S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7104
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 18, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MATTERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to rain-
   water harvesting
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Article 15 of the environmental conservation law is amended
 by adding a new title 35 to read as follows:
                                  TITLE 35
                           RAINWATER HARVESTING
 SECTION 15-3501. PURPOSE.
         15-3503. RAINWATER HARVESTING FEASIBILITY.
         15-3505. RAINWATER HARVESTING CONVEYANCE.
         15-3507. RAINWATER HARVESTING PRETREATMENT.
         15-3509. RAINWATER HARVESTING TREATMENT.
         15-3511. RAINWATER HARVESTING LANDSCAPING AND VEGETATION.
         15-3513. RULES AND REGULATIONS.
 § 15-3501. PURPOSE.
   RAINWATER  HARVESTING  PRACTICES,  WHEN  DESIGNED TO TEMPORARILY STORE
 STORMWATER RUNOFF FOR DETENTION OR RE-USE THROUGH RETENTION, MAY  ASSIST
 IN MEETING STORMWATER RUNOFF REDUCTION GOALS.
   RAINWATER  HARVESTING  IS  THE  CAPTURE,  CONVEYANCE,  AND  STORAGE OF
 PRECIPITATION FROM IMPERVIOUS SURFACES,  TYPICALLY  ROOFTOPS,  PRIMARILY
 FOR RE-USE, RATHER THAN INFILTRATION OR RELEASE INTO A WATERWAY. RAINWA-
 TER  HARVESTING HAS MINIMAL SITE REQUIREMENTS COMPARED TO OTHER STORMWA-
 TER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND MAY BE USED IN RESIDENTIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL
 SETTINGS  FOR  ANY  VOLUME  OF  ROOFTOP  RUNOFF, IF SIZED APPROPRIATELY.
 RAINWATER HARVESTING MAY BE  USED  ON  SITES  WHERE  DENSE  DEVELOPMENT,
 POLLUTANT  HOTSPOTS, OR SOIL CONDITIONS PRECLUDE THE USE OF INFILTRATION
 OR OTHER STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. THE USE OF RAINWATER  HARVEST-
 ING REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF STORMWATER RUNOFF ENTERING THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11425-01-3
              

 S. 7104                             2
 
 AND  LOCAL  RECEIVING  WATERS  AS WELL AS REDUCING OR DELAYING PEAK FLOW
 RATES.  IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE WELL-DEFINED OPERATION  AND  MAINTENANCE
 PROCEDURES  FOR  ANY  RAINWATER  HARVESTING  SYSTEM, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE
 ADEQUATE STORAGE CAPACITY FOR SUBSEQUENT STORM EVENTS.
   STORAGE  TANKS  FOR  HARVESTED RAINWATER MAY BE SITED ABOVE- OR BELOW-
 GROUND, INDOORS OR OUTDOORS, OR ON ROOFTOPS OF BUILDINGS THAT HAVE  BEEN
 DESIGNED TO BEAR THE LOAD OF RAINWATER STORAGE. THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF A
 RAINWATER  HARVESTING  SYSTEM INCLUDE: A CONTRIBUTING ROOFTOP SURFACE; A
 CONVEYANCE SYSTEM OF GUTTERS, DOWNSPOUTS, AND PIPES; SCREENING  OR  PRE-
 TREATMENT FILTER AND CLEAN-OUT; A WATERTIGHT STORAGE CONTAINER; AN OVER-
 FLOW PIPE; AN ACCESS HATCH; AND AN EXTRACTION SYSTEM, SUCH AS A SPOUT OR
 PUMP.    ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS MAY INCLUDE A FIRST FLUSH DIVERTER, PRES-
 SURE TANK, AND BACKFLOW PREVENTION DEVICE.
   RAIN BARRELS ARE COMMONLY USED TO STORE HARVESTED RAINWATER IN  SMALL-
 SCALE  RESIDENTIAL  SETTINGS,  WHILE ABOVE- OR BELOW-GROUND CISTERNS ARE
 MORE COMMONLY USED IN LARGER-SCALE INDUSTRIAL SETTINGS. RAIN BARRELS ARE
 ABOVE GROUND STORAGE TANKS GENERALLY HOLDING FIFTY  TO  EIGHTY  GALLONS,
 BUT MAY HOLD UP TO TWO HUNDRED GALLONS. CISTERNS ARE SEALED TANKS, WHICH
 MAY BE ABOVE OR BELOW GROUND AND GENERALLY HOLD TWO HUNDRED TO TEN THOU-
 SAND GALLONS. WHILE CAREFULLY MANAGED RAIN BARRELS CAN BE A VIABLE MEANS
 OF  STORMWATER RUNOFF VOLUME REDUCTION FOR VERY SMALL VOLUMES OF RAINWA-
 TER, THIS STANDARD IS INTENDED TO  BE  APPLIED  TO  THE  LARGER  STORAGE
 VOLUMES  AND  MORE  ROBUST  MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT ARE POSSIBLE ONLY
 WITH CISTERNS.
   HARVESTED RAINWATER IS OFTEN WELL-SUITED FOR REUSE IN LANDSCAPE  IRRI-
 GATION  AND OTHER NON-POTABLE USES, INCLUDING IN TOILETS AND URINALS, AS
 WELL AS HVAC MAKE-UP WATER, TOPPING  OFF  SWIMMING  POOLS,  AND  WASHING
 CARS. IN THE STATE, REUSE OF HARVESTED RAINWATER FOR PURPOSES OTHER THAN
 IRRIGATION  IS LARGELY UNADDRESSED BY CURRENT STATE REGULATIONS OR LOCAL
 CODES. BECAUSE OF THIS LACK OF SPECIFIC RAINWATER  HARVESTING  GUIDANCE,
 SOME  JURISDICTIONS  HAVE  REGULATED  HARVESTED  RAINWATER  AS RECLAIMED
 WATER, RESULTING IN STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS THAT MAKE  REUSING  HARVESTED
 RAINWATER  CHALLENGING. THE PRACTICALITY OF RAINWATER REUSE WILL NEED TO
 BE EVALUATED ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS.
 § 15-3503. RAINWATER HARVESTING FEASIBILITY.
   THE FOLLOWING DESIGN ELEMENTS ARE REQUIRED WHEN IMPLEMENTING RAINWATER
 HARVESTING PRACTICES TO CAPTURE AND RE-USE STORMWATER RUNOFF:
   1. RAINWATER HARVESTING SHALL BE LIMITED TO ROOFTOP RUNOFF.
   2. RAINWATER STORAGE SHALL BE DESIGNED TO CAPTURE AT LEAST 0.2  INCHES
 OF RAINFALL FROM THE CONTRIBUTING ROOFTOP.
   3.  AN  APPLICATION  AREA  OR  WATER REUSE SHALL BE IDENTIFIED THAT IS
 SUFFICIENT TO REUSE THE STORMWATER VOLUME STORED WITHIN  A  WEEK  AT  AN
 APPLICATION  RATE  OF  ONE INCH PER WEEK OVER THE IRRIGATION PERIOD FROM
 MAY THROUGH SEPTEMBER.
   4. FOR UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS, THE BOTTOM  OF  THE  TANK  SHALL  BE
 ABOVE  GROUNDWATER  LEVEL,  AND  THE  TOP OF THE TANK SHALL BE BELOW THE
 FROST LINE.   STORAGE TANKS THAT ARE ABOVE GROUND  OR  NOT  ABLE  TO  BE
 BURIED  BELOW THE FROST LINE SHALL BE APPROPRIATELY INSULATED OR DISCON-
 NECTED DURING THE WINTER MONTHS TO PROTECT THE SYSTEM FROM FREEZING.
 § 15-3505. RAINWATER HARVESTING CONVEYANCE.
   1. GUTTERS SHALL BE HUNG AT A MINIMUM OF  ONE-HALF  PERCENT  FOR  TWO-
 THIRDS  OF  THE LENGTH AND AT ONE PERCENT FOR THE REMAINING ONE-THIRD OF
 THE LENGTH, AND SHALL BE SET AND SIZED TO PROPERLY CAPTURE, CONTAIN, AND
 CONVEY THE ONE INCH STORM EVENT AT A RATE OF ONE INCH PER HOUR.
 S. 7104                             3
 
   2. OVERFLOW RUNOFF SHALL BE SAFELY CONVEYED TO A  SUITABLE,  DOWN-GRA-
 DIENT LOCATION SUCH AS A BUFFER AREA, OPEN YARD, GRASS SWALE, OR SECOND-
 ARY TREATMENT PRACTICE, AS APPLICABLE.
   3.  OVERFLOW  CONVEYANCE  AND TANK SITING SHALL BE DESIGNED TO PREVENT
 PONDING OR SOIL SATURATION WITHIN TEN FEET OF BUILDING FOUNDATIONS,  AND
 UNDERGROUND  CISTERNS  SHALL  BE  SITED  AT LEAST TEN FEET FROM BUILDING
 FOUNDATIONS.
   4. SYSTEMS SHALL BE DESIGNED AROUND A WATER BUDGET ANALYSIS THAT IDEN-
 TIFIES HOW WATER WILL BE USED TO ENSURE THAT  STORAGE  CAPACITY  IN  THE
 SYSTEM WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR SUBSEQUENT RUNOFF EVENTS.
 § 15-3507. RAINWATER HARVESTING PRETREATMENT.
   1. PRETREATMENT OF RAINWATER SHALL BE PROVIDED IN THE FORM OF A FILTER
 OR SCREEN TO PREVENT LEAF LITTER, SEDIMENT, AND OTHER DEBRIS FROM ENTER-
 ING  THE STORAGE TANK. FIRST FLUSH DIVERTERS, VORTEX FILTERS, ROOF WASH-
 ERS,  AND  LEAF  SCREENS  ARE  ACCEPTABLE  FORMS  OF  PRETREATMENT.  THE
 PRETREATMENT  SHALL BE INSTALLED EITHER IN THE GUTTER OR DOWNSPOUT OR AT
 THE INLET TO  THE  STORAGE  TANK,  WITH  PROPER  DESIGN  FOR  CLEAN-OUT.
 DEPENDING  ON  THE  DESIRED USE FOR THE RAINWATER, ADDITIONAL FILTRATION
 MAY BE NEEDED OR DESIRED.
   2. MOSQUITO SCREENING  WITH  A  ONE  MILLIMETER  MESH  SIZE  SHALL  BE
 INSTALLED  AT  OPENINGS  TO  PREVENT MOSQUITOS FROM ENTERING THE STORAGE
 TANK.
 § 15-3509. RAINWATER HARVESTING TREATMENT.
   1. A WATER BUDGET ANALYSIS SHALL BE PROVIDED TO  THE  DEPARTMENT  THAT
 IDENTIFIES  HOW  WATER  WILL  BE USED, TO ENSURE THAT THE SYSTEM WILL BE
 AVAILABLE FOR SUBSEQUENT RUNOFF EVENTS.
   2. STORAGE TANKS SHALL BE WATERTIGHT AND  SHALL  BE  COMPOSED  OF  AND
 SEALED WITH WATER SAFE, NON-TOXIC SUBSTANCES.
   3. RAINWATER SHALL NOT BE HARVESTED FROM THE FOLLOWING ROOF TYPES: TAR
 AND  GRAVEL,  ASBESTOS  SHINGLE,  AND TREATED CEDAR SHAKES. IN ADDITION,
 RAINWATER SHALL NOT BE COLLECTED FROM ROOFS  WITH  METAL  FLASHING  THAT
 CONTAINS LEAD.
 § 15-3511. RAINWATER HARVESTING LANDSCAPING AND VEGETATION.
   STORMWATER  SHALL  NOT  BE  DIVERTED  TO A RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM
 UNTIL THE OVERFLOW CONVEYANCE AND APPLICATION AREAS HAVE BEEN STABILIZED
 WITH VEGETATION.
 § 15-3513. RULES AND REGULATIONS.
   THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE ALL RULES AND REGULATIONS  NECESSARY
 FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS TITLE.
   §  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.