsenic. It has been
estimated by the COE and other responsible agencies that 150 million
cubic yards of contaminated dredged spoils will be disposed of in this
manner over a period of ten years. It has been calculated that from 3%
to 5% of this highly contaminated material will be dispersed into the
surrounding water under calm ocean conditions. Should storms,
hurricanes or fast moving tides be encountered, this loss will be
accelerated, creating high pollution levels in the waters near the
fishing and swimming areas of the Gateway Parks System. The East Bank
Shoal area, where one of the pits is located, supports a large and
diverse benthic community which predator species feed upon. Large
schools of striped bass, bluefish, fluke and flounder migrate across
this area throughout the fishing season. The area supports a large
community of resident predator fish as well. These migratory resources
are critical to the entire east coast of the U.S.

The striped bass resource, which for the past decade has been banned
from sale in NYS because of PCB contamination, has been steadily
recovering and is expected to show only slight contamination, however
the introduction of toxic dredged spoil into the waters would defeat
the progress that has been made thus far. Additionally, if the local
and migratory marine resources become contaminated, the diverse group
of waterfront businesses that they support will be severely impacted.

This proposal is inconsistent with the intent of federal, state and
city Coastal Zone Management Programs, the Environmental Conservation
Law and the policies expressed by the Governor.

This bill would prevent the dumping of this contaminated material in
any of the existing facilities in the New York Coastal Region.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2008:  S.5583 - Passed Senate/A.3320 - Referred to Environmental
Conservation
2007:  S.5583 - Passed Senate/A.3320 - Referred to Environmental
Conservation
2006:  S.2071 - Passed Senate/A.3335 - Referred to Environmental
Conservation
2005: S.2071 - 3rd Reading Calendar/A.3335 - Referred to Environmental
Conservation
2004:  S.1537 - 3rd Reading Calendar/A.3408 - Referred to
Environmental Conservation
2003:  S.1537 - Referred to Environmental Conservation/A.3408 -
Referred to Environmental Conservation

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.