Pursuant to § 8-0113, Article
I, of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law, the Town Board of the Town of Shandaken, County of Ulster, New York, adopts the following regulations for the purpose of implementing the provisions of Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law, which requires environmental quality review of public actions which may have a significant effect on the environment. These shall be known and may be cited as the "Town of Shandaken SEQR Regulations."
The State Legislature has established state
policy "to encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man
and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate
damage to the environment and enhance human and community resources;
and to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems, natural
human and community resources important to the people of the state."
A. The basic purposes of the State Environmental Quality
Review Act (SEQR) are: to incorporate environmental factors into the
existing planning and decision-making processes of state, regional
and local agencies at the earliest possible time; to have all agencies
conduct their affairs with an awareness that they are stewards of
the air, water, land and living resources; and to have agencies recognize
that they have an obligation to protect the environment for the use
and enjoyment of this and all future generations.
B. The state SEQR regulations indicate that it is intended
that the protection and enhancement of the environment, as well as
human and community resources, should be given appropriate weight
with social and economic considerations in public policy, and that
these factors be considered together in reaching decisions on proposed
activities.
C. Accordingly, it is the intention of these regulations
that a suitable balance of social, economic and environmental factors
be incorporated into the planning and decision-making processes of
local agencies; it is not the intention of SEQR that environmental
factors be the sole consideration in decision-making.
D. Further, these regulations shall not deprive any agency
of its existing jurisdiction or authority; nor shall these authorize
any agency to review and/or approve actions by other public agencies
except as may be provided by other legislation.
E. It is also understood that the SEQR process is to
be integrated into existing agency procedures so as not to result
in unnecessary delays in planning and decision-making, but to expedite
agency decision-making and to assist agencies in making more informed
decisions.
No decision to carry out or approve an action other than an action listed in Article
II, §§
A118-7,
A118-8 and
A118-9, hereof shall be made by the local agency until there has been full compliance with all requirements of these regulations and Part 617 of Title 6 of NYCRR; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting:
A. The conducting of contemporaneous environmental, engineering,
economic feasibility or other studies and preliminary planning and
budgetary processes necessary to the formulation of a proposal for
action which does not commit the municipality to approve, commence
or engage in such action; or
B. The granting of any part of an application which relates
only to technical specifications and requirements, provided that no
such partial approval shall entitle or permit the applicant to commence
the action until all requirements of these regulations and Part 617
of Title 6 of NYCRR have been fulfilled.
The local agency shall maintain files open for
public inspection of all notices of completion, all draft and final
environmental impact statements and all written determinations prepared
or caused to be prepared by the local agency pursuant to these regulations.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain words
and terms used herein are defined as follows:
ACTION
Projects or activities undertaken by any agency; or projects
supported in whole or in part through contracts, grants, subsidies,
loans or other forms of funding assistance from one or more agencies;
or projects involving the issuance to a person of a lease, permit,
license, certificate or other entitlement for use or permission to
act by one or more agencies; and policy, regulations and procedure-making.
It covers any activity of an agency, except Type II and exempt actions
as listed herein, including, without limitation:
A.
Physical activities such as construction or
other activities which change the use or appearance of any natural
resource or a structure.
B.
Funding activities such as the proposing, approval
or disapproval of contracts, grants, subsidies, loans, tax abatements
or exemptions or other forms of direct or indirect financial assistance.
C.
Licensing activities such as the proposing,
approval or disapproval of a lease, permit, license, certificate or
other entitlement for use or permission to act.
D.
Planning activities such as site selection for
other activities and the proposing, approval or disapproval of master
or long-range plans, zoning or other land use maps, ordinances or
regulations, development plans or other plans designed to provide
a program for future activities.
E.
Policy-making activities such as the making,
modification or establishment of rules, regulations, procedures, policy
and guidelines.
AGENCY
Any state or local agency.
APPLICANT
Any person making an application or other request for agency
action.
COMMISSIONER
The Commissioner of Environmental Conservation.
DEPARTMENT
The Department of Environmental Conservation.
DIRECT ACTIONS
Actions directly undertaken by the local agency, whether
or not such actions are supported in whole or in part through contracts,
grants, subsidies, loans or other forms of funding assistance from
one or more state agencies; and actions supported in whole or in part
through contracts, grants, subsidies, loans or other forms of funding
assistance from one or more local agencies.
ENTITLEMENT ACTIONS
Actions involving the public issuance by the local agency
of a lease, permit, certificate or other entitlement to a person for
use or permission to act.
ENVIRONMENT
The physical conditions which will be affected by a proposed
action, including land, air, water, minerals, flora, fauna, noise,
objects of historic or aesthetic significance, existing patterns of
population concentration, distribution or growth and existing community
or neighborhood character.
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
A detailed written statement setting forth the matters specified in Articles
V and
VII of these regulations, including any comments received on draft environmental statement as well as the local agency's response to such comments, to the extent that such comments raise issues not adequately resolved in the draft environmental statement.
LOCAL AGENCY
The governing body and/or any department, officer, agency,
board, district commission of the Town of Shandaken, County of Ulster,
New York, which has authority to undertake or permit an action as
defined herein.
MINISTERIAL ACTION
An action performed upon a given state of facts in a prescribed
manner imposed by law without the exercise of any judgment or discretion
as to the property of the action, such as the grant of a driver's
license, although such law may require, in some degree, a construction
of its language or intent.
MUNICIPALITY
The Town of Shandaken, County of Ulster, New York.
NYCRR
The New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
PERSON
Any agency, individual, corporation, governmental entity,
partnership, association, trustee or other legal entity.
STATE AGENCY
Any state department, agency, board, public benefit corporation,
public authority or commission.
TYPICAL ASSOCIATED ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
Changes in one or more natural resources which usually occur
because of impacts on other such resources as a result of natural
interrelationships or cycles. For example, the diminution of a predator
population is typically associated with the increase in a prey population.