NY State Senate Bill 2021-S9105

Senate Bill S9105

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Prohibits a manufacturer from labeling or advertising a nonwoven disposable product for sale as a flushable without prior approval

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 09, 2022	referred to consumer protection

2021-S9105 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4129
Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §391-w, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: A7043
2017-2018: A3698
2019-2020: A3124

2021-S9105 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits a manufacturer from labeling or advertising a nonwoven disposable product for sale as flushable without prior approval from the department of environmental conservation.

2021-S9105 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9105

SPONSOR: REICHLIN-MELNICK
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting a
manufacturer from labeling or advertising a nonwoven disposable product
for sale as a flushable without prior approval

 
PURPOSE:

To prohibit companies from labeling or advertising nonwoven disposable
products for sale as flushable, when these products may not be flushable
and which can cause damage to sewer infrastructure by clogging the
system up.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 creates new definitions for the terms "advertised", "flusha-
ble", "label", "nonwoven disposable product"; defines the prohibitions
and the regulatory agency responsible for regulating the measures
defined; and defines the penalties associated with those found in

violation of the prohibitions put in place, and the process by which
penalties are recovered.

Section two provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In recent years, the sewer systems of municipalities across the state
and around the country have been plagued by clogging caused largely by
blockages made up of supposedly "flushable" wipes. This is a result of
companies that advertise or label moist toilet wipes and other nonwoven
products as flushable, leading consumers to believe when they flush
these products, that they will disintegrate and be processed like toilet
paper. Instead, these products clump up with each other and congeal with
grease and other cooking fats improperly sent down drains to form what
the sewerage industry refers to as "fatbergs" that block pipes, causing
sewage back-ups into homes and streams.

This issue has been studied by Consumer Reports, which showed that some
products, which claimed to be flushable, failed to disintegrate in water
after 10 minutes, compared to a few seconds for a piece of toilet
tissue.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Commis-
sioner Vincent Sapienza stated that as a result of the labeling and
advertising, people are utilizing these products at ever-increasing
rates and wreaking havoc for the agency. According to Bloomberg News,
New York City spent more than $18 million over a five year period on
equipment problems caused by these products, and the department also
supports the idea of banning "flushable" marketing.

But the issue is not just prevalent in New York City. In November 2021,
Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann, in his capacity as Chairman of
the Rockland Sewer District No. 1, wrote in a letter to Attorney General
Letitia James: "Our sewer districts need protection from recurring
damage caused by the manufacturers of flushable wipes

flushable wipes are not in fact suitable for flushing, they have caused
countless clogs and damage to our sewer district's equipment."

Considering the fact that this issue is only growing and becoming more
systemic, it's time that action be taken to prevent the issue from grow-
ing, and consuming more funds from already strained budgets across the
state.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New legislation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of environmental
conservation shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary or appro-
priate to carry out the provisions of this act.

2021-S9105 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9105
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 9, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. REICHLIN-MELNICK -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when  printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Consumer
   Protection
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting a
   manufacturer from labeling or advertising a nonwoven disposable  prod-
   uct for sale as a flushable without prior approval

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 391-w to read as follows:
   § 391-W.  NONWOVEN  DISPOSABLE  PRODUCTS.  1.  FOR  PURPOSES  OF  THIS
 SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "ADVERTISED" MEANS REPRESENTATION MADE BY STATEMENT, WORD, DESIGN,
 DEVICE, SOUND OR ANY COMBINATION THEREOF IN PRINT OR BROADCAST MEDIA.
   (B)  "FLUSHABLE", "SEPTIC SAFE", AND "SEWER SAFE" MEANS WITH REGARD TO
 A NONWOVEN DISPOSABLE PRODUCT, A PRODUCT THAT  IS:  (I)  ABLE  TO  CLEAR
 TOILETS  AND  PROPERLY  MAINTAINED  DRAINAGE PIPE SYSTEMS UNDER EXPECTED
 PRODUCT USAGE CONDITIONS; (II) COMPATIBLE  WITH  WASTEWATER  CONVEYANCE,
 TREATMENT,  REUSE,  AND DISPOSAL SYSTEMS WITHOUT CAUSING BLOCKAGE, CLOG-
 GING,  OR  OTHER  OPERATIONAL  PROBLEMS;  AND  (III)  UNRECOGNIZABLE  IN
 EFFLUENT  LEAVING ON-SITE AND MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS AND
 IN DIGESTED SLUDGE FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS THAT ARE APPLIED  TO
 SOIL.
   (C)  "LABEL" MEANS THOSE REPRESENTATIONS MADE THROUGH STATEMENT, WORD,
 PICTURE, DESIGN OR EMBLEM ON A PACKAGING OF A NONWOVEN DISPOSABLE  PROD-
 UCT.
   (D)  "NONWOVEN  DISPOSABLE PRODUCT" MEANS ANY PRODUCT CONSTRUCTED FROM
 NONWOVEN SHEETS THAT IS DESIGNED FOR, MARKETED FOR, OR COMMONLY USED FOR
 PERSONAL HYGIENE PURPOSES.
   2. NO NONWOVEN  DISPOSABLE  PRODUCT  FOR  SALE  IN  ANY  MUNICIPALITY,
 INCLUDING A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF A MILLION OR MORE, SHALL BE ADVER-
 TISED,  PACKAGED  OR LABELED AS FLUSHABLE, SEWER SAFE, OR SEPTIC SAFE IF
 SUCH PRODUCT HAS NOT FIRST BEEN APPROVED AS FLUSHABLE BY A  THIRD  PARTY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05617-03-2

 S. 9105                             2
 
 ACCORDING  TO  RULES  PROMULGATED  BY  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF ENVIRONMENTAL
 CONSERVATION.
   3.  ANY  PERSON  WHO VIOLATES THIS SECTION SHALL BE SUBJECT TO A CIVIL
 PENALTY OF NOT MORE THAN FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR EACH VIOLATION.  SUCH
 PENALTIES  MAY  BE RECOVERED IN PROCEEDINGS BEFORE A DEPARTMENT OF ENVI-
 RONMENTAL CONSERVATION ENFORCEMENT HEARING, THROUGH PROSECUTION  BY  THE
 BUREAU  OF CONSUMER FRAUDS AND PROTECTION, OR IN ANY ACTION IN ANY COURT
 OF APPROPRIATE JURISDICTION.
   4. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY TO:
   (A) A TELEVISION OR RADIO BROADCASTING STATION, OR TO ANY PUBLISHER OF
 A NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINE OR OTHER FORM OF PRINTED ADVERTISING, THAT  BROAD-
 CASTS,  PUBLISHES  OR  PRINTS  AN ADVERTISEMENT THAT FEATURES A NONWOVEN
 DISPOSABLE PRODUCT PACKAGED OR LABELED  AS  FLUSHABLE,  SEWER  SAFE,  OR
 SEPTIC SAFE; OR
   (B)  A  WHOLESALER  OR RETAILER THAT DISTRIBUTES OR SELLS BUT DOES NOT
 PACKAGE OR LABEL A NONWOVEN DISPOSABLE PRODUCT THAT IS ADVERTISED, PACK-
 AGED, OR LABELED AS FLUSHABLE, SEWER SAFE OR SEPTIC SAFE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
 on or before such effective date.

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