Bill > S3546

Introduced Session

This bill would establish a program in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to require certain high-traffic facilities to obtain a permit from the DEP and annually implement measures to reduce air pollution caused by the facility. Specifically, the bill would apply to "regulated facilities," defined by the bill as (1) a facility used for the purpose of goods distribution, whether leased or used as a proprietary facility, which has 100,000 square feet or more of business area; (2) a facility located in an overburdened community and used for the purpose of goods distribution, whether leased or used as a proprietary facility, which has 50,000 square feet or more of business area; or (3) a facility that generates 50 or more truck trips per day, including a port or any part of a port. The bill would require each owner or operator of a regulated facility to obtain, and abide by the terms of, an indirect source air pollution permit issued by the DEP. A newly constructed regulated facility would not be allowed to commence operations without first obtaining an indirect source air pollution permit issued by the DEP. The goal of the indirect source air pollution permit program would be to reduce air pollution from regulated facilities to zero by the year 2050. Each permit would require the regulated facility to implement an annual quota of air pollution mitigation measures, determined by the DEP using a points-based accounting system. Points would be awarded for measures, as enumerated in subsection a. of section 4 of the bill, including purchasing battery-electric trucks, purchasing and using battery-electric forklifts, yard trucks, or other on-site equipment and using battery-electric trucks at the regulated facility or in truck trips to or from the regulated facility. Persons who violate the bill's provisions could be liable for civil administrative penalties of between $10,000 and $20,000 per violation, and civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation. In order to monitor compliance with the bill's provisions, the bill would require the DEP to annually conduct truck counting on a representative sample of roads adjacent to regulated facilities, and to annually conduct monitoring of idling and hoteling activities at a representative sample of regulated facilities. In addition, the DEP would be required to annually conduct an inspection of at least 10 percent of the regulated facilities located in overburdened communities, and at least five percent of all other regulated facilities, using a randomized selection process. The bill would require owners or operators of regulated facilities to pay an annual permit fee, which would be set at a level sufficient to cover the DEP's administrative costs in implementing the bill's provisions. The first annual permit fee paid by a regulated facility would also include an amount sufficient to fund the cleanup and restoration of the facility and its land once the facility is no longer in commercial operation for longer than one year. The DEP would be required to provide certain public notifications under the permit program, including public notice of the submission of permit applications, renewals, or revisions, and the full permit application, the draft and final findings by the consulted agencies, and the agencies' response to comments, for each permit. Finally, the bill would require the DEP to post a list of regulated facilities, along with certain items of information enumerated in subsection c. of section 7 of the bill, on its website, and to submit an annual report on the program established by the bill to the Governor and the Legislature.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Patrick Diegnan (D)*,  John McKeon (D)*,  Renee Burgess (D),  Angela Mcknight (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee (on 09/12/2024)

Official Document