SEQRA Change Proposed - SuffolkJournal.com

Changes to State Environmental Quality Review Act Proposed

August 27, 2001

In a move that should warm the hearts of environmentalists across the county, New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele (R-Sag Harbor) has proposed legislation in the New York State Assembly which would give citizens, civic groups, and environmental groups greater access to the courts if they choose to challenge development proposals which would have adverse environmental impacts.

According to Thiele, the trend of court decisions over the past few years has shut the public out of the judicial process on procedural or technical grounds. The result is that the environmental challenges allowed under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) are often not considered on the merits by the state courts.

Thiele says, "From the birth of the environmental movement in the early 1970s, the courts have played a vital role in efforts to protect the environment. When state and local government have ignored their legal responsibility to protect the environment the courts have been a check on governmental failures. The preservation of the Central Pine Barrens is a key example where the courts spurred on the State Legislature to take the necessary action to preserve 50,000 acres of critical open space and watershed property. However, lately courts are increasingly using procedural tactics such as standing and the statute of limitations to dispose of cases without reaching the merits. The result is that the courts are seldom an avenue which citizens can access to obtain environmental justice."

The legislation Thiele has sponsored would reform significantly change the existing law. It would provide judicial access to citizens challenging development projects under SEQRA which adversely impact the environment, clarifies the rules for bringing such litigation, provides for an automatic stay against the developer from proceeding with a project until the litigation is complete.

The reform would occur upon implementation of four changes:

First, "standing" would be redefined. Any resident, taxpayer or civic group located in a town, village or city would be granted the requisite standing to maintain an environmental lawsuit against an action within that municipality. Any environmental group whose certificate of incorporation states that the purpose of the group is environmental protection within a geographic area would have also standing to maintain an action in that geographic area. In addition, adjoining local governments would also have standing to maintain an environmental suit.

Second, the "statute of limitations" for such actions would be changed. Thiele's act provides for a uniform statute of limitations of four months for all SEQR actions, replacing existing law which provides for a range of time periods from one to four months which, he says, is often confusing for citizens. "One month is often too short a period for citizens to act to bring environmental litigation," he said.

Third, the act provides that environmental litigation involving a municipal decision regarding subdivision may be brought either at preliminary or final approval, but not both unless the preliminary plat has been substantially changed. Current case law mandates that a suit can only be brought after preliminary approval.

Finally, it would prohibit any development activity from proceeding after environmental litigation has begun, until there has been a final decision on the merits. According to Thiele, current law states that citizens must often post an expensive bond to obtain a stay, which generally precludes them from even seeking one. Under the new legislation citizens would still remain liable for damages if the litigation was determined to be frivolous by a court.

"In recent years we have seen valuable open spaces lost. Parrish Pond and Gold at the Bridge are examples. They were lost not because the cases were not meritorious, but because of some procedural technicality. My bill would ensure that such technicalities will not prevent justice in the future."