NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8617
SPONSOR: Fahy
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the navigation law, in relation to notice of crude oil
shipments to major facilities
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To require the owner or operator of a major facility to provide notice
of crude oil shipments by railroad to major facilities
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amends the navigation law and adds a new section 174-c
Section 2: effective date
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Crude Oil Shipment Reporting bill is in response to recent accidents
resulting in substantial financial and personal losses to both public
and private entities due to injuries, loss of life, damages and clean up
costs, all as a result of explosions and would require advance notifica-
tion to first responders and officials that hazardous crude oil was
being transported through the affected region enabling advanced prepara-
tion for potential rail car accidents. This bill would apply to all
crude oil shipments to major facilities by rail and requires said facil-
ity to, at minimum, report the route taken to the facility within the
state, the scheduled time, location, volume, and volatility of the crude
oil.
The transport of crude oil by rail has increased exponentially nation-
wide over the past five years, from over 9,000 carloads of crude oil
in2008 to over 400,000 in 2013, and accidental spills and explosions of
crude oil have increased accordingly, highlighting the need for advanced
notification to affected communities. There is a heightened awareness of
safety issues related to the transportation and storage of crude oil and
the Crude Oil Shipment Reporting bill is one attempt to address the
negative impacts that may result from an accident in transporting crude
oil by rail. Rail transportation of crude oil is regulated by federal
law, however, state law can require proper notification of crude oil by
rail shipments.
It is necessary that reporting measures be put in place to ensure that
communities are made aware and take appropriate steps in preparation of
a potentially hazardous crude oil by rail accident thereby lessening the
impact such an accident would have.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.2029/S.4560 (2018) A.7986/S.7577-A (2016)
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8617
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FAHY -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the navigation law, in relation to notice of crude oil
shipments to major facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The navigation law is amended by adding a new section 174-c
2 to read as follows:
3 § 174-c. Notice of crude oil shipments to major facilities. 1. A major
4 facility that receives crude oil from a railroad car shall provide
5 advance notice to the commissioner as provided in this section. The
6 advance notice shall, at a minimum, include the route to be taken to the
7 facility within the state, if known, and the scheduled time, location,
8 volume, region per bill of lading, and gravity as measured by standards
9 developed by the American petroleum institute, of crude oil received.
10 Each week, a facility that provides advance notice under this section
11 shall provide the required information regarding the scheduled arrival
12 of railroad cars carrying crude oil to be received by the facility in
13 the succeeding seven-day period in a manner specified by the department.
14 A major facility shall not be required to provide advance notice when
15 there is no receipt of crude oil from a railroad car scheduled for a
16 seven-day period.
17 2. The commissioner shall share information provided by a major facil-
18 ity with the state emergency management office and shall provide infor-
19 mation to any municipal emergency response agency upon request.
20 3. The commissioner shall post information collected under this
21 section on a quarterly basis on the department's internet web site
22 provided that such information published by the commissioner may be
23 aggregated on a statewide basis by route through the state, by week, and
24 by type of crude oil. The report may also include other information
25 available to the department including, but not limited to, place of
26 origin, modes of transport, number of railroad cars delivering crude
27 oil, and number and volume of spills during transport and delivery.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13658-01-3
A. 8617 2
1 4. A facility providing advance notice under this section shall not be
2 responsible for meeting advance notice timeframe requirements under
3 subdivision one of this section in the event that the schedule of
4 arrivals of railroad cars carrying crude oil changes during a seven-day
5 period; provided, however that any such arrivals shall be included in
6 the following week's notice.
7 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
8 have become a law.