BILL
SUBJECT
DATE
The Business Council opposes S.10003/A.11051, legislation that would target the renewal of the mining permit for the Cargill salt mine in the towns of Covert, Lansing, and Ulysses in the Finger Lakes region by subjecting it to extraordinary review requirements and costly additional permit conditions.
This legislation would represent a likely unprecedented action by statutorily mandating that a targeted permit renewal be deemed to have a significant environmental impact, thereby requiring preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR). Under existing SEQR regulations, “license, lease, and permit renewals, or transfers of ownership thereof, where there will be no material change in permit conditions or the scope of permitted activities,” are classified as Type II actions, which do not require an EIS. This designation reflects the State’s determination that such actions do not have the potential for significant adverse environmental impacts. Consistent with this framework, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), acting as lead agency, has determined that the Cayuga Salt Mine’s proposed permit modification will not and the recently approved mined land permit renewal does not have a significant adverse environmental impact.
The justification offered in the sponsor’s memorandum is also misleading. The claim that Cayuga Lake is “saltier than nearly all the other Finger Lakes” is not supported by available state data. According to the DEC’s most recent Finger Lakes Water Quality Report, chloride levels in Cayuga Lake have declined since 1970 and are comparable to other Finger Lakes. The highest chloride concentrations are reported in Seneca Lake and Conesus Lake, not Cayuga Lake. The report further explains that chloride levels vary due to natural conditions, including geology and soils, as well as external factors such as road deicing, stormwater runoff, and other sources. Importantly, chloride concentrations in all Finger Lakes remain well below the State’s drinking water standards.
The legislation would also impose extraordinary financial assurance requirements as a condition of permit renewal. The company has indicated that such requirements could be prohibitively expensive and potentially unavailable in the marketplace, with costs that could exceed the economic value of the mine. Imposing such conditions risks effectively precluding permit renewal, which would eliminate production of approximately two million tons of salt annually—more than half of which is supplied to New York State for winter road maintenance.
New York State has well-established and scientifically grounded processes for environmental review and permit issuance and renewal. The Business Council is deeply concerned with legislative proposals that circumvent these processes by imposing project-specific mandates and substituting legislative judgment for agency expertise.
For these reasons, The Business Council respectfully opposes S.10003/A.11051