Relates to including environmental pollution mitigation within the authorized purposes of industrial development agencies

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Siela Bynoe says this is needed

In 2020, the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency implemented a policy directed towards ending systemic environmental injustices and improving the County's environmental and economic health by allowing financial incentives to be utilized for qualified environmental pollution mitigation and conservation projects that commit to providing equipment, improvements, structures or facilities with the goal of promoting environmental protection and helping environmentally harmed communities. When introduced, this policy was the first among any Industrial Develop- ment Agency in the State, and has enabled financial incentives to be provided, including supporting the development of community solar panels on a former brownfield industrial site within Westbury and New Cassel; two communities that have been disproportionately harmed by air and water pollution from nearby industries. As such, this legislation would affirmatively provide all Industrial Development Agencies within the State the ability to grant projects and proposals that would implement environmental pollution mitigation meas- ures at industrial, manufacturing, warehousing, waste treatment plants, commercial, recreation and research facilities in order to make remedi- ations to environmental damages and to abate and minimize further pollution. This legislation would further complement other grant programs that have been made available through the New York State Department of Environ- mental Conservation, including the Environmental Justice Grant and the Low-and-Zero Emission Vehicle Grant. By implementing a similar policy for financial incentives provided by Industrial Development Agencies, this would allow applicant projects to have another option for funding that could support further environmental mitigation and remediation efforts.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.