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Civil Penalties - Environmental Violations
Our Position: support
Bill Number: S4114
Sponsor: Senator Marcellino
Legislative Session: 2006
This bill allows the DEC to revoke permits for civil violations of environmental conservation law.
Status
01/04/06 – referred to Senate Environmental Conservation Committee
Action Needed
Please call or write your State Senator in support of this bill. To identify your Senator and his/her contact information, click here.
More information
Contact our legislative office.
Contact
Legislative Office, 518-426-9144. Or, contact John Stouffer, Legislative Director, john.stouffer@sierraclub.org
Background
Memorandum of Support
In Senate 4114 by Senator Marcellino
Title: An Act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the general civil penalty
Provisions:
A.4114 amends section 71-4003 of the New York State environmental conservation law (ECL) to give the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation specific authority to enjoin continuation of an activity and to revoke, suspend, or deny a permit in response to a violation.
Statement of Support:
Section 71-4003 of the ECL establishes a general civil penalty for violations of sections of the ECL for which penalties are not specifically defined. Currently this section provides for a fine, but does not specifically provide authority for injunctive relief or specify that permits could be revoked, suspended, or denied. Since other titles of the ECL related to enforcement specifically provide for injunctive relief, it could be argued that the legislature did not intend to give DEC this authority in the context of the general civil penalty. In some instances it may make more sense to enjoin continuation of an activity rather than impose a fine. There may also be instances where the maximum fine allowed by the ECL section 71-4003 is not adequate to discourage an illegal activity. The Sierra Club believes that the DEC should be able to consider the full range of enforcement options in addressing violations of the ECL. For this reason we support S.4114.
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