Envirosphere

On April 30, 2012, Environmental Northeast released a report finding that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has generated significant economic benefits in participating states, and those states could benefit even more under an improved program.

According to the report, proceeds from RGGI allowance auctions are reinvested in energy-efficiency programs, which generate direct employment. In addition, savings on electricity at the household and wholesale levels free up money that can be spent in local economies rather than on imported power. The report finds that through April 2012, the auctions of allowances have generated just over $1 billion in revenue. This puts the program on track to add over $1.7 billion in net value to state economies. The report also projects that this increase in growth will generate over 17,100 job-years of employment across the states' economies.

The report indicates that if the member states take action to amend the program to account for decreased emissions by resetting the cap at current emissions levels, and use revenue to support clean energy and consumer programs, RGGI could generate an additional $4.7 billion from 2012 to 2020 to invest in programs that could add $11.6 billion in value to state economies and over 82,000 job-years.

On April 12, 2012, DEC released a draft guidance document to aid in the interpretation of terms contained within the Tidal Wetland Land Use Regulations for installing catwalks and docks. According to DEC, the development of the guidance document is in response to the many challenges involved in managing a program and balancing environmental concerns with developmental pressures. DEC staff typically issue approximately 1,900 tidal wetland permits a year in Nassau and Suffolk counties alone, with docks and catwalks being one of the largest permit items requested.

In the early 1970s, New York State began to recognize the importance of tidal wetland areas and sought to insure their protection from filling and dredging, human activities that had drastically reduced the amount of tidal wetlands in New York by passing the Tidal Wetland Act in 1973. The regulations within 6NYCRR Part 661 of the Tidal Wetland Land Use Regulations apply anywhere tidal flooding occurs on a daily, monthly or intermittent basis and to upland development in areas adjacent to tidal wetlands. Tidal wetlands line much of the salt water shore, bays, inlets, canals and estuaries of Long Island, New York City and Westchester County. They also line the Hudson River in Westchester and Rockland counties upstream to the salt line.

In 1974 DEC collected a set of aerial infrared photographs of all the tidal wetlands on Long Island and along the lower Hudson River. Using these photographs, DEC established the New York State Official Tidal Wetlands Inventory, a set of maps delineating and classifying all the tidal wetlands in New York. These maps are used by DEC and other municipal agencies to control and manage the development, filling and dredging of areas in and around New York's tidal wetlands.

The proposed dock guidance provides guidelines for evaluating the compatibility of a project with onsite conditions and to facilitate consistency with permit issuance standards. It provides users with guidelines on issues such as (1) avoidance of impact to valuable habitats, (2) appropriate water depths and methods for determining them, (3) structure use, and (4) minimizing short-term construction impacts. The comment period will close May 9, 2012.

On March 20, 2012, New York City officials announced that the city is seeking contractors to design, build, install, and operate solar and wind power facilities at its closed Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island.

The facilities, envisioned as part of the city's PlaNYC sustainability plan, would provide 20 megawatts of electricity, which would double the city's current renewable energy capacity. About 75 acres at Fresh Kills are available for lease for development of large-scale facilities as part of a broader park plan.

According to the city, during the hottest summer days, demand for electricity forces the activation of inefficient in- city "peaker" plants, some of which burn heavy fuel oil. New alternative energy facilities at Fresh Kills will reduce the need for peak generation at the peaker plants.

The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2013.

On February 2, 2012, the Urban Green Council released a report finding that New York City is on track to meet its goal of lowering carbon emissions, energy consumption, and waste by following recommendations of the Green Codes Task Force.

The Task Force, which was created in 2008 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, consists of City officials and several hundred volunteers from architecture, public health, construction, real estate, organized labor, housing, and other fields.

The Task Force's recommendations cover revisions of City construction, fire, water, sewer, and zoning codes to incorporate a broad range of energy efficiency and environmental measures.

According to the report, the 29 recommendations adopted by the City to date will divert 100,000 tons of asphalt from landfills each year and, by 2030, reduce greenhouse gas emissions citywide by 5 percent, lower the costs of lighting energy by 10 percent, save 30 billion gallons of water through better plumbing regulations, treat 15 million gallons of toxic construction water, and provide $400 million in savings.

In February 2012, the New York City Mayor's Office of Environmental Coordination announced the release of the updated New York City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR) Technical Manual.

For the first time, the 2012 version of the manual is available for download as a complete, single document. Individual chapters also remain available for download.

The 2012 edition primarily provides clarifying editorial changes, corrections, and updates to reflect new rules, policies, and data. There is also a methodology change for the Community Facilities - Schools analysis. For impact analyses commenced prior to February 2, 2012, which are not considered complete as of such date, the lead agency should consider whether supplementation of the impact analyses to reflect a methodology of the updated CEQR Technical Manual should be conducted.

A detailed summary of the changes is available here.

On January 11, 2012, Environment Northeast released a report that found that carbon dioxide emissions in 2011 in states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative(RGGI)were far below the regional cap set by the program and are expected to stay below the cap for the foreseeable future.

According to the report, emissions from power plants in RGGI states in 2011 were expected to be 34 percent below the 188 million tons-per-year cap set by the program. According to the report, projected emissions of 124 million tons per year for 2011 would be the lowest since the program began in 2009. The report included actual emissions data for the first three quarters of 2011 and projected emissions data for the full year because final data will not be available until mid-2012. The program originally planned to keep the emissions cap at 188 million tons through 2014 and then lower it by 2.5 percent per year over the next four years.

The report attributed the lower emissions to declines in oil- and coal-fired electricity generation, increased generation from natural gas and renewable energy, and energy-efficiency programs. States participating in RGGI include Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. New Jersey withdrew from the initiative at the end of 2011.

On December 27, 2011, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law three bills that enacted recommendations of the New York City Green Codes Task Force. The bills are aimed at carrying out long-term municipal plans to reduce carbon emissions, improve air and water quality, and limit waste.

The first bill (Intro. No. 576-A) seeks to improve protection of water and sewer systems by requiring construction sites to collect concrete washout water for proper disposal. The second bill (Intro. No. 578-A) requires that new asphalt used in the city have a minimum of 30 percent recycled content. According to the city, this requirement will save about $2.3 million per year by reducing dumping fees and avoiding costs of new asphalt and will keep more than 66,000 tons of asphalt out of landfills. The third bill (Intro. No. 592-A), requires all new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units installed within the city to have filters that can keep out particles of 2.5 microns or more. According to the city, the bill is aimed at keeping soot from trucks and buses from entering indoor home and work environments, where people spend an estimated 90 percent of their time.

In addition, the Mayor signed two bills that address a long-running controversy over levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from fluorescent light ballasts, caulk, and other common construction materials in the city's school system. In January 2010, the City entered into an agreement with EPA to undertake a pilot study to develop a citywide approach to PCBs in schools. In February 2011, it announced a $708 million comprehensive energy efficiency plan to remove and replace lighting ballasts, reducing possible PCB exposure in schools and cutting annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 200,000 metric tons. The two bills codify many New York City Department of Education practices and protocols for notifying parents and communities about PCBs and lighting fixture replacements. The first bill (Intro. No. 563-A) requires the Department to notify school community members of PCB testing results and the status of the city's comprehensive replacement plan. The second bill(Intro. No. 566-A) requires progress updates to the New York City Council and the public.

Finally, the Mayor also signed a bill (Intro. No. 720-A) to add flexibility to regulations for bicycle storage in parking garages. The bill amends a 2009 law (Local Law 51) setting aside bicycle parking spaces based on a garage's vehicle capacity.

On December 15, 2011, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) granted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, subject to certain conditions, for Stony Creek Energy LLC's wind energy project, which will be located in the Town of Orangeville, and will consist of up to 59 wind turbine generators. The turbines will range up to 430 feet in height. As part of its decision, PSC authorized Stony Creek to start development of a substation site for interconnection with New York State Electric & Gas Corporation's facilities. Also, Stony Creek was approved for lightened regulation as an electric corporation for wholesale market operations, and its debt financing plans were approved. The installation of the wind turbines may only commenced upon the company providing third party certification that turbine design and manufacturing process conform to appropriate codes and industry standards and that expected performance standards will be achieved. Stony Creek is authorized to begin substation site development, and after providing more plan details, start construction of the substation and interconnection to a 230 kV transmission line owned by NYSEG. Environmental review of the project was conducted pursuant to SEQRA and Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law by the Town, which is designated as the lead agency pursuant to the SEQRA process. The PSC was an involved agency under SEQRA. On the basis of consideration of the relevant environmental impacts presented in the Final EIS, and a review of the documents filed by the parties, commented filed by non-parties, and a response to the materials filed, the PSC granted a certificate for construction of the wind farm.

On November 16, 2011, DEC issued a Notice concerning proposed water withdrawal regulations. The proposed regulations will repeal existing 6 NYCRR Part 601 entirely and adopt a new Part 601. These regulations seek to harmonize elements of the existing Part 601 with the water withdrawal bill signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on August 15, 2011. The August 2011 statutory amendments have a broad array of legislative objectives, all of which are carried out in the proposed revisions to 6 NYCRR part 601.

ECL article 15 title 15 originally required permits solely for public water supplies with five or more service connections, regardless of the volume of water withdrawn. The amendments expand the permit program to include withdrawals for purposes beyond public water supply, such as those for commercial, manufacturing, industrial, and other purposes. However, the amendments also limit the permit program to only include withdrawals that meet or exceed a threshold volume of 100,000 gallons per day. The effect is to regulate more of the higher-volume withdrawals across the state while no longer issuing water withdrawal permits for lower-volume public water supplies.

Withdrawals below the size threshold must still comply with water pollution control laws (ECL article 17), the New York State Department of Health regulations and state environmental quality review (SEQR) requirements, as applicable. According to DEC, the purpose of part 601 is to regulate the use of New York's water resources pursuant to ECL article 15 title 15 by implementing a permitting, registration and reporting program for water withdrawals equaling or exceeding a threshold volume of 100,000 gallons per day. This Part also implements New York's commitment under the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact to create a regulatory program for water withdrawals in the Great Lakes Basin.

There are several statutory exemptions to the permit requirement. For example, agricultural withdrawals that are registered or reported to DEC under ECL article 15 titles 16 or 33 on or before February 15, 2012 are exempt altogether from the water withdrawal permit requirement, and the registration requirement for agricultural withdrawals is subject to a more generous size threshold. The proposed regulations add more exemptions. For existing water withdrawal systems that are not exempt and that are above the size threshold as of February 15, 2012, an initial permit process is provided, which is somewhat less costly and time-consuming than the standard permit process and provides additional time to comply depending on the capacity of the water withdrawal system. To take advantage of the initial permit process, existing withdrawals must be properly reported by February 15, 2012. Comments on the proposed rulemaking were accepted until January 22, 2012.

On November 2, 2011, DEC issued a notice stating that it had issued the State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) General Permit for Point Source Discharges to Surface Waters of New York State from Pesticide Applications. According to the notice, the General Permit is effective from November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2016. Eligibility criteria are contained within Part I of the General Permit.

A notice of draft permits was published in the Environmental Notice Bulletin on December 22, 2010. The General Permit is required and will authorize coverage for point source discharges resulting from any application of a pesticide labeled for aquatic uses directly to, in, or over a surface water of New York. The General Permit is not required and will not authorize coverage for other pesticide uses not included in this eligibility, as described in Part I of the General Permit.

After October 31, 2011, applicants must seek authorization for coverage under the General Permit and will be required to file a Notice of Intent prior to application of a pesticide labeled for aquatic uses directly to, in, or over a surface water of New York to obtain such coverage. Copies of the permit, fact sheet, responsiveness summary and applicable forms are available here.