Meanwhile, in Albany….
Jun 18th, 2008 by Jervey
Environmental Advocates of New York is always tracking what’s up in Albany. Here are their five most important environmental bills for 2008.
2008 Bills on the Move
Every week during the State Legislative Session, Environmental Advocates of New York reviews every bill introduced by lawmakers. We then issue a memo evaluating any measure that would have significant environmental impact. Bills that would benefit the environment receive one to three “trees” rating their effectiveness, while bills that would harm our air, water and land receive one to three “smokestacks.”
As the end of session draws near, Environmental Advocates’ highlights the Top 5 environmental measures of 2008:
SUPER BILL
Global Warming Pollution Cap (A.10303/S.8100) – The Cap would cut climate change pollution from all sources 80 percent by the year 2050.
SUPER BILL
Wetlands Protection Act (A.7133/S.3835) – The Act would close a gaping loophole in New York’s wetlands protection laws by providing the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) with regulatory authority over the state’s freshwater wetlands of an acre or more, regardless of whether that wetland had previously been mapped by the agency. Currently, the state only has authority over wetlands 12 acres or larger in size.SUPER BILL
Bigger Better Bottle Bill (A.8044-A/S.5850-A) – This bill would update New York’s most successful recycling program by expanding the definition of “beverage” in state law to include non-carbonated drinks such as water and iced tea, and would also direct unclaimed deposits to the Environmental Protection Fund.
E-Waste (A.8444-B/S.7563) – This bill would require manufacturers to submit an electronic waste manufacturing plan for DEC approval. By 2014, New York manufacturers would be required to collect a minimum of one-quarter of their annual equipment sales (by weight) each year and increase that collection rate to 45 percent by 2017.
Net Metering (A.9022/S.8059) – A bill to expand New York’s net metering policy to include wind and fuel cell technologies, as well as update the size of all net-metered systems. Net metering is the practice that credits consumers for the clean energy they generate themselves.
For a complete list of memos and bill ratings, visit www.eany.org/capitolwatch.
*Bill numbers beginning with the letter “A” are Assembly bills and those beginning with “S” are Senate bills.
[From EANY]