BILL NUMBER: S5187
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
recovery of costs for the response costs and damages to natural
resources as a result of the illegal disposal of waste
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would specify cleanup cost liability in cases of illegal waste
disposal and expand State cost recovery for hazardous waste site remedi-
ation.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one specifies that State and municipal remediation costs associ-
ated with illegal waste disposal sites are the liability of the person
responsible for the illegal waste disposal.
Section two authorizes the department of environmental conservation to
utilize liens to recover remediation costs associated with the inactive
hazardous waste disposal program.
Section three allows for the collection by the department of environ-
mental conservation of treble damages for a person who has unreasonably
or in bad faith failed or refused to comply with an order provided under
this title.
Section four establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
A growing number of communities from Long Island to Buffalo have recent-
ly been afflicted with illegal disposal cases involving the contam-
ination of public spaces. In some instances, this illegal disposal has
involved thousands of tons, or many truckloads, of construction material
containing debris ranging from asphalt and bricks to asbestos, treated
lumber, petroleum products, roofing shingles, and soil from historically
contaminated areas. This blatant and illegal dumping has unduly burdened
communities with unanticipated costs for remediating properties and
protecting the public from potentially toxic debris. Illegal dumping not
only presents a public health threat and an unnecessary drain on munici-
pal and State resources, but also restricts public access to parks and
other common grounds, tarnishes community character, and can reduce
local property values. State laws concerning the unlawful disposal of
waste, most specifically construction and demolition debris that have
been found to contain toxic substances like asbestos and heavy metals
should be clarified to explicitly place site remediation cost liability
on the responsible party.
This bill would do so by specifying remediation cost liability in cases
of illegal waste disposal. This bill would additionally grant authority
to the department of environmental conservation to place liens on the
property of responsible parties to recover State-assumed cleanup costs
associated with Superfund sites, as is the practice in neighboring
states. This bill would also increase a new remedy against bad faith
actors for treble damages.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S2885 Comrie
S5822 2022
S6466 COMRIE No Same as
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Provides relief to the State and municipalities by holding responsible
parties accountable for costs to remediate illegal waste disposal sites.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.