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On March 27th, NYS Assemblyman Michael Cusick and NYS Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton introduced a bill in the NYS Assembly which would exclude major electric generating facilities, which generate electricity from the combustion or pyrolysis of solid waste or fuel derived from solid waste, from an expedited power plant siting process. It has been found that trash incinerators produce toxic ash from burning a range of solid wastes which can vary widely in chemical output, making compliance with emissions and toxic waste limits difficult.

"I'm grateful to our Assembly Energy Chair, Assemblymember Cusick, for his strong response to my deep concern and that of my constituents by sponsoring this important legislation, which I'm pleased to co-prime sponsor," Lifton said. "This bill very properly removes incinerators, as they are not really power plants, from the expedited Article 10 siting process and restores local control and full environmental review."

This legislation eliminates trash incinerators from the expedited state siting process and ensures that municipalities will have authority to decide, based on their own zoning laws, if a trash incinerator project moves forward, or if it would cause undue environmental and economic degradation following environmental review.

Cusick, Chair of the Assembly Energy Committee said, "We must ensure that major electric generating facilities are excluded from the expedited power siting process. It is important that construction of such facilities do not preempt municipal law and local zoning regulations, which is what this legislation sets forth. I am glad to have worked alongside my colleague, Assemblywoman Lifton, to address this issue."

If passed, and signed into law, it will take effect immediately, and will apply to proposed facilities which have not been issued a certificate by the New York state board on electric generation siting and the environment.

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