Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We update you every other week with insider news and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol.
INTRODUCING . . . THE 2010 SUPER BILL SUPER STARS
The 2010 New York State Legislative Session is over, at least for now -- more on that below -- and Environmental Advocates of New York would like to shine a light on the 88 members of the State Assembly and 26 State Senators who supported two of the environmental community's priority "Super Bills," or high priority legislation, this year.
The 2010 Super Bills are:
Environmental Access to Justice Act
This bill would restore the right of concerned citizens to challenge the results of environmental reviews under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. The Senate sent the bill to the floor for a vote in April, but it was ultimately defeated by a vote of 29-32. The Assembly passed the measure by 93 to 42 in June.
Global Warming Pollution Control Act
This legislation would set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets at 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050 and calls for the state to create a plan for how to adapt to the anticipated effects of climate change. The Act passed the New York State Assembly in April but despite having strong support from both sides of the aisle in the State Senate with 30 sponsors, two sponsors short of the necessary 32 for passage, the Act has not yet made it to the floor for a vote.
A third Super Bill, the Electronic Waste Recycling Act, will require product manufacturers to be responsible for safe disposal and recycling of certain kinds of electronic equipment, became law as part of the budget package in May.
Check the list below to see if your representatives in the State Assembly and the Senate supported these Super Bills. If you get a chance today, call the Senate Switchboard at 518-455-2800 to thank for Senator and the Assembly at 518-455-4100 to thank your Assembly member.
If you don’t get a chance to call today, keep an eye out for our thank you action alert tomorrow to send an email.
Please take note that the Assembly members listed voted to pass both of these priority measures, while the Senators listed either voted for, or co-sponsored, the bills.
NYS Assembly Supporters
| Last Name | First Name | District | Party |
| Abbate, Jr. | Peter J. | 49 | D |
| Alessi | Marc | 1 | D |
| Arroyo | Carmen E. | 84 | D |
| Aubry | Jeffrion L. | 35 | D |
| Ball | Greg | 99 | R |
| Benedetto | Michael | 82 | D |
| Bing | Jonathan L. | 73 | D |
| Boyle | Philip | 8 | R |
| Brennan | James F. | 44 | D |
| Brook-Krasny | Alec | 46 | D |
| Cahill | Kevin A. | 101 | D |
| Camara | Karim | 43 | D |
| Canestrari | Ronald | 106 | D |
| Clark | Barbara M. | 33 | D |
| Colton | William | 47 | D |
| Conte | James D. | 10 | R |
| Crespo | Marcos A. | 85 | D |
| Cusick | Michael J. | 63 | D |
| Cymbrowitz | Steven | 45 | D |
| DenDekker | Michael | 34 | D |
| Destito | RoAnn M. | 116 | D |
| Dinowitz | Jeffrey | 81 | D |
| Englebright | Steve | 4 | D |
| Farrell, Jr. | Herman D. | 71 | D |
| Fields | Ginny | 5 | D |
| Galef | Sandra R. | 90 | D |
| Gianaris | Michael N. | 36 | D |
| Gibson | Vanessa L. | 77 | D |
| Glick | Deborah J. | 66 | D |
| Gottfried | Richard N. | 75 | D |
| Gunther | Aileen M. | 98 | D |
| Heastie | Carl E. | 83 | D |
| Hevesi | Andrew D. | 28 | D |
| Hooper | Earlene | 18 | D |
| Hoyt | Sam | 144 | D |
| Hyer-Spencer | D. Janele | 60 | D |
| Jacobs | Rhoda | 42 | D |
| Jaffee | Ellen | 95 | D |
| Jeffries | Hakeem | 57 | D |
| John | Susan V. | 131 | D |
| Kavanagh | Brian P. | 74 | D |
| Kellner | Micah Z. | 65 | D |
| Koon | David R. | 135 | D |
| Lancman | Rory | 25 | D |
| Latimer | George S. | 91 | D |
| Lavine | Charles | 13 | D |
| Lentol | Joseph R. | 50 | D |
| Lifton | Barbara | 125 | D |
| Lupardo | Donna | 126 | D |
| Magee | William | 111 | D |
| Magnarelli | William B. | 120 | D |
| Maisel | Alan | 59 | D |
| Markey | Margaret M. | 30 | D |
| Mayersohn | Nettie | 27 | D |
| McEneny | John J. | 104 | D |
| Meng | Grace | 22 | D |
| Miller | Michael | 38 | D |
| Millman | Joan L. | 52 | D |
| Molinaro | Marcus | 103 | R |
| Morelle | Joseph D. | 132 | D |
| Nolan | Catherine | 37 | D |
| O'Donnell | Daniel J. | 69 | D |
| Ortiz | Felix W. | 51 | D |
| Paulin | Amy R. | 88 | D |
| Peoples-Stokes | Crystal D. | 141 | D |
| Perry | Nick | 58 | D |
| Pheffer | Audrey I. | 23 | D |
| Pretlow | J. Gary | 87 | D |
| Ramos | Philip | 6 | D |
| Reilly | Robert | 109 | D |
| Rivera | Jose | 78 | D |
| Rivera | Naomi | 80 | D |
| Rivera | Peter M. | 76 | D |
| Robinson | Annette M. | 56 | D |
| Rosenthal | Linda | 67 | D |
| Russell | Addie | 118 | D |
| Schimel | Michelle | 16 | D |
| Skartados | Frank | 100 | D |
| Silver | Sheldon | 64 | D |
| Spano | Mike | 93 | D |
| Sweeney | Robert K. | 11 | D |
| Thiele, Jr. | Fred W. | 2 | I |
| Titone | Matthew J. | 61 | D |
| Towns | Darryl C. | 54 | D |
| Townsend, Jr | David R. | 115 | R |
| Weinstein | Helene E. | 41 | D |
| Weprin | David I. | 24 | D |
| Zebrowski | Kennneth | 94 | D |
NYS Senate Supporters
| Last Name | First Name | District | Party |
| Adams | Eric L. | 20 | D |
| Addabbo | Joseph | 15 | D |
| Breslin | Neil D. | 46 | D |
| Diaz, Sr. | Ruben | 32 | D |
| Dilan | Martin Malave | 17 | D |
| Duane | Thomas K. | 29 | D |
| Espada, Jr. | Pedro | 33 | D |
| Foley | Brian | 3 | D |
| Hassell-Thompson | Ruth | 36 | D |
| Huntley | Shirley | 10 | D |
| Klein | Jeffrey | 34 | D |
| Krueger | Liz | 26 | D |
| Montgomery | Velmanette | 18 | D |
| Onorato | George | 12 | D |
| Oppenheimer | Suzi | 37 | D |
| Parker | Kevin | 21 | D |
| Peralta | Jose | 13 | D |
| Perkins | Bill | 30 | D |
| Sampson | John | 19 | D |
| Savino | Diane J. | 23 | D |
| Schneiderman | Eric T. | 31 | D |
| Serrano | Jose M. | 28 | D |
| Squadron | Daniel | 25 | D |
| Stavisky | Toby Ann | 16 | D |
| Stewart-Cousins | Andrea | 35 | D |
| Thompson | Antoine | 60 | D |
Loose (Green) Ends
Word on the street is that the Legislature, or more likely just the State Senate, will be back in town this week to pass the final piece of the budget, the revenue bill. If the Legislature is back in Albany, we have a few items on our punch list that we’d like to see completed:
- Time out on natural gas drilling. Among the top priorities for the environmental community this year was to slow the rush for natural gas drilling in New York State. So far, both houses have failed to take up legislation that would call a “time out” on gas drilling until next year, allowing the public, the legislature, and the state’s environmental agencies time to put in place a more rigorous regulatory program. Our friends at Newsday think a measure like this is worth taking up too, read more here.
- Water Conservation & Regulation: This bill would require the Department of Environmental Conservation to establish a water conservation and efficiency program as well as a permitting program that would require those with the capacity to withdraw more than 100,000 gallons of water per day from ground and surface resources to first obtain a permit. The bill passed the Senate on the final day of session and awaits action in the Assembly.
- Global Warming Pollution Control Act: As mentioned above, this 2010 Super Bill which passed the Assembly and must be acted on by the Senate, would set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets at 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050 and calls for the state to create a plan for how to adapt to the anticipated effects of climate change. Despite having 30 Senators sponsoring the legislation, this bill still has not come before the house for a vote. Click here to read more.
Clearing the Air
Last week, the Obama Administration proposed new air quality rules for power plants known as the Transport Rule. The new rules, issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), would reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by hundreds of thousands of tons a year and bring billions in annual health benefits.
You may recall from Cap Insider’s gone by (July 2008) that nearly two years ago the D.C. Circuit Court struck down the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), a rule that would have required emissions reductions for the same pollutants, in its entirety. The new rules correct the technical deficiencies of the CAIR program and would replace them.
These pollutants are singled out in because they react in the atmosphere to form fine particles (soot) and ground-level ozone (smog). They are easily carried by the wind and affect states and cities far downwind from the plants, including sensitive ecosystems in New York such as the Adirondacks
Click here to read more.
And here.
Sign Up for Mobile Action Alerts!
Environmental Advocates of New York has partnered with Mobile Commons to integrate our action alerts with SMS text messages. Text FRACNO to 69866 and stay up-to-date on statewide efforts to enact measures that will safeguard our air, water and communities from the dangers of natural gas drilling in New York.
You can also sign up through our homepage, or via Facebook here.
We'll alert you at key moments with the critical information you need to contact top decision-makers during the fight to protect New York from the threats of natural gas drilling.
What will you get when you join?
1. Action Alerts to contact your lawmakers about important drilling legislation.
2. Opportunities to contact candidates running for statewide office and a chance to tell them to take a strong stand for our waters and communities.
3. Updates on natural gas drilling events in New York.
Join the fight! Get in contact with your lawmakers when it matters most.
Natural Gas Drilling Public Hearings
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding a public hearing on the Agency’s recently-launched nationwide science-based hydrofracking study. The public is encouraged to attend, submit comments. Speakers must pre-register.
Details: The U.S. (EPA) is hosting four public information meetings on the proposed study of the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and its potential impacts on drinking water. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that helps production of natural gas or oil from shale and other geological formations. By pumping fracturing fluids (water and chemical additives) and sand or other similar materials into rock formations, fractures are created that allow natural gas or oil to flow from the rock through the fractures to a production well for extraction.
The meetings will provide public information about the proposed study scope and design. The EPA will solicit public comments on the draft study plan. In New York the public meeting will be held on:
- August 12 at the Anderson Performing Arts Center at Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y. for 3 sessions - 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT
More information on the meetings, click here.
Save the date: November 8, 2010
Join Environmental Advocates of New York at our 2010 Advocate Awards, Monday, November 8, 2010. The 2010 Advocate Award honorees are: Frances Beinecke, Natural Resources Defense Council; Alex Matthiessen, Riverkeeper; and Kevin Parker, Global Head of Deutsche Asset Management. For more information, contact Aileen Ruddy at aruddy@eany.org or 212-717-9423.
ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES OF NEW YORK IS A MEMBER OF EARTH SHARE OF NEW YORK
Environmental Advocates is a member of EarthShare, a federation of the nation’s most respected environmental charities. To find out more about how and your workplace can support Environmental Advocates through an EarthShare campaign, please call us at 518.462.5526, or visit www.earthshare.org. To donate through EarthShare, designate your donation to Environmental Advocates of New York, CFC #97425.
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