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a. Definitions.
1. "City" shall mean the geographic area constituting the city of New York, including wetlands, shorelines and underwater lands.
2. "Office" shall mean the mayor's office of long-term planning and sustainability.
3. "Wetlands" shall mean those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.
b. Preliminary satellite or aerial imagery survey. No later than September 1, 2010, the office shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council a preliminary survey of likely wetland areas based upon satellite or aerial imagery. The preliminary satellite or aerial imagery survey shall be for the purpose of indicating the overall size and location of remaining wetlands within the city and therefore to inform the development of an overall strategy for wetlands in the city.
c. Development of a comprehensive wetlands strategy. The office shall complete a preliminary wetlands protection strategy the overall goals of which shall be to (1) conserve, protect, enhance, stabilize, restore and expand wetlands and associated buffer areas in the city; (2) avoid and minimize wetlands losses and achieve no net loss of wetlands in the city; (3) standardize and improve the management of wetlands and associated buffer areas and (4) balance the needs for wetlands protection with other, competing land uses that are in the public interest, such as the construction of schools or affordable housing. Such strategy shall consider (1) the ecological, hydrological, economic, aesthetic and habitat functions of wetlands including, but not limited to future protection from storm surges and other effects of rising sea levels; (2) the current condition and protections afforded wetlands in the city, including wetlands smaller than 12.4 acres in size; and (3) the wetlands policies, laws, rules and regulations that have been adopted by other municipalities in New York state.
d. (1) No later than December 31, 2011, the office shall submit a preliminary comprehensive wetlands protection strategy that meets the requirements of this subdivision to the mayor, the speaker of the council and the public for review and comment. Access to the public shall include posting such preliminary strategy on the city's website and such other measures as the office deems appropriate to increase notice.
(2) No later than March 1, 2012, the office shall submit a final comprehensive wetlands protection strategy that meets the requirements of this subdivision to the mayor, the speaker of the council and the public. Submission to the public may include posting such final strategy on the city's website and such other measures as the office deems appropriate to increase notice.
(3) The comprehensive wetlands protection strategy shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(i) appropriate legal requirements, management mechanisms, funding mechanisms, enforcement mechanisms and incentives to conserve, protect, enhance, restore, stabilize and expand wetlands and associated buffer areas in the city, whether publicly or privately owned;
(ii) appropriate legal requirements, management mechanisms, funding mechanisms, enforcement mechanisms and incentives regarding management of wetlands in the city by public and private owners to ensure their consistency and best practices;
(iii) land acquisition and land use planning practices and opportunities to provide for wetlands retreat;
(iv) strategies for adaptation to sea level rise that involve wetlands to the extent not provided for in any other planning or management initiatives undertaken by or on behalf of the city;
(v) opportunities to improve the implementation of wetlands mitigation and creation activities;
(vi) a protocol for coordination with appropriate federal, state and city governmental entities that have jurisdiction over or other property interest in wetlands or associated buffer areas including, but not limited to, coordination in the development of a comprehensive list of wetland mitigation opportunities and notification procedures regarding proposed development projects that may adversely impact wetlands or associated buffer areas;
(vii) reporting mechanisms for wetlands indicators; and
(viii) a public education program to increase awareness about the ecological, economic, aesthetic and other values of wetlands and their associated buffer areas, which shall include information presented on the city's website and such other means as the office deems appropriate.
(4) The comprehensive wetlands protection strategy shall include a schedule and milestones for implementing the strategy and achieving its goals.
(5) To the extent that any element of the comprehensive wetlands protection strategy is provided for in any other planning or management initiative undertaken by or on behalf of the city, such element may be incorporated by reference.
e. The comprehensive wetlands protection strategy developed pursuant to this section shall be reviewed and revised as necessary to achieve its goals, the first such review to be undertaken within three years and thereafter no less often than every four years. No later than April 22, 2015 and no later than every fourth year thereafter, the commissioner shall submit a report to the mayor and the speaker of the council that provides an update on the comprehensive wetlands protection strategy developed pursuant to this section which shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) the implementation status of the measures included in such strategy, as it may have been revised pursuant to this subdivision; and
(2) specific progress towards each of the strategy's goals.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2009/031.
a. Definitions. For purposes of this section:
Applicant. The term "applicant" means any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, joint venture, association or other business entity that seeks a license or renewal of a license to engage in the operation of a car wash.
Car wash. The term "car wash" means any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, joint venture, association, or other business entity that engages in the cleaning of vehicles, including washing, detailing, drying, polishing, vacuuming or otherwise providing cosmetic care to vehicles. "Car wash" shall not include:
1. any business entity that is engaged in selling, leasing, renting or repairing motor vehicles, where car washing is ancillary to the primary business of such entity;
2. any self-service facility for washing vehicles, where the facility's employees do not provide assistance to customers in the cleaning of vehicles, such as washing, detailing, drying, polishing, vacuuming or otherwise providing cosmetic care to vehicles, including businesses such as convenience stores, gas stations and oil change facilities, where car washing is ancillary to the primary business of the facility;
3. any person that engages in the cleaning of vehicles on an intermittent basis to raise funds for a not-for-profit organization; or
4. any federal, state or local governmental agency.
b. Prior to filing an application for a license or renewal of a license to operate a car wash pursuant to subchapter 33 of chapter 2 of title 20 of this code, an applicant shall certify to the commissioner that the following information, in a form and method prescribed by the commissioner, will be maintained by the applicant at its principal place of business for a minimum of three years, and such information shall be made available to the department or the department of consumer and worker protection upon request:
1. The source from which the applicant draws or will draw its water, whether from the public water supply, well water or other source;
2. For renewal applicants, the amount of water drawn from public sources each month since the applicant last filed an application;
3. Construction drawings and as-built plans, meaning the final set of drawings produced at the completion of construction, of any oil/water separator system or sand interceptor, attesting to the volume of the system and to the maximum flow of wastewater that the system can filter and otherwise clarify efficiently;
4. Written certification that the applicant has regularly removed, in accordance with the respective manufacturer's specifications, oil, sediment and other residues that may be regulated by the commissioner pursuant to department rules regarding sewer use from its oil/water separator system and sand interceptor, as well as the method or methods used to remove and dispose of such oil, sediment and other residues, and for renewal applicants, the frequency of such removal and disposal since the applicant last filed an application;
5. Written certification that the applicant has complied with the rules of the department regarding testing and reporting with respect to all backflow prevention devices;
6. A logbook of monitoring and inspection results and repair and maintenance activities with regard to oil/water separators, sand interceptors and other pretreatment devices or systems, and backflow prevention devices, since the applicant last filed an application, provided that an applicant for a new car wash shall begin maintaining such information between sixty and ninety days of commencement of operations after receiving a license from the department of consumer and worker protection pursuant to section 20-541 of this code; and
7. Material safety data sheets or safety data sheets that indicate the chemicals used in the operation of the car wash, where such material safety data sheets or safety data sheets are required by federal, state or local law, rule or regulation.
(L.L. 2015/062, 6/29/2015, eff. 12/26/201; Am. L.L. 2020/080, 8/28/2020, eff. 8/28/2020)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2015/062 and L.L. 2020/080.
a. By no later than one year after the effective date of the local law that added this section, the department of environmental protection shall submit to the mayor and speaker of the council, and make publicly available online, a plan for mitigating flooding in Queens community districts 12 and 13. Such plan shall include, but not be limited to, a timeline for implementation of the plan, annual performance milestones and a description of funds anticipated to be expended by or on behalf of the city in connection with such flood mitigation, including, but not limited to, funds committed in fiscal year 2016 for such purposes.
b. By no later than six months after the end of each fiscal year, beginning with the first fiscal year that commences more than one year after the effective date of the local law that added this section, the department of environmental protection shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council a report on progress in implementing the plan required by subdivision a of this section during the prior fiscal year. Each such report shall include, but not be limited to, a description of any changes to such plan, a description of any changes in funds committed by or on behalf of the city in furtherance of such plan and a description of all funds expended by or on behalf of the city in furtherance of such plan.
c. This section expires 15 years after the effective date of the local law that added this section.
(L.L. 2017/056, 3/21/2017, eff. 3/21/2017)
a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
PCR using N1 Primer. The term "PCR using N1 Primer" means the measurement of the copies of the targeted viral RNA segment in a wastewater sample using a polymerase chain reaction based method.
SARS-CoV-2. The term "SARS-CoV-2" means severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which is the strain of coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19.
Wastewater-based epidemiology. The term "wastewater-based epidemiology" means the chemical analysis of pollutants, viruses and biomarkers in raw wastewater to obtain qualitative and quantitative data on disease activity among inhabitants within a given wastewater catchment.
b. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health and mental hygiene, shall establish a pilot sampling program to quantify the levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage at each city wastewater treatment plant in accordance with this section. Such sampling program shall occur on a frequency of no less than twice per week and shall include, but not be limited to, the measurement of the number of copies of SARS-CoV-2 RNA through the PCR using N1 Primer testing method or another testing method that reflects industry best practices.
c. The duration of such pilot sampling program shall be no less than six months and the commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health and mental hygiene, shall collect sewage samples in an amount necessary to measure the copies of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
d. No later than January 31, 2022, the commissioner shall submit to the mayor and speaker of the council a report, which shall include, but not be limited to the following:
1. Results of sampling, disaggregated by the site where the sample was collected, date sample was collected, and date sample was tested, in order to monitor the leading indicators of increases or decreases in COVID-19 presence in each drainage area throughout the study;
2. The total cost of such pilot program;
3. Analysis of the effectiveness of the pilot program in testing for SARS-CoV-2;
4. Recommendations to expand the pilot program to include sampling at manhole sites and pumping stations if wastewater-based epidemiology detects SARS-CoV-2 in an amount, as determined by the commissioner of health and mental hygiene, that indicates a localized concentration of COVID-19;
5. Recommendations to extend the pilot program for up to an additional six months if more testing is necessary, as determined by the commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health and mental hygiene;
6. A plan for weekly testing at each city wastewater treatment plant if the commissioner of health and mental hygiene or state commissioner of health declares that the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 is appropriate for such action or if the centers for disease control and prevention issues a SARS-CoV-2 pandemic declaration;
7. Recommendations to use a sequencing testing method other than PCR using N1 Primer to test samples, if the commissioner determines that such additional testing method is beneficial; and
8. Recommendations for making the pilot program permanent.
e. The information required by paragraph 1 of subdivision d of this section shall be maintained on the website of the city.
(L.L. 2021/028, 3/14/2021, eff. 3/14/2021)
a. Backwater valve study and report. Not later than December 1, 2024, the department, or an agency or office headed by a mayoral appointee, as designated by the mayor, shall complete a study evaluating the benefits of installing backwater valves, as defined in section 202 of the New York city plumbing code, for the purpose of mitigating damage caused by backflow, as defined in section 202 of the New York city plumbing code, during severe weather events. Upon the completion of the study, a report summarizing the results of the study shall be submitted to the mayor and the speaker of the council and posted on the department's website.
b. Backwater valve program. Subject to appropriation, not later than April 1, 2025, the department, or another agency or office headed by a mayoral appointee, as designated by the mayor, shall establish a program to provide financial assistance to owners of certain real property that would reduce the cost of purchasing and installing a backwater valve. Such program shall be based on the results of the study described in subdivision a of this section, provided that: (i) a program to reimburse, or provide a discount to, owners of real property for the installation of backwater valves, has not been established by the New York city water board, as described by section 1045-f of the public authorities law; and (ii) a program to provide financial assistance to owners of such real property for the installation of backwater valves, has not been established by any public entity, or any entity acting on behalf of such public entity. Such program shall, at a minimum:
1. Prioritize neighborhoods, locations, or types of real property that regularly suffer damage caused by backflow during severe weather events and for which the installation of a backwater valve would serve the greatest public purpose, as determined by the department, agency or office, as designated by the mayor; and
2. Conduct outreach and education to owners of such real property to inform such owners about the benefits of backwater valves and the responsibilities related to maintaining such valves. Such outreach and education shall be in the designated citywide languages, as defined in section 23-1101.
(L.L. 2023/001, 1/7/2023, eff. 1/7/2023)
a. The commissioner, in collaboration with the department of buildings, shall publish on the green infrastructure program map, or on another map on the department’s website, the location of every green roof, as defined in section 24-526.1, in the city, using the best information available.
b. For each green roof indicated on such map, the map shall provide at a minimum, based on the best information available, the following information:
1. The occupancy group of the building or structure;
2. The area of the roof in square feet;
3. The area of the portion of the roof covered by the green roof system in square feet;
4. The estimated amount of water such green roof has the capacity to absorb; and
5. Any functions of the green roof, which may include, but need not be limited to, aesthetic, water retention, recreational, farming, or any other function designated by the department.
(L.L. 2023/154, 11/19/2023, eff. 3/18/2024)