2023 New York Laws › ENV - Environmental Conservation › Article 75 - Climate Change › 75-0111 - Climate Justice Working Group.

§ 75-0111. Climate justice working group.
1.  There  is  hereby created within the department, no later than six
  months after the effective date of  this  article,  a  "climate  justice
  working  group". Such working group will be comprised of representatives
  from: environmental justice communities, the department, the  department
  of health, the New York state energy and research development authority,
  and the department of labor.
a. Environmental justice community representatives shall be members of
  communities  of  color,  low-income communities, and communities bearing
  disproportionate pollution and  climate  change  burdens,  or  shall  be
  representatives  of  community-based organizations with experience and a
  history of advocacy on environmental justice issues, and  shall  include
  at  least  three  representatives  from New York city communities, three
  representatives from rural communities, and three  representatives  from
  upstate urban communities.
b.  The  working  group,  in  consultation  with  the  department, the
  departments of health and labor, the New York state energy and  research
  development  authority,  and  the  environmental justice advisory group,
  will establish criteria to identify disadvantaged  communities  for  the
  purposes   of   co-pollutant   reductions,   greenhouse   gas  emissions
  reductions,  regulatory  impact  statements,  and  the   allocation   of
  investments related to this article.
c.  Disadvantaged communities shall be identified based on geographic,
  public health, environmental hazard, and socioeconomic  criteria,  which
  shall include but are not limited to:
i.  areas  burdened  by  cumulative  environmental pollution and other
  hazards that can lead to negative public health effects;
ii. areas with concentrations of people that are of low  income,  high
  unemployment, high rent burden, low levels of home ownership, low levels
  of  educational  attainment, or members of groups that have historically
  experienced discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity; and
iii. areas vulnerable  to  the  impacts  of  climate  change  such  as
  flooding, storm surges, and urban heat island effects.
2.  Before  finalizing  the  criteria  for  identifying  disadvantaged
  communities  and  identifying  disadvantaged  communities  pursuant   to
  subdivision  one  of  this  section,  the department shall publish draft
  criteria and a draft list of disadvantaged  communities  and  make  such
  information available on its website.
a. The council shall hold at least six regional public hearings on the
  draft   criteria  and  the  draft  list  of  disadvantaged  communities,
  including three meetings in the upstate region and three meetings in the
  downstate region, and shall allow at least one hundred twenty  days  for
  the submission of public comment.
b.   The   council   shall  also  ensure  that  there  are  meaningful
  opportunities for public comment for all segments of the population that
  will be impacted by the criteria, including persons living in areas that
  may be  identified  as  disadvantaged  communities  under  the  proposed
  criteria.
3.  The  group  will meet no less than annually to review the criteria
  and methods used to identify disadvantaged communities  and  may  modify
  such  methods  to  incorporate  new  data  and  scientific findings. The
  climate justice working group shall review identities  of  disadvantaged
  communities and modify such identities as needed.