Albany
– A new report from Environmental Advocates of New York highlights how
despite significant gains in air quality over several decades, New York
is at a tipping point due
to budget cuts and years of level spending that risks increased
exposure to air pollutants that undermine public health and shorten
lives.
Peter
Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York
said, “New York has been a leader on not only the implementation of the
Clean Air Act, but exceeding
federal expectations. That’s been good for our economy and people’s
health. But budget cuts mean less accountability for polluters and fewer
resources for the experts at the state Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) to carry out their work protecting
lives.”
Iwanowicz
added, “With key actions and investments in the next state budget,
which empower DEC air staff to adequately monitor and ensure compliance,
the Governor and legislators
can stop the backslide we’ve seen, reduce the medical costs associated
with ailments connected to or triggered by dirty air, and be there for
communities that need help from the State.”
Key Concerns
While
air quality has improved greatly, New Yorkers’ concerns are rising due
to a lack of sufficient funding for air pollution monitoring and
enforcement, and an increased reliance
by State authorities for polluters to self-monitor and report. Key
findings within the report:
Statewide, there has been a 25 percent reduction in air monitors since 2009, dropping from an already low 74 to just 55.
Metropolitan
areas such as Binghamton and Elmira have no local air quality monitors,
while other areas with significant congestion-related emissions, such
as New York
City, have too few.
Federal
and State clean air operating funds have been reduced by 34 percent,
from more than $45 million in SFY 2007-08, to under $30 million in the
current fiscal year.
The Governor and legislators have now delayed implementation of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) of 2006 for six years.
Increased
fees for industries with smokestacks that require monitoring ($3
million in additional revenue projected for the current fiscal year) are
not being reinvested
back into the DEC units conducting compliance and monitoring.
Reduced Federal and State investment has resulted in a lack of funds to fulfill standard air monitoring responsibilities.
The report follows a 2013 report from Environmental Advocates,
Turning a Blind Eye to Illegal Pollution,
which documented how budget cuts and flat lines to the DEC have led to
an increased reliance on polluters self-reporting their compliance with
the Clean Air Act, among other federal laws. That report, for instance,
found a 44 percent decline in DEC-led stack
testing for toxic air pollution, even as a report from the Office of
the State Comptroller found that insurance
premium costs in New York due to asthma, which
is exacerbated by dirty air, is $1.3 billion.
Recommendations
Environmental
Advocates urges the Governor and legislators to protect New Yorkers’
clean air by taking steps in the next state budget process, which
include but are not limited
to:
Full implementation of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2006.
Increased
funding for state clean air programs through the DEC’s Division of Air
Resources, and a guaranteed annual budget for ongoing monitoring and
enforcement.
Increasing the number of near roadway air pollution monitors to cover all metropolitan areas of the state.
Source: Environmental Advocates of New York
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