On February 16, 2012, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) announced that new Full and Short Environmental Assessment Forms (“EAFs”) have been finalized and are available on DEC’s website (http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/70293.html). These forms do not become effective until October 1, 2012. After that date, the new forms must be utilized for any new project.
EAFs are used by an agency to determine the environmental significance of a project. Both the new Short EAF and Long EAF contemplate more detailed responses than currently required to facilitate a more accurate and comprehensive review of a project’s environmental impacts. For example, the new Short EAF now contains two additional pages and incorporates questions concerning traffic, New York State Energy Code compliance, water supply, wetland disturbance and other topics more typical of the standard Long EAF. Similarly, the new Long EAF incorporates additional questions within each category of environmental impacts to be assessed and goes further to include specific questions related to greenhouse gases, impacts on flooding and outdoor lighting that were not previously covered in the existing Long EAF.
Notably, the new EAFs recognize that many of the questions contained in both EAFs are not directly applicable to proposed actions that only involve the legislative adoption of a plan, local law, ordinance, administrative rule or regulation as opposed to a development project.
Please feel free to call Jennifer Gray, Esq. or any of the municipal or environmental law attorneys at Keane & Beane should you have questions regarding the new SEQRA forms.
