BILL NUMBER: S8168
SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law and the environmental conservation
law, in relation to deconstruction and salvage of building construction,
deconstruction, and demolition materials; and to amend the labor law, in
relation to deconstruction contractor certification
 
PURPOSE:
To incentivize local political subdivisions to adopt and implement local
deconstruction ordinances and to increase the supply of skilled decon-
struction contractors, in order to increase the practice of building
deconstruction and reuse, instead of demolition.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill sets forth the short title as the "Building Mate-
rials Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling Act."
Section 2 of the bill amends Section 375 of the Executive Law by adding
a new subdivision 10 directing that the uniform fire prevention and
building code be updated to reflect changes the Codes Council deems
necessary to support the salvage and reuse of building materials and
reduce construction and demolition waste going to landfills.
Section 3 of the bill amends the Executive Law by adding a new Article
18-B regarding deconstruction and salvage of building construction and
demolition materials, which:
- provides that a municipality is eligible to apply for grant funding
pursuant to this chapter if it conducts a review of the building stock
within its borders, and adopts a local deconstruction ordinance follow-
ing guidance set forth in the new Article, including that local projects
subject to the local ordinance are to be surveyed for deconstruction
potential and that the local ordinance shall phase in minimum diver-
sion-from-landfill requirements for covered projects;
- provides that each municipality awarded a grant pursuant to this Arti-
cle report to the Department of State on where building construction and
demolition materials are taken after leaving project sites, and on
building construction and demolition materials available for reuse at
the municipality's deconstruction materials hub; and
- establishes a construction, deconstruction and demolition waste
prevention and reduction grant and technical support program for munici-
palities, to be administered by the department of state; sets forth
purposes for which such grant funding may be used, including to estab-
lish a deconstructed materials hub.
Section 4 of the bill changes the heading of Title 31 of Article 27 of
the Environmental Conservation Law to add the word "deconstruction" and
change the word "debris" to "materials."
Sections 5 through 8 of the bill amend sections 27-3101, 71-2702,
71-2712, and 71-2713 of the Environmental Conservation Law to change the
term "construction and demolition debris" to the term "construction,
deconstruction, and demolition materials."
Section 9 of the bill amends subdivision 9 of Section 27-0501 of the
Environmental Conservation Law to include "reusable" materials within
the definition of source separation.
Section 10 of the bill amends the Labor Law by adding a new Article 35-A
directing the Department of Labor to develop and implement a decon-
struction contractor certification program and establish a statewide
register of certified deconstruction contractors.
Section 11 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) of
2019, the Climate Action Council's Scoping Plan Waste Sector Vision for
2050 calls for a dramatic shift in the way waste is managed, to the
point that landfills and combustors are only used sparingly for specific
waste streams, and reduction and recycling of waste are robust and ubiq-
uitous. According to the 2023 draft New York State solid waste plan,
construction and demolition debris (CDD), including all wasted
construction materials from new building construction, demolition, road
construction, and construction excavation materials, is, after municipal
solid waste, the largest component of discarded materials in the state,
constituting approximately 27% or approximately 6.6 million tons in
2023.
Increasing the practice of building deconstruction rather than demoli-
tion will reduce the generation of construction and demolition waste
going to landfills thereby extending their useful lifespan, reduce the
carbon emissions associated with demolition and construction and with
the production of new materials for construction, and lessen the adverse
health impacts associated with building demolition through the release
of dust, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds and pollu-
tants into air, water and soil.
In New York State, local governments carry responsibility for materials
management and solid waste management, but they lack targeted State
funding to invest in systems supporting the deconstruction and salvage
of valuable materials from buildings for reuse. Further, there is
currently no deconstruction contractor certification program, needed to
support a functioning market for salvaged building materials.
This bill incentivizes municipalities in New York State to adopt and
implement local deconstruction ordinances, establishes a grant program
to support localities in implementing such ordinances, and directs the
establishment of a deconstruction contractor certification program.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S8168: 375 executive law, 27-3101 environmental conservation law