S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    122
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. CLEARE, ROLISON -- 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 and the public health
   law,  in  relation  to  establishing air quality standards for lead in
   ambient air, soil-lead hazard standards  for  lead-contaminated  soil,
   and  dust-lead  hazard  standards  and  dust-lead clearance levels for
   floors and windows and window troughs
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Legislative  findings. The legislature finds and declares
 that there is a present need to  establish  New  York  standards,  in  a
 manner  that  would be fully protective of human health, with respect to
 levels of lead in ambient air, levels of lead  contamination  in  soils,
 dust-lead  hazard  levels  and  dust-lead  clearance  levels for floors,
 window sills and window troughs. The legislature finds that the  current
 regulatory  standards  are  inadequate to protect the general public and
 particularly children from the harmful effects of ingesting or  inhaling
 lead  dust  and  coming into contact with lead on exposed surfaces.  Low
 levels of lead in children's blood can have an adverse effect on concen-
 tration and intellectual achievement and can have a long-term impact  on
 health  and  quality  of life.   Lead from ambient air can contribute to
 lead in soil as well as contribute to other pathways that are  a  danger
 to  public health and the environment. Hazardous levels of lead dust can
 be released from the peeling  or  chipping  of  lead-based  paint,  from
 plumbing  fixtures,  from the demolition of buildings and from the exca-
 vation of and construction of buildings on sites  that  contained  lead-
 contaminated  soil  or  factories  that used lead in manufacturing proc-
 esses.  The legislature declares that it shall be the responsibility  of
 the commissioner of environmental conservation, in consultation with the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD00259-01-5
 S. 122                              2
 
 commissioner  of health, to adopt emission standards for lead in ambient
 air, soil-lead hazard standards for lead-contaminated  soil,  and  dust-
 lead  hazard  standards  and  dust-lead  clearance levels for floors and
 windows  and  window  troughs, and in accordance with the procedures set
 forth in the environmental conservation law.
   § 2.  Subdivision 1 of section 3-0301 of the  environmental  conserva-
 tion law is amended by adding a new paragraph ii to read as follows:
   II. IN CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH PURSUANT TO SUBDI-
 VISION  THIRTY-TWO  OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED SIX OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW,
 AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH A OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF  THIS  SECTION,
 THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  ADOPT  ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS AND THOSE RULES
 HAVING THE FORCE AND EFFECT OF STANDARDS AND CRITERIA TO CARRY  OUT  THE
 PURPOSES OF SUCH STANDARDS, WHICH SHALL REQUIRE:
   (1)  THAT A SOIL-LEAD HAZARD WITHIN THE MEANING OF PART 40 OF THE CODE
 OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS SECTION 745.65(C) FOR AN  AREA  CONTAINING  LEAD-
 CONTAMINATED  SOIL  SHALL  BE  A LEVEL OF LEAD CONTAMINATION NOT GREATER
 THAN WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BE FULLY PROTECTIVE OF HUMAN HEALTH,  PROVIDED
 THAT  IN  NO EVENT SHALL SUCH LEVEL FOR SUCH PURPOSE BE GREATER THAN ONE
 HUNDRED PARTS PER MILLION FOR BARE SOIL  ON  (I)  RESIDENTIAL  PROPERTY,
 (II)  THE  PROPERTY  OF A CHILD OCCUPIED FACILITY AND (III) A CHILDREN'S
 PLAY AREA AS DEFINED IN PART 40  OF  THE  CODE  OF  FEDERAL  REGULATIONS
 SECTION  745.63;  AND IN NO EVENT A LEVEL GREATER THAN TWO HUNDRED PARTS
 PER MILLION FOR BARE SOIL IN THE REST OF THE YARD BASED ON SOIL SAMPLES,
 AND IN NO EVENT A LEVEL GREATER THAN ONE THOUSAND PARTS PER MILLION  FOR
 AREAS ZONED FOR COMMERCIAL AND/OR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT.
   (2)  THAT A DUST-LEAD HAZARD WITHIN THE MEANING OF PART 40 OF THE CODE
 OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS SECTION 745.65(B) SHALL BE A  LEVEL  NOT  GREATER
 THAN  WHAT  IS  NECESSARY  TO BE FULLY PROTECTIVE OF HUMAN HEALTH, AND A
 LEVEL NOT GREATER THAN ZERO AS ANALYZED BY ANY LABORATORY RECOGNIZED  BY
 THE  FEDERAL  ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S NATIONAL LEAD LABORATORY
 ACCREDITATION PROGRAM.
   (3) THAT DUST-LEAD CLEARANCE LEVELS  FOR  THESE  HAZARDS,  WITHIN  THE
 MEANING  OF  PART 40 OF THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS SECTION 745.223,
 SHALL BE AT A LEVEL NOT GREATER THAN  WHAT  IS  NECESSARY  TO  BE  FULLY
 PROTECTIVE OF HUMAN HEALTH AND IN NO EVENT AT A LEVEL GREATER THAN THREE
 MICROGRAMS  PER  SQUARE  FOOT  FOR  FLOORS,  A LEVEL GREATER THAN TWENTY
 MICROGRAMS PER SQUARE FOOT FOR WINDOW SILLS AND  A  LEVEL  GREATER  THAN
 TWENTY-FIVE MICROGRAMS PER SQUARE FOOT FOR WINDOW TROUGHS;
   (4) THAT THE AVERAGE AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARD FOR LEAD, CALCULATED
 AS  A ROLLING THREE-MONTH AVERAGE, SHALL NOT BE GREATER THAN .075 MICRO-
 GRAMS PER CUBIC METER.
   § 3. Section 206 of the public health law is amended by adding  a  new
 subdivision 32 to read as follows:
   32.  THE  COMMISSIONER,  UPON  REQUEST OF THE COMMISSIONER OF ENVIRON-
 MENTAL  CONSERVATION,  SHALL  CONSULT  WITH  SUCH  COMMISSIONER  ON  THE
 CREATION  AND  ADOPTION  OF  DUST-LEAD HAZARD STANDARDS FOR LEAD CONCEN-
 TRATIONS IN LEAD-CONTAMINATED SOIL, LEAD DUST CONCENTRATIONS  ON  FLOORS
 AND  WINDOW SILLS AND WINDOW TROUGHS, DUST-LEAD CLEARANCE LEVELS AND AIR
 QUALITY STANDARDS FOR LEAD EMISSIONS IN AMBIENT AIR  IN  A  MANNER  THAT
 WOULD BE FULLY PROTECTIVE OF HUMAN HEALTH.
   § 4. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
 sion,  section  or  part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of
 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment  shall  not  affect,
 impair,  or  invalidate  the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,  subdivision,  section
 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
 S. 122                              3
 
 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
 the  legislature  that  this  act  would  have been enacted even if such
 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
   §  5.  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 date.