BILL NUMBER:  S5673

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
requiring the commissioner of environmental conservation to place
certain air quality monitoring systems within a one-mile radius of all
airports located within a city having a population of one million or
more


 PURPOSE :
To require the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation to place and
operate air quality monitoring systems in New York City Airports.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section one requires the Commissioner of the Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to:

* place and operate an ambient air quality monitor network within a
one-mile radius of all airports in New York City.

* place and operate a photochemical assessment monitoring station and
a national ambient toxic trend station within a one-mile radius of all
New York City airports.

* meet periodically with site engineers, local community organizations
              

and elected officials representing the area in which the airport is
located to inform them of the results of the air quality monitoring
and, if necessary, to recommend or establish programs to mitigate any
adverse ambient air quality.

Section two is the effective clause.

 EXISTING LAW :
Currently, NYSDEC's Bureau of Air Quality Surveillance is responsible
for the maintenance and operation of ambient air quality monitoring
networks throughout the State. Currently there are 80+ active sites
(none near New York City airports) where various parameters are
measured using continuous and/or manual instrumentation. These are
part of the mandated National Air Monitoring Stations Network and
State and Local Air Monitoring Stations Network. NYSDEC is authorized
to monitor air quality through Article 19 of Environmental
Conservation Law, "The Air Pollution Control Act" and Chapter III,
Subchapter A, Part 200 et seq. of Title 6, New York Codes, Rules &
Regulations.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The Clean Air Act requires that the federal Environmental Protection
Agency and the State Department of Environmental Conservation take
steps to ensure clean air quality by 2010. Air quality in all of New
York City's counties have recently received very low clean air
ratings.

Increased airplane emissions from area airports further aggravate the
City's air quality, dumping additional exhaust and fume discharges on
neighborhoods, especially Queens, which hosts both John F. Kennedy
International and LaGuardia Airports. According to a study by the
Natural Resources Defense Council, the airports are among the top
producers of ground-level ozone and smog in Queens. There are no
catalytic converters to minimize harmful jet fuel emissions, and the
emissions from one plane are equal to that of 3,000 cars. Children in
Queens suffer from asthma in disproportionate numbers, especially
those living in proximity to airports.



Additionally, roadways leading to and from the airports are filled 24
hours a day with traffic, with cars, light trucks and
pollution-emitting diesel trucks, thus exacerbating the situation.

The EPA's failing marks on air quality have required the state to come
up with an improvement plan. Health advocates, environmentalists and
elected officials agree that monitoring the air around New York City's
airports will provide precise information about the presence of air
pollution and show the success or failure of pollution-reduction
efforts.

New monitors detect ozone and fine particle pollution. Ozone and fine
particulates are only two types of air pollution, but they are
considered the most deadly. Fine particulate pollution is small enough
to penetrate the deeper regions of the body's respiratory system, and
exposure has been associated with serious health problems, including
the aggravation of asthma, the development of chronic bronchitis,
heart attacks and premature death.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
A.9574 (2006) referred to environmental conservation A6422 referred to
environmental conservation in 2007-2008.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth dayafter it
shall have become a law.