BILL NUMBER: S2053A
SPONSOR: WEBB
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law and the public lands
law, in relation to permits and financial security for reclamation for
salt mining beneath a lake
 
PURPOSE:
Relates to permits and financial security for reclamation for salt
mining beneath a lake SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivisions 11 and 12 of section 23-2711
of the environmental conservation law and adds new subdivisions 11-a and
14 to add requirements to the permit renewal process for projects that
allow salt mining beneath a lake.
Section 2 amends subdivision 6 of section 23-2715 of the environmental
conservation law regarding the required financial security for reclama-
tion for projects that include salt mining beneath a lake.
Section 3 adds a new subdivision 3 to section 81 of the public lands law
that requires the duration of such permit, consent or lease from New
York State with respect to salt mining beneath a take be tied to the
duration of the permit issued by the department of environmental conser-
vation pursuant to title 27 of article 23 of the environmental conserva-
tion law.
Section 4 adds a severability clause. Section 5 adds the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In August of 2023, Cargill, Inc. began the process of putting up for
sale the Cayuga Salt Mine (CSM) it has operated for more than five (5)
decades beneath Cayuga Lake in Lansing, NY in Tompkins County, where it
operates on several thousand acres of land it leases from New York
State. While the Mine Safety and Health Administration has been able to
inspect the CSM operation for worker safety, the state Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) has not regularly inspected the mine
for issues related to protecting the Cayuga Lake ecosystem. Now, after
decades of mining by Cargill, Cayuga Lake is saltier than nearly all the
other Finger Lakes. Further, due to continued mining and geologic condi-
tions, without intervention from the DEC to require an environmental
review, the lake is at risk of becoming permanently more saline.
NYS public lands law authorizes the state Office of General Services
(OGS) to grant the use of state-owned lands for mining purposes, includ-
ing those lands found beneath takes. Since the mid 1970s, OGS has
provided consent orders to the CSM owner, Cargill, to allow for salt
mining under Cayuga Lake. The most recent consent order in 2019 provided
that Cargill would be able to provide notice to OGS and then extend the
consent order for ten years. This was done without the performance of an
environmental impact statement (EIS) or environmental quality review
(SEAR) under the New York State Department of Environmental Conserva-
tion.
DEC is also responsible for providing additional permitting through the
Mined Land Reclamation Law, that includes reclamation and closure
requirements of mined lands. Past civil lawsuits challenging the contin-
uance of mining permits by the DEC have been dismissed. The assertions
made in these lawsuits centered on the tack of DEC oversight or the
requirement of an EIS on the mine in light of significant environmental
issues with the Retsof salt mine in Livingston County, which, in 1994,
collapsed and flooded, causing two sinkholes, significant subsidence
damage, wells going dry, and the salinization of a freshwater aquifer.
The geological similarities of these two mines has the communities
surrounding Cayuga lake and its watershed justifiably concerned about
the significant environmental and ecological risks of mine collapse.
Cayuga Lake and its watershed is the largest in the region spanning
seven (7) counties, covering 860 square mites with more than 140 streams
that flow into the lake. Cayuga Lake itself is surrounded by a multitude
of communities and supports a tourist economy seeking the natural beauty
of the take and the opportunity to visit the many vineyards found along
the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail. An accident within the salt mine below Cayu-
ga Lake could have an immediate and severe impact, reducing the quality
of the drinking water of about 100,000 residents and endangering the
region's $3 billion, 60,000-employee food, wine and recreational tourism
economy.
Despite an EIS being fully warranted by the scope of the environmental
risk posed by salt mining under a lake, the DEC, has, for decades, not
required the owners of Cayuga Salt Mine to cooperate with an EIS proc-
ess, despite repeated requests to do so.This legislation would bolster
existing protections by explicitly requiring an environmental impact
statement for mining under a lake where there has not been one for the
preceding 20 years, as well as an updated reclamation plan along with
appropriate financial security to ensure the communities relying on
Cayuga Lake and its watershed are protected from potential harm.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
06/07/24 PASSED SENATE
06/07/24 DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
06/07/24 referred to environmental conservation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day provided that section 2
of the bill shalt take effect on the ninetieth day. Effective immediate-
ly, 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.

Statutes affected:
S2053: 81 public lands law
S2053A: 81 public lands law