Int 0213-1998

Be it enacted by the Council as follows: Section 1. Legislative Intent. On May 29, 1996, the City and the State of New York announced an agreement to shut down solid waste disposal operations at the Fresh Kills landfill by December 31, 2001. On May 31, 1996, the State Legislature enacted and the governor signed into place a provision in Chapter 107 of the Session Laws of 1996, which requires the Fresh Kills landfill to stop accepting waste for disposal after January 1, 2002. In light of this mandate, the Department of Sanitation requested and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation agreed to suspend both the City's application to obtain a permit for the Fresh Kills landfill and the City's pursuit of the draft environmental impact statement associated with this application, both of which were previously submitted to the New York State Department of Conservation on March 15, 1996. The issues relating to the closure and post-closure operation and maintenance of the Fresh Kills landfill are currently the subject of a consent order modification being negotiated between the Department of Sanitation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. If the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation considers the consent order and any future modifications to be an "enforcement proceeding," this consent order modification will proceed without full public environmental review under either the State Environmental Quality Review Act (New York State Environmental Conservation Law ?8-0101 et seq.), or the City Environmental Quality Review rules, Executive Order 91 of 1977, as amended. Accordingly, this local law requires the Department of Sanitation to establish and implement a plan for the long-term management of the Fresh Kills landfill which evaluates and discloses all health risks and adverse environmental effects of the pollution that the department will be unable to control and what specific steps the department will take to mitigate or compensate for these uncontrolled impacts. The Council finds that the establishment and implementation of an environmental plan for the long-term maintenance of the Fresh Kills landfill should in no way interfere with the cessation of the disposal of waste at the landfill in accordance with State law. The issues pertaining to the health risks and the environmental concerns related to the long-term control of the landfill are separate and distinct from the rate at which the City actually decreases the amount of solid waste disposed of at the landfill. �2. Chapter 1 of title 16 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 16-141 to read as follows: �16-141. Fresh Kills Landfill Environmental Plan. The department shall adopt and implement a plan for long-term maintenance of the Fresh Kills landfill, which shall be known as the Fresh Kills Landfill Environmental Plan. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, a description and assessment of the environmental and public health effects of the following: 1. Landfill gases, leachate and stormwater runoff under existing conditions throughout the active and inactive sections of the landfill; 2. Existing and planned collection, management and combustion or treatment of landfill gas; 3. Existing and planned collection and management of landfill leachate or stormwater run-off; 4. Planned final cover, including final cover vegetation and potential future uses of the landfill; 5. Planned measures to mitigate or compensate for unavoidable adverse environmental effects, which may include, but not be limited to actions to reduce air or water pollution from other sources or environmental benefits programs. b. A draft Fresh Kills Landfill Environmental Plan shall be presented for public review and comment within seven months of the effective date of this section and a final plan shall be adopted by the department within ten months of the effective date of this section. �3. This local law shall take effect immediately. Referred to the Committee on Environemtal Protetction. hl:ts wp60\lsrqsts\ls5381 11/20/97, 12:45 p.m. Int. No. 213