N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law § 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.