2023 New York Laws › ENV - Environmental Conservation › Article 21 - Pollution Control Compacts › Title 5 - Tri-State Compact and Interstate Environmental Commission › 21-0501 - Tri-State Compact.

§ 21-0501. Tri-state compact.
The  tri-state  compact as first entered into pursuant to chapter 4 of
the laws of 1936, as reenacted by chapter 476 of the laws of  1961,  and
as amended by chapter 1046 of the laws of 1969, is hereby continued. The
compact is as follows:
TRI-STATE COMPACT
Whereas,  The  tremendous  growth of population and the development of
the territory surrounding and adjacent to the harbor  of  New  York  has
resulted  in  recent  years  in an increasingly serious pollution of the
harbor, coastal and tidal waters in such area and the  tributary  waters
therein; and
Whereas,  Such  pollution  constitutes  a  grave menace to the health,
welfare and recreational facilities of the people living  in  such  area
and is occasioning great economic loss; and
Whereas, The control of future pollution and the abatement of existing
pollution  in  the  waters  in  such  area is of prime importance to the
people living in such area and can  best  be  accomplished  through  the
co-operation of the states of New Jersey and New York and Connecticut by
and through a joint or common agency;
Now,  therefore, The state of New York and the state of New Jersey and
the state of Connecticut do agree and are bound as follows:
ARTICLE I
1. Each of the signatory states pledges each  to  the  other  faithful
co-operation  in  the  control of future pollution and agrees to provide
for the abatement of existing pollution in the tidal and coastal  waters
in  the  adjacent  portions  of  the  signatory states defined herein as
coming within the district, and consistent with such  object,  to  enact
adequate  legislation  which will enable each of the signatory states to
put and maintain the waters thereof in a satisfactory sanitary condition
and particularly to protect public health; to render safe such waters as
are now used or may later become available for bathing and  recreational
purposes;  to abate and eliminate such pollution as becomes obnoxious or
causes a nuisance;  to  permit  the  maintenance  of  major  fish  life,
shellfish  and  marine  life  in  waters  now  available  or that may by
practicable means be made available for the development  of  such  fish,
shellfish  or  marine  life; to prevent oil, grease or solids from being
carried on the surface of the water; to prevent the formation of  sludge
deposits  along the shores or in the waterways; and with the fulfillment
of these objectives to abate and avoid  incurring  unnecessary  economic
loss  by  safeguarding the rights of the public in its varied legitimate
uses of the waters of the district.
ARTICLE II
1. To that end they do agree that there shall be created and  they  do
hereby  create  a  district  to be known as the Interstate Environmental
District (hereinafter referred to as the district) which  shall  embrace
the territory described as follows:
All  of  the  coastal,  estuarial  and tidal waters within or covering
portions of the signatory states as follows:
(a) In Connecticut, Long Island sound and estuaries and  tidal  waters
thereof  between  the  easterly side of New Haven harbor at Morgan Point
and the Connecticut-New York state boundary, and the Housatonic river up
to the northerly boundary lines of the towns of Stratford and Milford.
(b) In New York, all of the tidal waters of  Greater  New  York  city;
including  Kill  Van  Kull  and  Arthur  Kill, Long Island Sound and the
estuaries and tidal waters thereof between the New York  city  line  and
the  New  York-Connecticut  state boundary and between the New York city
line  and the easterly side of Port Jefferson harbor; the Atlantic ocean
and the estuaries and tidal waters thereof between  the  New  York  city
line  and  the  easterly side of Fire Island inlet; and the Hudson river
and estuaries and tidal waters thereof between  the  New  York  and  New
Jersey  state  boundary and the northerly line of Rockland county on the
westerly side and between the northerly line of New York  city  and  the
northerly line of Westchester county on the easterly side of the river.
(c)  In  New  Jersey,  the  Hudson  river  and  New York upper bay and
estuaries and tidal waters  thereof  between  the  New  York-New  Jersey
boundary  and  Constable  Point on Constable Hook, the Kill Van Kull and
Arthur Kill to the mouths of the rivers entering into the Kills;  Newark
bay  and the estuaries thereof up to the mouth of the Passaic river; and
up to the mouth of the Hackensack river; Raritan bay together  with  the
Raritan river up to the Victory bridge on said river between Perth Amboy
and  South Amboy; together with the Cheesequake creek up to the New York
and Long Branch Railroad bridge on said creek at Morgan;  together  with
the  Matawan creek up to the New York and Long Branch Railroad bridge on
said creek at Matawan; Sandy Hook  bay;  together  with  the  Shrewsbury
river  up  to  the  passenger railroad bridge between Navesink Light and
Highland Beach on said river.
ARTICLE III
1. There is hereby created  the  Interstate  Environmental  Commission
(hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  commission)  which  shall be a body
corporate and politic, having the powers, duties and jurisdiction herein
enumerated and such other and additional powers as  shall  be  conferred
upon  it  by  the  act  or acts of a signatory state concurred in by the
others and by the act or acts of congress when necessary.
ARTICLE IV
1. The commission shall consist of five commissioners from each state,
each of whom shall be a resident voter of the state  from  which  he  is
appointed.
The  commissioners  shall  be  chosen  in the manner and for the terms
provided by law of the state from which they  shall  be  appointed,  and
each commissioner may be removed or suspended from office as provided by
the law of the state from which he shall be appointed. The commissioners
shall  serve  without  compensation,  but  shall  be  paid  their actual
expenses incurred and incident to the performance of their duties.
ARTICLE V
1.  The  commission  shall  elect  from  its  number  a  chairman  and
vice-chairman  and shall appoint and at its pleasure remove or discharge
such officers and legal, clerical, expert and other assistants as may be
required to carry the provisions of this compact into effect, and  shall
fix and determine their duties, qualifications and compensations.
It  shall adopt a seal and suitable by-laws and shall promulgate rules
and regulations for its management and control. It may maintain  one  or
more  offices  for  the  transaction of its business and may meet at any
time or place within the signatory states.
A majority of the members from each state shall  constitute  a  quorum
for  the  transaction  of  business,  the exercise of any powers, or the
performance of any duties, but no action  of  the  commission  shall  be
binding  unless at least three of the members from each state shall vote
in favor thereof.
The  commission  shall  keep  accurate  accounts  of  all receipts and
disbursements and shall make an annual report to the  governor  and  the
legislature  of  each  state  setting forth in detail the operations and
transactions conducted by it pursuant to this compact,  and  shall  make
recommendations  for  any  legislative  action  deemed  by it advisable,
including amendments to the statutes of the signatory states  which  may
be  necessary  to  carry out the intent and purpose of this compact, and
changes in the district which concentration of population or other cause
may require.
The commission shall not incur any obligations for salaries, office or
other administrative expenses prior  to  the  making  of  appropriations
adequate to meet the same; nor shall the commission pledge the credit of
any  of  the  signatory  states  except by and with the authority of the
legislatures thereof. Each state reserves the right to provide hereafter
by law for the examination and audit of the accounts of  the  commission
by its comptroller or other official.
The  commissioners  shall  meet and organize within ten days after the
effective date of this compact.
ARTICLE VI
1. It is recognized by the signatory states that, where  tidal  waters
are  used  for  such  varied  purposes as bathing, navigation, shellfish
culture, the development of fish life and the  disposal  of  wastes,  no
single  standard  of purity is practicable in all parts of the district.
In order to attain the objects of this compact,  the  commission,  after
proper study and after conducting public hearings upon due notice, shall
group  the  designated  waters of the district into classes. Where local
conditions shall have changed in the  future  to  such  an  extent  that
changes  in  classification  become necessary, the commission may, after
conducting public hearings upon due notice, adopt such changes.
Two general classifications shall be used:
(1) Class "A", in which the designated water areas are expected to  be
used  primarily  for  recreational  purposes,  shellfish  culture or the
development of fish life;
(2) Class "B", in which the designated water areas are not expected to
be used primarily for recreational purposes, shellfish  culture  or  the
development of fish life.
ARTICLE VII
1.  It  is agreed between the signatory states that no sewage or other
polluting matters shall be discharged or permitted to flow into,  or  be
placed  in,  or  permitted  to fall or move into the tidal waters of the
district, except under the following conditions and restrictions:
(1) All sewage discharged or permitted to flow into Class  "A"  waters
of the district shall first have been so treated as
(a)  to remove all floating solids and at least sixty per centum (60%)
of the suspended solids; and
(b)  to  effect  a  reduction  of  organisms  of  the  B.  Coli  group
(intestinal bacilli) so that the probable number of such organisms shall
not  exceed one per cubic centimeter in more than fifty per centum (50%)
of the samples of sewage effluent  tested  by  the  partially  confirmed

test;  provided, however, that in the case of discharge into waters used
primarily for bathing this  bacterial  standard  need  not  be  required
except during the bathing season; and
(c)  to effect a reduction in the oxygen demand of the sewage effluent
sufficient to maintain an average dissolved oxygen content in the  tidal
waters  of  the  district  and  in  the general vicinity of the point of
discharge of the sewage into those waters, at a depth of about five feet
below the surface, of not less than fifty per  centum  (50%)  saturation
during any week of the year.
2. All sewage discharged or permitted to flow into class "B" waters of
the district shall first have been so treated as
(a) to remove all floating solids and at least ten per centum (10%) of
the  suspended solids, or such additional percentage as may by reason of
local conditions be necessary to avoid the formation of sludge  deposits
in the class "B" waters of the district; and
(b)  to effect a reduction in the oxygen demand of the sewage effluent
sufficient to maintain an average dissolved oxygen content in the  tidal
waters  of  the  district  and  in  the general vicinity of the point of
discharge of the sewage into those waters, at a depth of about five feet
below the surface, of not less than thirty per centum  (30%)  saturation
during any week of the year.
ARTICLE VIII
1.  Each  of  the  signatory  states  agrees, that in so far as waters
within its jurisdiction may flow into any portion of the  district,  all
sewage  discharged or permitted to flow into any stream tributary to the
tidal waters of the district shall be treated to that  extent,  if  any,
which  may be necessary to maintain such tributary immediately above its
confluence with the tidal waters of the district in a sanitary condition
at least equal to the  classification  requirements  determined  by  the
commission   for  the  tidal  waters  of  the  district  into  which  it
discharges. The waters of the Hudson river, immediately above the  mouth
of  Sparkhill  creek  on  the  westerly side and the New York-New Jersey
boundary extended on the easterly side of the river, shall be maintained
in a sanitary condition at ebb tide  at  least  equal  to  the  sanitary
condition  prevailing  in the waters of the river immediately below said
boundary at flood tide.
ARTICLE IX
1. Nothing in this compact shall be construed to repeal or prevent the
enactment of any legislation or the enforcement of  any  requirement  by
any  signatory state imposing any additional conditions and restrictions
to further  lessen  or  prevent  the  pollution  of  waters  within  its
jurisdiction.
ARTICLE X
1.  Subject  to the provisions of this compact the commission, as soon
as may be after its  organization,  after  an  investigation  and  after
conducting public hearings upon due notice, shall by order prescribe the
reasonable  date  on  or  before which each municipality or other entity
discharging sewage into the designated waters within the district  shall
be  treating  such  sewage in accordance with the standards specified in
this compact.  And  such  order  may  prescribe  that  certain  specific
progress  shall be made at certain definite time prior to the final date
fixed in such order.
It is the desire of all parties to accomplish the objects  herein  set
forth  with  the least possible injury to investments which have already
been made in the construction of  sewage  treatment  plants  within  the
district,  and  where  changes  or  additions  to  such  plants would be
necessary  to conform to the standards herein adopted, a reasonable time
to effect such changes or  additions  may,  in  the  discretion  of  the
commission, be granted.
ARTICLE XI
1.  Each  of  the  signatory  states  agrees that it will prohibit the
pollution of the said waters within the district in accordance with  the
several  articles  of  this compact, and that it will enact suitable and
adequate legislation which will accomplish effectively  the  objects  of
this compact and which will enable its officers, departments, boards and
agents  to  accomplish satisfactorily the obligations and duties assumed
by the state under the terms of this compact, and it is  further  agreed
that the courts of the several states shall have jurisdiction to enforce
as  against any person, corporation, municipality or other entity or any
employee, department or subdivision of the respective  signatory  states
any and all provisions of this compact.
The  commission  shall  have authority to investigate and determine if
the requirements of the compact and/or  the  orders  of  the  commission
pursuant  thereto are complied with and if satisfactory progress has not
been made, to bring action in its own name in the proper court or courts
to compel the enforcement of any and all the provisions of this compact,
and/or the orders of the commission pursuant thereto.
ARTICLE XII
1. In order that future pollution be controlled and existing pollution
be abated  with  the  greatest  possible  economy  and  efficiency,  the
commission  shall  co-operate  and  advise with the respective state and
district authorities having jurisdiction over stream pollution,  with  a
view to coordinating their activities and securing the most satisfactory
results  at  lower  cost.  For such purpose the commission may prepare a
general plan of the most practicable and economical method  of  securing
conformity  with  the  standards  herein  set  forth, having in view the
future growth and development of the district.  Such plan when completed
shall be submitted to the governor and the legislature of each state and
to the state agency or agencies or district agencies in charge of sewage
problems.
The provisions of this act shall not affect  the  discharge  from  the
outfall  pipes  of  the Passaic valley sewerage system into the water of
New York harbor; provided, however, that  said  discharge  shall  be  in
accordance with the terms and provisions of the stipulation entered into
on  April  fourteenth, one thousand nine hundred ten, between the United
States of America and Passaic valley sewerage commissioners.
ARTICLE XIII
1. Terms used in this compact are defined as follows:
"District" means the area more particularly described in  article  two
of this compact.
"Commission" means the Interstate Environmental Commission.
"Municipality"  means any city, incorporated village, borough, county,
town, township, district, or any municipality governed by an improvement

commission, any joint sewer commission, or any other subdivision of  any
one of the signatory states, located within the district.
"Rule" or "Regulation" means any rule or regulation established by the
commission  not  inconsistent with the constitution of the United States
or of any signatory state, promulgated by the  commission  touching  the
abatement or pollution of the waters of the district.
"Tidal  waters"  means  all those waters which ebb and flow within the
designated district.
"Dissolved oxygen" is the gaseous oxygen held in solution by the water
at any given time. It is expressed as a percentage of the maximum amount
of oxygen that would  be  required  to  saturate  the  water  under  the
existing conditions of temperature and salinity.
"Pollution"  is  any  foreign  matter  which  renders  waters unfit to
sustain fish life and unsatisfactory for bathing.
"Sewage effluent" means the treated sewage discharged from a treatment
plant.
"Suspended solids" means those solid particles carried  in  suspension
in the untreated sewage or sewage effluent.
"Entity"  means any organization or association owning, controlling or
operating a sewerage system or treatment plant within a municipality.
ARTICLE XIV
1.  The  signatory  states  agree  to  appropriate  annually  for  the
salaries,  office  and other administrative expenses such sum or sums as
shall be recommended by the commission and approved by the governors  of
the  signatory states, the state of New York and the state of New Jersey
agreeing each to appropriate forty-five per centum  (45%)  thereof,  and
the  state  of  Connecticut agreeing to appropriate ten per centum (10%)
thereof. The state of New York and the  state  of  New  Jersey  obligate
themselves  hereunder,  however,  only to the extent of fifteen thousand
dollars ($15,000.00) each in any one year, and the state of  Connecticut
obligated  itself  hereunder only to the extent of three thousand, three
hundred thirty-three dollars and thirty-four cents  ($3,333.34)  in  any
one year.
ARTICLE XV
1.  Should  any  part  of  this  compact be held to be contrary to the
constitution of any signatory state or of the United States,  all  other
severable objects of this compact shall continue to be in full force and
effect.
ARTICLE XVI
1.  This  compact shall become effective as to the state of New Jersey
and the state of New York immediately upon the signing  thereof  by  the
representatives  of  such  states,  and  thereafter it shall also become
effective as to the state of Connecticut immediately  upon  the  signing
thereof  by  the  representatives of such state; provided, however, that
prior to the signing of this compact by the representatives of the state
of Connecticut the district as  set  forth  in  article  two  shall  not
embrace   any   territory  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  state  of
Connecticut, nor shall  the  commission  exercise  any  jurisdiction  or
perform   any   duties   or  acts  affecting  such  territory;  and  the
appropriations for salaries, office and  other  administrative  expenses
shall  be  borne  equally  by the state of New York and the state of New
Jersey.
2. Nothing herein contained shall  affect  or  abate  any  action  now
pending brought by any governmental board or body created by or existing
under any of the signatory states.
ARTICLE XVII
In  addition to, or in substitution for, the classifications of waters
set forth in Articles VI and  VII  of  this  compact  and  the  effluent
standards made applicable thereto, the Commission may develop and, after
public  hearing  place  in  force  other  classifications  of waters and
effluent standards within the District. Such classifications shall be on
the basis of present or intended uses of  the  waters  in  question  and
shall be accompanied by requirements governing the quality of effluents,
receiving waters, or both, as the public interest may make appropriate.
Classifications,  standards, and requirements adopted pursuant to this
Article shall be developed and may be revised with due consideration for
uniformity of requirements relating to  the  quality  of  effluents  and
receiving  waters  within  the  same  classification in all parts of the
District.
Classifications made pursuant to this Article shall be governed by and
shall implement any water and related land  resource  plans,  water  use
plans  or pollution control plans adopted by appropriate agencies of the
signatory  states,  acting  singly  or  in  concert,  or  through  joint
intergovernmental  agencies. Any exercise of authority by the Commission
pursuant  to  this  Article  shall  be   subject   to   any   procedural
requirements, if applicable, that may be contained in federal law.
Nothing  contained  in  this  Article shall be construed to abridge or
limit any power otherwise existing of a  signatory  state  to  make  and
enforce  classifications,  standards, and requirements for effluents and
receiving waters.