NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4574

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation 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
Feb 07, 2025	referred to environmental conservation

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Environmental Conservation
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Add §17-0833, En Con L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S9525
2023-2024: S227

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "PFAS discharge disclosure act"; requires certain SPDES permit holders to conduct PFAS monitoring and disclose the results from such monitoring.

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4574

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
enacting the "PFAS discharge disclosure act"

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to identify the sources of a class of pollu-
tants known as per- and polyfluoroakyl chemicals, commonly referred to
as PFAS, in the waters of the state through the creation of a monitoring
protocol for certain industrial dischargers and for Publicly Owned
Treatment Works (POTWs).

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill would add a new section 17-0833 to the environmental conserva-
tion law to establish a PFAS discharge disclosure requirement for indus-
trial dischargers, industrial sources of wastewater, and Publicly Owned
Treatment Works (POTWs), as defined. All PFAS monitoring conducted

pursuant to the provisions of this bill shall include but not be limited
to the federal environmental protection agency's method 1633. The
department is authorized to include additional methods that offer great-
er detection or detection at lower levels of PFAS.

All new state pollutant discharge elimination system (SPDES) permits
issued to industrial dischargers or Publicly Owned Treatment Works
(POTWs) shall include quarterly PFAS monitoring, for one year, with
first results to be submitted to the department within 90 days of
commencement of discharge. If PFAS are detected, quarterly monitoring
and reporting shall continue for the duration of the permit term.  Prior
to submittal of a permit renewal, all industrial dischargers and POTWs,
regardless of initial PFAS monitoring results, shall submit PFAS moni-
toring results to the department within 180 days of expiration of their
permit.

Existing permitted industrial dischargers or POTWs lawfully operating
under an expired or administratively renewed SPDES permit shall submit
PFAS monitoring results to the department within six months of effective
date of this bill and once every five years thereafter.

With regard to the introduction of industrial wastewater at POTWs, there
is established a requirement that any new source of this wastewater
submit PFAS monitoring results to both the POTW and the department prior
to receiving authorization to commence such wastewater introduction to
the POTW. Those with existing authorization to introduce industrial
wastewater to a POTW will conduct PFAS monitoring quarterly for one year
and submit results to the POTW and the department within ninety days of
the effective date of the bill.

Any and all reported PFAS monitoring results by industrial dischargers,
industrial sources, and POTWs, going back six years, in addition to the
results submitted pursuant to the requirements of this bill, would be
made publicly available on the department's website and updated at least
annually.

 
JUSTIFICATION:
The creation of a testing and reporting protocol for the discharge of
PFAS ( a class of per-and polyfluoroakyl chemicals) to our waters is
critical to the state's understanding of their sources and will inform
future policymaking regarding these "forever chemicals". The introduc-
tion of these toxic, bioaccumulating chemicals into surface waters,
drinking water supplies, and groundwater in New York has largely gone
unchecked and undetected for decades. In December 2022, the federal EPA
published guidance encouraging states to require permitted industries,
POTWs, and industrial sources sending waste to POTWs to monitor for and
disclose the presence of PFAS in wastewater discharged into waterways.
The treatment technology at POTWS is currently not designed to remove
PFAS from wastewater and therefore any PFAS introduced to the POTW by an
industrial source passes through to the waters of the state.

PFAS are commonly used in the industrial production of plastics and are
ubiquitous enough to be found in food, clothing, personal care products,
and soils, as well as water. They accumulate in our bodies and can
disrupt fertility, child development, immune systems and hormonal activ-
ity; yet there is currently no limited discharge level of them to
surface waters. Further, those proposing to discharge pollutants into
our waterways are not even required to disclose whether their existing
or proposed discharges contain PFAS. The lack of information about PFAS
chemicals entering our waterways is a serious barrier to protecting our
residents and the environment.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024: S227B (MAY) REF TO ENCON/ A3296A (Kelles) ref to encon

2023: S227-A (MAY) PASSED SENATE/ A3296-A (Kelles) Ref to Encon

2022: S.9525 (MAY) REF TO RULES

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
One year after enactment, with immediate authority to the department to
add or amend any rules and regulations necessary for implementation.

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4574
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 7, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  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
   enacting the "PFAS discharge disclosure act"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "PFAS discharge disclosure act".
   §  2.  Legislative  intent.  The  legislature  finds  and declares the
 following:
   1. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a class of  persist-
 ent,  bioaccumulative,  and  toxic  chemicals  which  have  contaminated
 surface waters and groundwater in New York and across the country.
   2. New York has led the nation by limiting two PFAS--perfluorooctanoic
 acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)--in drinking  water
 by  setting a maximum contaminant level for these two chemicals in 2020.
 New York has also designated twenty-three additional PFAS  chemicals  as
 emerging contaminants under section 1112 of the public health law, which
 requires statewide drinking water testing and public notification.
   3. In December 2022, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
 published  guidance  encouraging states to require permitted industries,
 Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs), and industrial  sources  sending
 waste  to  POTWs  to  monitor  for  and disclose the presence of PFAS in
 wastewater discharged into waterways. The treatment technology at  POTWs
 is  not designed to remove PFAS from wastewater, meaning any PFAS intro-
 duced to the POTW by an industrial source will  pass  through  into  the
 waters of the state.
   4.  In  2023,  the  NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
 adopted numeric guidance values limiting the acceptable amounts of  PFOA
 and PFOS that can be discharged into waters of the state by state Pollu-
 tant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permittees.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01682-02-5

 S. 4574                             2
 
   5.  However,  DEC's  permitting guidance has only applied these limits
 and PFAS testing requirements to a subset of  facilities,  meaning  that
 many  potential  polluters  directly  or indirectly discharging into the
 waters of the state,  including  industrial  sources  sending  waste  to
 POTWs,  have  not  yet  been required to test for PFAS. DEC's permitting
 guidance does not align with EPA's minimum recommendations made in 2022.
   6. The lack of information about the suite of PFAS chemicals currently
 entering New York's waterways is a barrier to developing regulations  to
 protect  people and the environment from the harms of PFAS in our water-
 ways.
   7. Legislation is necessary to align New York state law with EPA guid-
 ance and ensure key facilities currently  discharging  or  proposing  to
 discharge into waters in New York disclose the presence of these forever
 chemicals to the public.
   §  3.  The  environmental  conservation law is amended by adding a new
 section 17-0833 to read as follows:
 § 17-0833. PFAS DISCHARGE DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.
   1. DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS SECTION,  THE  FOLLOWING  TERMS  SHALL
 HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A)  "PERFLUOROALKYL AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES" OR "PFAS" MEANS A
 CLASS OF FLUORINATED ORGANIC CHEMICALS CONTAINING  AT  LEAST  ONE  FULLY
 FLUORINATED CARBON ATOM.
   (B)  "INDUSTRIAL  DISCHARGER" MEANS A FACILITY WITH OR SEEKING A SPDES
 PERMIT TO DISCHARGE INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER INTO THE WATERS OF THE STATE.
   (C) "INDUSTRIAL SOURCE" MEANS A FACILITY  INTRODUCING  OR  SEEKING  TO
 INTRODUCE  INDUSTRIAL  WASTEWATER  TO  A POTW FOR TREATMENT BEFORE BEING
 DISCHARGED INTO THE WATERS OF THE STATE.
   (D) "POTW" MEANS A PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS WITH  OR  SEEKING  A
 SPDES PERMIT TO DISCHARGE SEWAGE INTO THE WATERS OF THE STATE.
   (E) "INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER" MEANS LIQUID INDUSTRIAL WASTE.
   (F)  "PFAS  MONITORING"  MEANS  SAMPLING  OF  INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER OR
 SEWAGE FROM EACH OUTLET TO DETERMINE THE CONCENTRATION OF PFAS PRESENT.
   2. EVERY INDUSTRIAL DISCHARGER OR POTW MAKING AN APPLICATION FOR A NEW
 SPDES PERMIT SHALL SUBMIT AS PART OF SUCH APPLICATION THE  PROJECTED  OR
 ESTIMATED RESULTS OF PFAS MONITORING.
   3.  ALL  NEW  SPDES  PERMITS ISSUED TO INDUSTRIAL DISCHARGERS OR POTWS
 SHALL REQUIRE SUCH FACILITIES TO CONDUCT PFAS MONITORING AT LEAST  QUAR-
 TERLY  FOR  ONE  YEAR AND SUBMIT THE FIRST RESULTS OF SUCH MONITORING TO
 THE DEPARTMENT WITHIN NINETY DAYS OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE  DISCHARGE.
 IF  ANY  PFAS  ARE  DETECTED  DURING THE PFAS MONITORING, THE DEPARTMENT
 SHALL MODIFY THE SPDES PERMIT OF THE INDUSTRIAL DISCHARGER  OR  POTW  TO
 REQUIRE QUARTERLY PFAS MONITORING FOR THE DURATION OF THE PERMIT TERM.
   4. EVERY INDUSTRIAL DISCHARGER OR POTW SEEKING TO RENEW A SPDES PERMIT
 SHALL,  AS  PART  OF  ITS  RENEWAL  APPLICATION,  SUBMIT PFAS MONITORING
 RESULTS TO THE DEPARTMENT NOT LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS PRIOR TO
 THE EXPIRATION OF THE EXISTING SPDES PERMIT. IF ANY  PFAS  ARE  DETECTED
 DURING  THE  PFAS MONITORING, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL MODIFY THE FACILITY'S
 SPDES PERMIT TO REQUIRE QUARTERLY PFAS MONITORING FOR  THE  DURATION  OF
 THE PERMIT TERM.
   5.  ANY INDUSTRIAL DISCHARGER OR POTW THAT IS LAWFULLY OPERATING UNDER
 AN EXPIRED OR ADMINISTRATIVELY RENEWED SPDES PERMIT  SHALL  SUBMIT  PFAS
 MONITORING  RESULTS TO THE DEPARTMENT WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF THE EFFECTIVE
 DATE OF THIS SECTION AND AT LEAST ONCE EVERY FIVE YEARS THEREAFTER.
   6. A POTW SHALL REQUIRE ANY NEW INDUSTRIAL SOURCE SEEKING TO INTRODUCE
 INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER INTO THE  POTW  TO  CONDUCT  PFAS  MONITORING  AND
 SUBMIT  THE  RESULTS  OF  SUCH MONITORING TO THE POTW AND THE DEPARTMENT
 S. 4574                             3
 
 PRIOR TO RECEIVING AUTHORIZATION TO INTRODUCE INDUSTRIAL  WASTEWATER  TO
 THE POTW.
   7. EVERY INDUSTRIAL SOURCE WITH AN EXISTING AUTHORIZATION TO INTRODUCE
 INDUSTRIAL  WASTEWATER TO A POTW SHALL CONDUCT PFAS MONITORING QUARTERLY
 FOR ONE YEAR. SUCH INDUSTRIAL SOURCES SHALL SUBMIT THE RESULTS  OF  PFAS
 MONITORING  QUARTERLY  TO  THE  POTW AND THE DEPARTMENT AND SHALL SUBMIT
 THEIR FIRST MONITORING RESULTS WITHIN NINETY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE  DATE
 OF  THIS  SECTION.  ANY  INDUSTRIAL  SOURCE  THAT DETECTS ANY PFAS SHALL
 CONTINUE TO CONDUCT QUARTERLY PFAS MONITORING AND SUBMIT SUCH RESULTS TO
 THE POTW AND THE DEPARTMENT.
   8. ALL PFAS MONITORING SHALL BE CONDUCTED USING A PFAS TESTING  METHOD
 OR  METHODS  AUTHORIZED  BY THE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
 THE FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S METHOD 1633.  THE  DEPART-
 MENT SHALL AUTHORIZE ADDITIONAL METHODS THAT DETECT MORE PFAS OR PFAS AT
 LOWER LEVELS AS APPROPRIATE.
   9.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL MAKE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON THE DEPARTMENT'S
 WEBSITE ALL PFAS MONITORING  RESULTS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  DEPARTMENT  BY
 INDUSTRIAL  DISCHARGERS,  INDUSTRIAL  SOURCES,  AND POTWS, INCLUDING ANY
 RESULTS SUBMITTED BY SUCH FACILITIES  WITHIN  SIX  YEARS  PRIOR  TO  THE
 EFFECTIVE  DATE  OF  THIS SECTION. THE WEBSITE SHALL BE UPDATED AT LEAST
 ANNUALLY WITH ALL NEW MONITORING RESULTS RECEIVED.
   § 4. This act shall take effect one year 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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Senate Bill S4574

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S4574

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Rachel May

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments