Research: Topics: Environment: Guide to Documenting Environmental Affairs in New York
A Guide to Documenting Environmental Affairs in New York State
Appendix A: Priority Subject Areas for Documentation
To be considered priorities for documentation, topics should fall within one or more of these themes AND meet criteria for statewide impact and significance. Possible subtopics recommended for documentation include—but are not limited to—those listed under each theme.
This broad category covers all the ways land is used and the related policies and practices that govern land use. Many land use decisions do not necessarily have important environmental dimensions (for example, set-back requirements for urban buildings), and most are based on a range of considerations, such as economic development, infrastructure requirements, and so on. However, the environmental implications of land use decisions are often significant, and since 1975 most have been subject to environmental regulation or review. While land use questions are inherently local, the aggregate effects of thousands of local decisions are often profound — farmland preservation or loss, reforestation or deforestation, urban-suburban sprawl, pollution of soil, water, and air. Land use was considered a top priority for documentation by every group consulted on this project. Some land use issues, such as the establishment of the state park system, are statewide in their impact and should be documented. Some local issues or events may have been precedent-setting or otherwise have statewide significance. Finally, for broad issues such as the examples listed below, it is important from a statewide perspective to document representative cases from different regions or that raise distinctive issues.
- Parks, open space, greenways
- Forest and farmland preservation
- Brownfield reclamation
- Mined land permitting and reclamation
- Urban and suburban development/sprawl
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Lakes, Rivers, Coastal Zones, and Wetlands
This category overlaps significantly with land use, and the same principles apply, but it focuses on use issues in the areas where land and water meet.
- Wild and scenic rivers and lakes
- Public navigation of rivers
- Fisheries
- Coastal zone/waterfront reclamation and management
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Water — Quantity/Quality/Pollution
Water is ubiquitous in New York, in its lakes, reservoirs, ponds, rivers, streams, and wetlands; in the lakes, harbors, and oceans of its coastlines; and in the ground. Human use of water for drinking, irrigation, transportation, recreation, power, cooling, the transport of waste, and other functions in ways that preserve its quality, quantity, beauty, and the ecosystems it supports and of which it is a part has proven a formidable challenge. Important topics for documentation include but aren’t limited to: the development of regional and statewide systems or approaches to water supply, waste water treatment, pollution prevention or amelioration, and the like; and particular water-related issues or events that have statewide significance.
- Drinking water quantity and quality
- Pollution of ground and surface water
- Agricultural pollutants — fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, animal waste
- Watershed management
- Sewage treatment
- Infrastructure: dams, canals, tunnels
Wind and the circulation of air make air quality and pollution an interstate and international as well as a statewide issue for New York. It can also be an important local and regional issue in metropolitan areas. Much of the activity in New York in recent years has been centered around obtaining passage or battling over enforcement of clean air laws, statewide and in metropolitan areas, beginning with the Federal Clean Air Act of 1970. While the laws and regulations themselves are documented, the citizen activism, responses to it, pro and con, and the background to litigation are potential areas for important documentation.
- Point-source pollution (power plants, etc)
- Non-point-source (automotive emissions, etc.)
- Acid precipitation
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Most of the energy-related environmental activity in New York has been centered around opposition to nuclear power plants at Indian Point and elsewhere on the Hudson River, Shoreham on Long Island, Milliken Station on Cayuga Lake, and on Lake Ontario, and the siting and environmental impacts of conventional power plants, particularly along the Hudson River. In 2001, in response to the threat of electric power shortages in the New York metropolitan region, new power plants are being proposed for the first time in decades. Most of these proposals are the subject of ongoing political and legal controversy. Meanwhile, renewable and alternative energy development research and business are growing in New York and are largely undocumented.
- Nuclear power
- Power plant, transmission line, gas line sitings
- Renewable energy development
Solid and Hazardous Waste Disposal
Landfill and incinerator controversies are inherently local or regional, but they have been significant statewide. The low level radioactive waste storage and disposal siting issue in the mid-1990s provoked controversy throughout Upstate New York, especially in the five communities that were being considered as sites. The growth of recycling in New York has involved local government curbside pick-up and transfer facilities, implementation of the still-controversial bottle bill, establishment of recycling businesses and business associations, and the engagement of non-profit organizations throughout the state. Closing in 2002 of the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, the largest landfill in the world, is an especially significant event, forcing New York City to export all its solid waste. The City is now in the midst of controversies over the siting of transfer stations to process the waste for export. In upstate New York battles continue over the siting of new landfills to receive this waste, particularly in the western region, which already has by far the highest concentration of landfills in the state.
- Land fill siting, battles, closures
- Incinerator controversies
- Low level radioactive waste disposal
- Recycling
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Toxic chemical wastes have been a byproduct of industry throughout the twentieth century, and until the 1970s, they were usually discharged indiscriminately into the air, water, and soil, particularly before their dangers to the environment and public health were known. As deindustrialization spread across New York, the state was left with a multi-billion-dollar cleanup problem. The current efforts to stimulate and regulate the reclamation of "brownfields," often located in poor, waterfront neighborhoods or former industrial sites, for economic and community development is the most recent chapter of this ongoing story. Assessing the degree of danger and damage to the environment and public health from toxic and persistent pollution, assigning responsibility for the costs and work of cleanup, raising the money, and getting the work done have been contentious processes. They have engaged state and local legislatures, state agencies (especially the DEC and the Department of Health), citizen groups from ad hoc grassroots organizations to statewide and national ones, industrial companies, and myriad environmental businesses that have developed the technologies for pollution control, containment and cleanup and have been responsible for carrying out the work. While significant parts of the history are documented in the relevant state agencies, the work of citizen and non-profit groups, corporations, and environmental businesses is severely underdocumented.
- Pesticides, Love Canal, PCBs
- Lead in fuels and paint
- Phosphorus in detergents
- Industrial pollutants, brownfields, Superfund
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This topic area covers the full range of human impact on the ecosystems of New York and the plants and animals that inhabit them. Fish and wildlife management has been the responsibility of state government (currently the DEC) for most of the twentieth century. Biodiversity in particular regions is adversely affected by habitat loss or destruction, invasive species, and by pollutants such as acid precipitation and PCBs (covered under other thematic headings). Bioengineering as a potential environmental and public health threat is an emerging issue in New York and nationwide; it may come to merit statewide documentation in the near future, depending on developments in New York.
- Fish and wildlife management
- Endangered species protection
- Habitat loss and protection
- Invasive species
- Bioengineering in food and agriculture
Since the nineteenth century outdoor recreation has been one of the forces that has brought people into the wild and scenic areas of the state and stimulated interest in their conservation and preservation; it has also been an important source of impact on the environment in these areas. Recreation groups and other environmental groups have sometimes been on the same side of environmental issues, sometimes on different sides, as policy makers seek to balance access and use of natural areas against the need to protect them from overuse. Providing access to wild and scenic areas for people with disabilities is another dimension of this issue. While the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation develop and administer the regulations in this area and maintain a documentary record of its activities, the many sporting clubs, environmental organizations and businesses related to these issues are generally not well documented.
- Hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, birding, skiing, snowmobiling, boating, and the use of other motorized vehicles, etc.
- Related land acquisition, trail and water access development
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Concerns about the impacts of pollution and other environmental factors on human health, both proven and unproven, are profound and have stimulated much of the urgency and activity in environmental affairs in recent years. Sources of contamination have included pollution of the air, water, and soil, and toxic materials in schools, workplaces, and residences. Scientific research, legislation and regulation, amelioration, public education, citizen action through organizations, and the development and implementation of technologies for prevention and remediation have been significant aspects of the public health dimension of environmental affairs. Below is a partial list of public health issues related to environmental factors.
- Asthma and other respiratory disease
- Neurological disorders
- Lead and mercury poisoning
- Asbestos
- Carcinogenic chemicals
- Radon
- Genetically engineered foods
Environmental justice refers to efforts to redress the disproportionate impact of environmental issues and policies on communities of color and low-income communities. Organized efforts to promote environmental justice under this rubric are concentrated in urban areas, but efforts by low-income rural communities to oppose the siting of solid and hazardous waste facilities in their communities are also relevant to this topic area.
- Solid waste, hazardous waste: siting of landfills, transfer stations, and other facilities, urban and rural
- Air and water pollution: concentration of polluting industries and transportation in low-income communities
- Concentrations of lead, pesticides, other pollutants, and brownfields in low-income communities
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Development and Implementation of Environmental Laws and Regulations
Environmental affairs in New York since the 1970s have been shaped in large part by the federal, state, and local laws and regulations designed to prevent further environmental damage and ameliorate the effects of existing damage. New York environmental law has in many cases set national and international precedents. New York State enacted the first "forever wild" wilderness area designation for protected lands in the world, with Article 14 of the NYS Constitution (1894). It inspired the federal Wilderness Act (1965) and such legislation in other nations. New York was the first state to codify the conservation law and the first to set up a sustained law enforcement system (original fish & wildlife officers and forest rangers). New York set up the first state park system in the nation and enacted the first statutory greenway law.
While the laws and regulations themselves are generally well documented, the processes that led to their passage are usually not. The work of citizen and corporate advocacy and action groups, the background to litigation, records of public hearings and other data-gathering mechanisms leading to policy decisions are often absent from the historical record. Similarly, non-governmental organizations involved with the sometimes controversial implementation of policy and regulation are usually poorly represented in the historical record.
- Phosphorus Detergent Ban 1971
- Environmental Quality Bond Act 1972, 1986, and subsequent bond acts
- State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) 1975
- Tidal Wetlands Act and Fresh Water Wetlands Act 1973, 1975
- State Superfund law 1982
- Conservation Easement Act 1983
- Returnable Container Law (bottle bill) 1983
- State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) 1972
- Establishment of authorities
- Local laws and regulations
- Relationship between federal and state legislation and regulation
- Legislative and executive environmental committees, commissions
- Permitting, enforcement
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Scientific research and the development of new technologies have been part of the foundation for both the understanding of environmental issues (e.g., development of the ability to measure chemicals in water, air, and soil in ever smaller concentrations) and the implementation of policies and regulations (e.g., development of the PCV valve that regulates auto emissions, a joint project of DEC and a private company). Scientific studies have often provided important data for environmental impact statements, data that may be permanently valuable independent of its use in the EIS. Competing interpretations of scientific research and technology are often at the heart of environmental controversies, as is the case with genetically engineered food. Where research data have been summarized in a report, in some cases the summary may include adequate detail, and the original data may be destroyed; in others, the raw data or a more detailed summary should be kept permanently.
- Research that establishes environmental baselines, measures environmental change, or assesses environmental conditions
- Research and development of technologies for environmental amelioration (pollution control, waste treatment or containment, etc.)
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Beginning with the 1965 Storm King Mountain lawsuit, which established the right of citizens to sue on environmental grounds, litigation has been an extremely important force in environmental affairs in New York, and environmental law has become a major branch of the legal profession. Some lawsuits have formed the legal basis for subsequent law, and litigation has been a central mechanism for enforcement of existing environmental law. Several non-profit organizations formed to take legal action on issues in New York went on to become national and international organizations with hundreds of thousands of members. Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council are two of the most prominent.
Although official court documents are kept and most are in the public domain, many of the files and documents that reveal the thinking, arguments, and strategies behind litigation are in the offices (or warehouses) of the parties or their lawyers. Many are subject to attorney-client privilege, but others could be collected and become part of the documentary record. Below is a list of some of the most significant lawsuits that have set legal precedents, clarified important issues, or had major and lasting impact on environmental affairs.
- Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks v. McDonald (Enforced "forever wild" provisions of the NYS Constitution, enjoining the construction of a bobsled run on state land that had been proposed for the 1932 Winter Olympics, 1930.)
- Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission. (Storm King Mountain case, which established the right of citizens to sue on environmental grounds, 1965-1980.)
- Hudson River Fishermen's Association v. various polluters (First cases to systematically use federal courts to stop polluters, first under the 1899 Refuse Act, later under the Clean Water Act; some cases were filed by HRFA, some by the U.S. Attorney’s Office based on evidence provided by the HRFA., 1970-1972.)
- The Westway Highway litigation (Manhattan, long-standing fight to protect access to the Hudson, 1972-1985.)
- Friends of the Earth v Carey (Three early cases enforcing the State Air Quality Implementation Plan, 1974-1977.)
- Mohonk Trust v. Board of Assessors of the Town of Gardiner (The State Court of Appeals ruled that the maintenance by private not-for-profit organizations of conservation and wilderness areas open for public use qualified as a charitable use and thus are entitled to exemption from local real estate taxation, 1979.)
- Love Canal cases (1979-1992)
- Long Island Pine Barrens Society v. Town of Brookhaven (Concerning cumulative impact review under SEQRA, 1992.)
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Citizen Action through Organizations and Government
The environmental laws of the 1970s grew out of the efforts of determined groups of citizens — lawyers; advocacy, protest, and lobbying groups; and fund-raisers, and in subsequent decades, these same kinds of organizations pushed for enforcement of the laws locally, regionally, and statewide. Other groups and organizations have delivered environmental education to children and adults in schools, parks, and nature centers. Land trusts, New York chapters of national organizations, and other New York State organizations have protected or restored thousands of acres of land, wetlands, and rivers. Ad hoc groups have formed to address a single issue, such as the building of a nuclear power plant, then disbanded once the issue was resolved; some such groups have shed their ad hoc status, embracing other issues and becoming established organizations locally, statewide, or even nationally. Outdoor sports and recreation organizations have done everything from activism and advocacy around policy issues to maintaining wilderness trails to educating their members in environmental stewardship. In the face of environmental initiatives that appear to threaten the property rights, economic wellbeing, cultural values, or ways of life of people or communities, organizations have arisen to oppose environmental regulations or policies, and existing organizations with broader missions have added these issues to their agendas.
It is not possible or necessary to document all the organizations that have engaged in environmental affairs over the years, but the historical record should include documentation of the organizations that meet the criteria for statewide priority and representative organizations with local or regional significance that in the aggregate will give a picture of the history of environmental affairs as a whole in New York. Currently, with some notable exceptions, the documentation of organizations (groups and non-profits) is very weak.
- Growth of the citizen environmental movement
- New York roots and activities of national environmental organizations
- Environmental organizations that operate statewide or whose activities have had statewide impact or influence
- Exemplary organizations of local or regional significance that are representative of local organizations with similar interests statewide
- Environmental Management Councils, Conservation Advisory Committees, and related statewide umbrella organizations
- Citizen groups and organizations opposed to environmental organizations, proposals, policies
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Roles of Business and Corporations
Businesses and corporations have played varied and important roles in environmental affairs over the years. They have helped shape environmental policy. Large and small, they have been among the principal focal points of environmental laws and regulations governing pollution, energy production and use, and land use. They have also been parties to key litigation in these same areas, often regarding regulatory interpretation and compliance. Business has often been in partnership with government to research and develop the methods and technologies for implementing environmental regulations (e.g., toxic waste clean-up and toxic emissions control), and an entire branch of industry has sprouted to provide environmental research, design, engineering, manufacturing, waste removal, recycling, and so on. The manufacture, marketing, distribution, and retailing of "environmentally friendly" or "green" products has grown rapidly; New York is leading in the development of "green" building, and organic farming practices are increasing in New York State.
This broad array of business involvement with environmental affairs is poorly represented in the documentary record. In addition to the issues of time, resources, and interest, which business shares with the non-profit sector, two additional factors limit the willingness of many businesses to make records publicly accessible: fear of aiding competition or incurring litigation. Nevertheless, many businesses have an interest — often not yet recognized — in leaving a documentary legacy that represents their case and their roles in environmental affairs as they would like to see them recorded. This may be particularly true for businesses that have successfully and profitably incorporated environmentally friendly policies and programs into their business practices. Successful documentation of the business sector has occurred in other states (Minnesota is a particularly good example), and it should be part of a comprehensive approach to documentation of environmental affairs in New York.
- Regulatory compliance or non-compliance
- Corporate opposition to environmental regulation or policy
- "Green" business practices, environmental initiatives
- Business organizations or associations that address environmental issues
- Environmental businesses
- Organic farming
- Consulting, engineering, manufacturing, waste removal, retail, etc.
- Partnerships with government
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Environmental Education and Technical Assistance
Public understanding of environmental affairs has been furthered over the years by programs and activities in environmental education offered in many formats and organizational settings and for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Individuals who have become leaders in environmental affairs may trace their initial interest and knowledge to such programs. Once commonly known as "nature studies," the topic has broadened enormously. For the purposes of this guide, environmental education focuses on those topics that deal with humans’ relationship with and impact upon the environment, not on the study of biology, zoology, or natural history independent of the human connection. (See What do we mean by Environmental Affairs). A related function has been technical assistance provided by state government agencies to local governments addressing environmental issues. This theme encompasses, but is not limited to, the following:
- Environmental education organizations such as nature centers
- Environmental education programs of museums, zoos, and other organizations
- Environmental education programs in state parks, environmental centers and other government sites
- Environmental education programs and courses in primary and secondary schools
- Environmental education programs, centers, and courses in higher education
- Technical assistance programs in environmental affairs
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Funding, Public and Private, of Environmental Affairs
The engine of environmental affairs is fueled by the commitment, energy and action of people and by money. How, from whom, and why money has been allocated to support or oppose environmental activities constitutes an important part of the history of environmental affairs in New York.
Documentation of government funding as revealed in approved budgets is publicly available, and the grant guidelines and lists of projects funded by government agencies are usually published. Similarly the guidelines and grants lists from major corporations and foundations are usually published. However, the record of how and why allocation decisions were made is largely absent.
- State and local government funding of environmental agencies and programs
- Foundation and corporate support of non-profit organizations
- Individual support, both large contributions and small to organizations engaged in environmental affairs.
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The following seven events and issues are given top priority because of their enormous statewide impact, their engagement of multiple facets of environmental affairs, their long duration, and/or their national significance. Other events and issues that meet the thematic and statewide-significance criteria can also be considered priorities for documentation.
- Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves
and Adirondack Park (1885 — )
The creation of the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves in 1885 was the first big milestone in a long and contentious struggle over the fate of New York’s forests that had begun about thirty years earlier and continues to this day. Should the forests be a short term resource to be exploited at will until they are used up, "factories of wood" conserved and scientifically managed for maximum sustainable yield, or lands preserved and kept "forever wild" for recreation and their intrinsic value as wilderness? What impacts would forest policies have on the state’s and regions’ economies, on the state’s watersheds, on the lives and wellbeing and rights of people living and working there? The issues broadened to include concern about impacts on rivers and lakes and the full range of ecosystems in the forest regions. The changing understandings of and answers to these and related questions over the years have shaped the history of vast tracts of New York lands, public and private, both within the preserves and throughout the state; they have both created solutions unique to New York State and set precedents for national policy and emulation by other states.
- Creation of the preserves and parks, "forever wild" clause in NYS Constitution 1885-94
- Panther Mt./Moose River dams battle 1945-55
- Creation of Adirondack Park Agency 1971
- Ongoing controversies over land use
- New York City/Croton/Catskills/Delaware
water supply system (1905 —)
In 1905, New York City needed more drinking water than its Croton reservoirs in Westchester County could hold. It spent massive sums to create a huge system of reservoirs and tunnels beginning in the Catskills, and in the process forced hundreds of residents off their land, submerging entire villages. When the tunnels were filled in 1927, the City had a permanent reason to further restrict growth in the huge region that gave it pure water. That region expanded enormously upon completion of the Delaware watershed system in 1967. The new Tunnel #3 from Croton to NYC, the largest engineering project in the City’s history, is still under construction. In an effort to avoid building expensive filtration plants for New York City water following new EPA regulations in 1989, the City negotiated with Catskills towns, villages, and organizations for six years before reaching a voluntary agreement to adopt measures that would protect the reservoirs from agricultural runoff and other pollutants while preserving the agricultural economy and ways of life in the region. The implementation of these agreements has led to ongoing controversies over land development proposals. Throughout the 20th century, the complex and far-reaching environmental, social, political, economic, scientific, and engineering issues inherent in this massive system have engaged government at all levels and hundreds of citizen groups and non-profit organizations.
- Construction of the Catskills-NYC system of reservoirs and tunnels, 1905-27
- Construction of the Delaware-NYC system of reservoirs and tunnels, 1936-67
- Construction of the Croton-NYC Tunnel #3 1970 —
- EPA drinking water rules requiring filtration or watershed protection, 1989
- Watershed Memorandum of Agreement 1996
- Robert Moses: Shaping New York’s
Landscape (1924-1968)
Robert Moses probably did more than any other single person to change the landscape of New York in the twentieth century. Between 1924 and 1968, he headed dozens of appointed commissions and authorities that built power plants, dams, bridges, and highways; changed the courses of the St. Lawrence and Niagara Rivers; filled in thousands of acres of marshland around New York City and filled the new lands with houses and roads; created 27,000 acres of parks in New York City and Long Island alone. As executive director of the State Council of Parks he greatly expanded and rebuilt the state park system and built parkways to provide easy access to them.
- State and New York City Park Systems
- State Power Authority and other authorities
- NYC transportation infrastructure (bridges, parkways, tunnels)
- Hudson River (1900—)
The Hudson River has been the locus for some of the most important environmental issues of the 20th century in New York, spawning landmark laws, lawsuits, and organizations large and small. The effort to save the Palisades from limestone quarrying led to the creation of Palisades Interstate Park System in 1900. In 1947 General Electric began dumping PCBs and other chemicals into the river, joining a host of other factories and municipalities that discharged all manner of chemicals and sewage there. Over the years, the river grew increasingly polluted, its fisheries destroyed, its scenic majesty threatened, its waters a danger to humans and other living things. In 1965, a group of citizens and lawyers brought suit against the Federal Power Commission to stop the proposed Storm King Mountain pumped water storage project. The group won the suit, establishing for the first time anywhere the right of citizens to sue a utility on environmental grounds. The suit was argued and won mainly on the basis of threats to the scenic beauty of the area, but the focus soon shifted to the deleterious impact of such projects on the river itself. Lawyers from that case went on to found the Natural Resources Defense Council; three major local environmental organizations, Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper, and Clearwater, emerged and continue to thrive thirty years later. Construction of the Indian Point nuclear power plant and proposals for numerous other power facilities along the river generated intense citizen opposition, both to nuclear power in general and to the building of more power plants along the river. The current controversy about whether to dredge the PCBs from the river bottom is but the latest chapter in the saga of the Hudson River and the environment.
- Army Corps of Engineers dredging
- Industrial pollution (including PCBs)
- Storm King Mountain pumped water storage project,
- Power plant sitings
- Wastewater treatment plants, making the river safe for swimming
- Pesticides (1962 —)
The dangers of pesticides to beings other than pests was first brought to national attention by Rachel Carson in the New Yorker and later in her book, Silent Spring. In 1966, a small group on Long Island brought suit to stop the use of DDT to control mosquitoes in Suffolk County, aided by a handful of lawyers and scientists. Their small victory attracted national attention and requests for help, leading them to form the Environmental Defense Fund. Its efforts led to the statewide ban of DDT in 1971 and a federal ban in 1972. Other pesticides came under state control in subsequent years. Meanwhile researchers at Cornell University and elsewhere began looking for less toxic ways to control pests and for ways to restore wildlife populations that had been damaged by DDT. One result was the beginning of organic farming in New York. Pesticides remain a potent and ubiquitous environmental and public health issue, their use contested in agriculture, on suburban lawns, and in urban apartment buildings.
- National Audubon Society opposition to DDT, support of wildlife population restoration
- Long Island case against DDT leads to founding of Environmental Defense Fund
- Banning of DDT and 29 other toxic and persistent pesticides in NYS in 1971, federal ban in 1972.
- Love Canal (1942 —)
On August 10, 1977, Niagara Falls Gazette reporter Michael Brown published the first front-page story about Love Canal, a working-class neighborhood where slimy black ooze of toxic chemicals from an abandoned industrial dump was coming back to the surface and seeping through basement walls. Benzene and other toxic chemicals from a Hooker Chemical plant, which had been deposited there beginning in 1942, seemed to be causing a high incidence of miscarriages, leukemia, and childhood diseases. Citizens organizations formed in response to the crisis. They helped shape the debate and pressured government to act. The DEC and the State Department of Health became deeply involved in and tested by the controversy, as did the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The issue drew national attention, and Lois Gibbs, a determined young woman in the neighborhood, rose to national prominence as a leader and symbol of the power of citizen action. The issue played out over the next decade in the state, national, and international news, attracting journalists from around the world and becoming a leading story in many countries. It has had a broad and lasting statewide and national impact. It led to the first statewide survey of toxic waste sites and to the establishment of the State Superfund hazardous waste cleanup program, which became a model for the federal Superfund. It gave rise to a revolution in the chemical industry, most of whose companies undertook major changes in the ways they bought, stored, used, and disposed of chemicals. It stimulated citizen action in New York and elsewhere, and it dramatically raised public awareness of hazardous waste issues. Clean-up and remediation agreements, controversies, and other ramifications from the issue continue to this day.
Two government agencies are singled out here as priorities for documentation. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is a priority because of its extraordinary impact statewide, the range of its activities, and because it holds voluminous records, such as environmental impact statements, that contain valuable scientific data and public policy information from every part of the state. The range of predecessor agencies that carried out many of DEC’s functions before its creation in 1970 are also a significant part of this topic area, as are entities such as the State Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Bureau of the Office of the Attorney General.
The State Archives works closely with the DEC to appraise and schedule its records, transferring to the Archives those deemed permanently valuable. (This means that in most cases, communications received by other organizations and businesses from the DEC are unlikely to be historically valuable, unless they document important aspects of the organization’s relationship with DEC.)
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) performs similar functions for the city. Because it addresses environmental issues that directly affect nearly half the state’s population, and parts of the infrastructure it controls (principally the water supply system) extend across broad areas of the state, it is an important priority for statewide documentation. The DEP has its own archives and is in the process of appraising its records agency-wide to determine which have permanent historical value and should be transferred to the archives.
- New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and predecessors
- New York City Department of Environmental Protection
