In celebration of Earth Day, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver joined with Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Robert Sweeney to announce passage of legislation that would help create a cleaner, safer environment for all New Yorkers. The package includes legislation that would help ensure safer drinking water and cleaner air; protect our children and communities from environmental hazards and harmful chemicals; support environmentally friendly products and practices; and provide ongoing support for environmental justice.

"Environmental protection is essential to the health of our citizens and our economy," said Silver. "In honor of Earth Day, I am proud to once again pass legislation that demonstrates the Assembly Majority's commitment to clean air and water, protection from harmful chemicals, and environmentally friendly state procurement and waste disposal practices."

"These measures guard the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we live on. They protect our families and communities, the health of our economy, and New York's natural beauty," said Sweeney. "For my colleagues and I in the Assembly Majority, safeguarding the health and safety of our citizens and environment remains a top priority. I am glad to see the Assembly passage of legislation that provides such comprehensive and thoughtful protections."

Keeping our Air and Water Clean

The Earth Day package, which would help ensure the safety of New York's air and drinking water, includes legislation to:

• ensure safer drinking water for the more than one million New Yorkers with private wells (A.1040/Jaffee);

• prevent communities from bearing an unfair environmental burden by publishing a list of areas most adversely affected by existing environmental hazards (A.3729/Peoples-Stokes);

• encourage proper disposal of pharmaceutical and over the counter drugs to prevent accidental ingestion and/or environmental harm (A.5465/Sweeney); and

• require the Department of Environmental Conservation to promulgate rules and regulations establishing limits on greenhouse gas emissions (A.6327/Sweeney).

Promoting Environmentally Friendly Practices

From increasing the state and municipal procurement of recyclable styrofoam products to increasing recycling coordination statewide, several pieces of legislation in the package are aimed at encouraging environmentally friendly practices. Included are bills to:

• establish a permanent environmental justice advisory group and an interagency coordinating council (A.3569/Peoples-Stokes);

• encourage and enhance statewide recycling efforts and compliance by local governments and waste haulers A.3754(/Colton);

• discourage the use of disposable polystyrene foam food service ware by any person or entity that has a contract with a state agency or municipality, and to study the feasibility of a styrofoam ban in New York State (A.4973-A/Kavanagh); and

• establish a preference for the purchase of commodities, services, and technologies by the State of New York that minimizes potential adverse impacts on public health and the environment (A.6046/Sweeney).

Protecting our Children, Families, and Communities

The package is also aimed at drawing attention to and decreasing incidences of exposure to harmful chemicals. It includes two bills to:

• prevent the use of dangerous chemicals in children's products and ensure the use of safer chemical alternatives (A.6328/Sweeney); and

• prohibit the use of chemical flame retardants on residential upholstered furniture to limit residential and firefighter exposure to chemical flame retardants (A.6557/Sweeney).

Given the devastating effects of recent extreme weather events, the legislative package includes a bill to ensure that state monies and permits include consideration of the effects of climate change and extreme weather events (A.6558/Sweeney).