Last Thursday, Basil Seggos, the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”) announced the first major update to New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”) regulations in over 20 years. SEQRA establishes a process to systematically consider environmental factors early in the planning stages of actions that are directly undertaken, funded or approved by local or state agencies. Seggos believes the updates will “streamline the environmental review process and encourage sustainable development and renewable energy development without sacrificing SEQRA’s integrity or the environmental protection it affords.”
Continue Reading New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Announces the Adoption of Revisions to the Regulations that Implement the State Environmental Quality Review Act
Additional Proposed Revisions to NY SEQRA Regulations Released, Removing a Number of Proposed Type II Actions from Consideration
Co-location of wireless antennas, as well as a handful of other actions, may be removed from the previously proposed list of Type II actions that would not be subject to New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”). These and other proposed revisions to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (“NYSDEC”) SEQRA regulations were released on April 4, 2018. Besides a reduced list of Type II actions, other notable changes include modifications to other Type II categories, lower Type I thresholds for residential development and clarifying language to require project sponsors to include late-filed comments in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (“DEIS”). Comments on these revisions and NYSDEC’s Revised Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (“R-DGEIS”) will be accepted until May 4, 2018.
Continue Reading Additional Proposed Revisions to NY SEQRA Regulations Released, Removing a Number of Proposed Type II Actions from Consideration