Regional Reports: Region 2

Philip E. Karmel
Bryan Cave LLP
New York, New York
pekarmel@bryancave.com

I. NYSDEC Ozone Data From Summer 2002 Illustrate the Difficulty of Bringing the State
into Compliance with the Ozone NAAQS

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) monitors ambient ozone levels using a network of 32 monitors located across the state. The summer of 2002 was the worst ozone season in recent years, resulting in at least one exceedance of EPA’s 8-hour ozone standard at each of NYSDEC’s monitors. Within the New York City area, there were 19 exceedances at a monitor in Manhattan, 14 exceedances at a monitor in White Plains, and 9 exceedances at a monitor in Suffolk County, Long Island. A monitor in Rensselaer County (near Albany) recorded 16 exceedances of the 8-hour standard. In western New York, monitors in Chautauqua and Erie Counties recorded 23 and 20 exceedances, respectively. Even a monitor in the Adirondacks, a wilderness area that has few anthropogenic pollution sources, recorded 10 exceedances. The data establish a systemic failure to attain the ozone NAAQS throughout the state and suggest that a successful effort to achieve compliance with EPA’s 8-hour standard is likely to require substantial reductions in emissions of ozone precursors not only in New York, but in the areas of the Midwest and Southeast that contribute to the state’s poor air quality.

II. NYSDEC Initiative to Reduce Air Quality Impacts of Rebuilding Lower Manhattan

On Sept. 27, 2002, NYSDEC announced that the state has initiated a plan to reduce emissions from construction equipment during the reconstruction of lower Manhattan, much of which was severely damaged by the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. According to NYSDEC’s press release, the state will take steps to control diesel emissions from non-road construction equipment used in the reconstruction of buildings and transportation networks in the area by requiring ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and best available retrofit technology to reduce emissions of fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from construction machinery used by the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the New York/New Jersey Port Authority, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the New York State Department of Transportation, and their contractors. The use of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel will be required nationwide under a USEPA rule that takes effect in 2007.

III. Court Upholds Decision Not to Perform Environmental Impact Statement for a 79 MW Natural Gas Turbine Facility at Port Jefferson, Long Island

On Oct. 23, 2002, the New York State Supreme Court (Suffolk County) dismissed a proceeding brought to challenge the failure of the Long Island Power Authority to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act for two new natural gas turbines at the Port Jefferson generating station in Long Island. Incorporated Village of Poquott v. Cahill, Index No. 7359-2002 (Lifson, J.). The petitioners had alleged, among other things, that the new turbines would emit PM2.5 and that the combined impact of these emissions, and the emissions from the pre-existing Port Jefferson generating station, warranted a detailed study of potential health impacts and mitigating measures. The court held that no Environmental Impact Statement was required because the turbines’ PM2.5 emissions would be relatively low, and because their impacts had been assessed in a detailed study included in the environmental assessment that had been performed.

IV. New Jersey Participates in Faith-Based Greenhouse Gas Initiative

On Dec. 9, 2002, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) signed the New Jersey Global Climate Change Covenant, an initiative sponsored by Partners for Environmental Quality, Inc. (PEQ), a New Jersey faith-based coalition. PEQ members pledge to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases from 3.5 percent-7 percent below 1990 baseline levels by 2010 and to promote the use of renewable energy and energy efficient measures in their places of worship. To help PEQ reach its greenhouse gas reduction goals, NJDEP will provide technical assistance through seminars funded by USEPA’s Energy Star training program. The training will help congregations identify the most effective ways to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, conserve water and reduce solid waste through recycling.