BILL NUMBER: S5484
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the
office of wastewater surveillance and creating a grant program; and
making an appropriation therefor
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to establish the Office of Wastewater
Surveillance and create a grant program.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this bill would amend the Public Health Law by adding a new
title which creates the office of wastewater surveillance, a grant
program and an advisory council.
Section 2 of this bill would make an appropriation for the establishment
of the Office of Wastewater Surveillance and a grant program.
Section 3 of this bill would provide that the effective date shall take
effect immediately; provided, however, that sections eleven hundred
eighty and eleven hundred eighty-one of the public health law as added
by section one of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eight-
ieth day after this act shall have become a law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on New York State. Communities are
still feeling the effect of a statewide shutdown that occurred in March
of 2020. This severe and overarching pause could have been avoided with
wastewater surveillance.
Individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 shed RNA in their feces, which
makes it possible for scientists to detect the presence of the virus
within communities through their wastewater systems. Many laboratories
have already been conducting testing of wastewater independently. This
kind of testing has been instrumental in detecting COVID-1 9 in inde-
pendent populations and it would be beneficial to the state to be able
to do the same on a larger scale. Coronavirus is not the first, nor
will it be the last pandemic that New York will face. Wastewater testing
is necessary to a pandemic relief plan in the future and is the first
step to learning from our current experiences and circumstances.
Establishing the office of wastewater surveillance would not only help
monitor the rate of coronavirus infections but would also help track
other pathogens that pose a major risk to public health; these include
environmental toxins, lead levels, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV,
and respiratory diseases among others. The possibilities of wastewater
surveillance are endless. With the appropriate support and funding New
York could be the pioneer in establishing targeted responses for vulner-
able communities.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: S3110 (Mannion) - Referred to Finance
2021-22: S.7361 (Mannion,) - Referred to Finance.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars as appropriated for
the establishment of the office and the grant program.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that sections
eleven hundred eighty and eleven hundred eighty-one of the public health
law as added by section one of this act shall take effect on the one
hundred eightieth day after this act shall have become a law. Effective
immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regu-
lation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective
date are authorized to be made on or before such date.