New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 21 - Miscellaneous
Chapter XLI - Jones Beach State Parkway Authority
Part 2500 - Implementation State Environmental Quality Review Act
Section 2500.2 - Definitions

Universal Citation: 21 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 2500.2

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024

(a) The following definitions include terminology defined in section 8-0105 of article 8, in 6 NYCRR 617.13 and in 6 NYCRR 618.2 together with additional terminology utilized by the Jones Beach State Parkway Authority that are relevant to this Part.

(b) Chairman means the chairman of the board of the Jones Beach State Parkway Authority.

(c) Authority means the Jones Beach State Parkway Authority.

(d) Applicant means any person making application or request for action by the authority.

(e) Agency means any State department, agency, board, public benefit corporation, public authority or commission or any local agency, including any village, town, city, county, board, district, commission, governing body and other political subdivision of the State.

(f) Action means any activity of the authority, except an exempt action as defined in this section, including, without limitation the following:

(1) physical activities that alter the use, makeup, form, structure or appearance of a naturally occurring, synthesized or artificially sustained natural resource or change the use of man-made structure;

(2) 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;

(3) licensing activities such as the proposing, approval or disapproval of a lease, permit, license, certificate or other entitlement for use or permission to act;

(4) 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;

(5) policy making activities such as making modification, or establishment of rules, regulations, procedures, policies and guidelines; and

(6) tentative approvals as indicated in section 2500.4 of this Part.

(g) Exempt action means any one of the following:

(1) enforcement or criminal proceedings or the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in determining whether or not to institute such proceedings;

(2) ministerial actions such as those performed upon a given state of facts in a prescribed manner imposed by law without exercise of any judgment or discretion as to the propriety of the action, such as the grant of a driver's license;

(3) maintenance or repair involving no substantial change in an existing structure or facility;

(4) actions which are deemed by the commissioner to be immediately necessary on a limited emergency basis for the protection or preservation of life, health, property or natural resources;

(5) actions of the Legislature of the State of New York or of any court;

(6) with respect to the requirements of subdivision (2) of section 8-0109 of article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law, actions requiring a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need under articles VII and VIII of the Public Service Law and the consideration of, grant or denial of any such certificate;

(7) with respect to the requirements of subdivision (2) of section 8-0109 of article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law, actions subject to the jurisdiction of the Adirondack Park Agency pursuant to section 809 of the Executive Law including actions of the Adirondack Park Agency thereunder;

(8) actions subject to the jurisdiction of local governments pursuant to section 808 of the Executive Law including actions of such local governments thereunder;

(9) actions undertaken or approved by the authority prior to the effective date(s) specified in article 8 of Environmental Conservation Law if:
(i) in the case of the modification of an action such modified action does not have a significant adverse effect on the environment or if;

(ii) in the case of an action involving Federal participation an appropriate Federal agency process has been performed under PL 91-190, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, or if;

(iii) the director of the budget has certified, pursuant to section 8-0117, subdivision (2), of article 8 of Environmental Conservation Law, that substantial time, work and money has been expended on the undertaken or approved action.

(h) Environment means 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. It includes naturally occurring, synthesized and artificially sustained terrain features.

(i) Physical activities are those construction, reconstruction, maintenance and emergency actions that involve pavement, trails, structures or terrain features.

(j) Payment is an artificial, manufactured surface, placed on a stabilized and often graded terrain, used primarily for roadways, bikeways, pedestrianways playing courts, transportation corridors, parking lots and other places where a hard, coherent, drained surface is required.

(k) Trails shall mean those trails, fire lines, utility rights-of-way, pathways, logging roads and other roadways with surfaces developed of natural, generally indigenous materials which have alignments that conform approximately to the natural terrain topography and are used by pedestrians, skiers, and equestrians and by recreational, maintenance, security and emergency vehicles.

(l) Structures shall mean those formal man-made features such as buildings, dams, bridges, shore protection works, docks, boat ramps, drainage and water systems, electrical, sanitary and other utility systems, swimming pools, fencing, and all highway appurtenances not considered as pavement.

(m) Terrain features shall mean the natural resources, landscapes, landforms, habitats, flora and fauna that occur in an area or region as the result of: (Examples: the development of a coastal marsh and dune system; climatic revitalization of an upland marsh; the low-intensity use of a revitalization of an upland marsh; the low-intensity use of a foottrail in an otherwise unused section of parkland; the progressional return of native species to areas previously modified by man; the rapid adjustment of terrain features by natural catastrophy after man-assisted stabilization.) (Examples: the changes in species composition and biosystem structure and function resulting from the introduction of non-indigenous features; the changes in such characteristics as drainage, albedo and wind fetch that follow the modification of topography; the gradual obliteration of terrain features as a result of short-range catastrophic or long-range cumulative effects of the activities of man.) (Examples: the surface of golf courses; ornamental plantings on beaches and parkways, trout fisheries in synthetic drainage systems; zoos and wildlife parks, coastal waterways.)

the operation of natural processes under minimum influence of man;

the operation of natural processes in reaction to the influence of man; and,

the operation of a combination of natural and synthetic processes managed by man to sustain terrain features.

(n) Environmental review shall mean the analysis by the authority of an agency or applicant proposed action resulting in: a notice of determination based on information contained in a complete application; or the analysis by the authority of an agency or applicant draft environmental impact statement; or the analysis by parks of an agency or applicant proposed action following the notice of completion of the final environmental impact statement.

(o) Complete application shall mean an application including an environmental assessment which, in the judgment of the authority, contains sufficient information on which to make a decision whether or not to proceed, approve or tentatively approve a proposed action. In the case of an action involving an applicant it shall include the filing of all applications and documents associated with the proposed action that are required pursuant to any statute, rules or regulation unless in the judgment of the authority and relevant regulatory agencies such filing is not feasible or appropriate given the nature of the proposed action. At a minimum, the assessment will include documentation that the applicant has made his proposal known to those regulatory agencies involved and copies of their preliminary approvals and/or reviews will be appended to the assessment. Such agencies include, but are not limited to, local governments, planning boards, and regional, State and Federal agencies.

(p) Environmental assessment shall mean a written analysis submitted to the authority by its applicants that describes and reviews the environmental consequences of the proposed action. It is a complete document containing all necessary citations with all relevant data and information appended. It addresses relevant aspects of each of the components of an environmental impact statement set out in section 2500.11 subdivision (d) of this Part and follows the current guidelines for the preparation of environmental documentation used by the Environmental Management Bureau of the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation. The level of treatment used in the assessment is in keeping with the scope of the proposed action.

(q) Memorandum of review shall mean a memorandum that accompanies an environmental document review notice prepared after the review of a complete application or an agency proposal.

(r) Environmental document review notice shall mean a form that records the review by the authority of various types of environmental documentation. A copy is included in Appendix 41-A of this Title, infra. Based on such reviews this notice indicates one of three possible dispositions:

acceptable, no procedural or substantive objection at this time;

acceptable with reservation, there is or may be some procedural and/or substantive objection as indicated in the attached comments; and,

unacceptable, documents and/or procedures must be modified to relieve the procedural and/or substantive objections indicated in the attached comments.

(s) Environmental impact statement (EIS) shall mean a written report submitted to the authority by an applicant which identifies and analyzes in detail the environmental impacts of the proposed action and feasible alternatives. It contains an analysis of the environmental factors specified in 6 NYCRR 617.6 as they relate to the proposed action and such other information as may be necessary for compliance with 6 NYCRR Part 617 and this Part. The form and content follows section 2500.16 of this Part. An environmental impact statement may be either a "draft" (DEIS) or "final" (FEIS). An environmental assessment submitted to the authority by an applicant, according to this Part, may be used in the preparation of an EIS.

(t) Application date shall mean that date on which the authority acknowledges the receipt of a complete application. The application date begins a 15 day environmental review period leading to the preparation of an environmental document review notice, memorandum of review and a notice of determination.

(u) Notice of determination (NOD) shall mean a formal notification issued by the authority, informing the public and other interested parties of a decision affecting a proposed action. A notice of determination may be issued at one or both of two points in the SEQR process. The first notice of determination indicates whether a draft environmental impact statement will be prepared ("NOD--DEIS"). The second notice of determination, indicates the final agency decision concerning a proposed action ("NOD--FAD").

(v) Notice of completion (NOC) shall mean a formal notification, issued by the authority, informing the public and other parties that either the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) or a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) has been prepared and is now available for public and agency review.

(w) Notice of hearing (NOH) shall mean a formal notification, issued by the authority, that establishes the date, time and location of public hearing called to review the proposed action of the agency or an applicant. This notice shall be published in a newspaper selected by the authority at least 10 days before the hearing date.

(x) Negative declaration shall mean a written announcement prepared by the authority after conducting an environmental review of a proposed action which states that the authority has determined that the action will not have a significant effect on the environment.

(y) Type I action means an action listed in either 6 NYCRR 617.12 or in section 2500.16 of this Part as an action likely to require the preparation of an environmental impact statement in order to review the possible environmental consequences of such an action.

(z) Type II action means an action listed in either 6 NYCRR 617.12 or in section 2500.16 of this Part as actions that are not likely to have a significant effect on the environment.

(aa) Program environmental impact statements (PEIS) shall mean those documents prepared and circulated according to this Part that review the environmental effects of various policies and programs of the authority. These policies and programs will usually, but not always, be of Statewide application and/or significance.

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