Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(c) The following
actions are not subject to review under this Part:
(1) maintenance or repair involving no
substantial changes in an existing structure or facility;
(2) replacement, rehabilitation or
reconstruction of a structure or facility, in kind, on the same site, including
upgrading buildings to meet building, energy, or fire codes unless such action
meets or exceeds any of the thresholds in section
617.4 of this
Part;
(3) retrofit of an existing
structure and its appurtenant areas to incorporate green
infrastructure;
(4) agricultural
farm management practices, including construction, maintenance and repair of
farm buildings and structures, and land use changes consistent with generally
accepted principles of farming;
(5)
repaving of existing highways not involving the addition of new travel
lanes;
(6) street openings and
right-of-way openings for the purpose of repair or maintenance of existing
utility facilities;
(7)
Installation of telecommunication cables in existing highway or utility rights
of way utilizing trenchless burial or aerial placement on existing
poles;
(8) maintenance of existing
landscaping or natural growth;
(9)
construction or expansion of a primary or accessory/appurtenant,
non-residential structure or facility involving less than 4,000 square feet of
gross floor area and not involving a change in zoning or a use variance and
consistent with local land use controls, but not radio communication or
microwave transmission facilities;
(10) routine activities of educational
institutions, including expansion of existing facilities by less than 10,000
square feet of gross floor area and school closings, but not changes in use
related to such closings;
(11)
construction or expansion of a single-family, a two-family or a three-family
residence on an approved lot including provision of necessary utility
connections as provided in paragraph (13) of this subdivision and the
installation, maintenance or upgrade of a drinking water well or a septic
system, or both, and conveyances of land in connection therewith;
(12) construction, expansion or placement of
minor accessory/appurtenant residential structures, including garages,
carports, patios, decks, swimming pools, tennis courts, satellite dishes,
fences, barns, storage sheds or other buildings not changing land use or
density;
(13) extension of utility
distribution facilities, including gas, electric, telephone, cable, water and
sewer connections to render service in approved subdivisions or in connection
with any action on this list;
(14)
Installation of solar energy arrays where such installation involves 25 acres
or less of physical alteration on the following sites:
(i) closed sanitary landfills;
(ii) brownfield sites that have received a
Brownfield Cleanup Program certificate of completion ("COC") pursuant to ECL
§ 27-1419 and 6 NYCRR §
375-3.9
or Environmental Restoration Project sites that have received a COC pursuant to
6 NYCRR §
375-4.9,
where the COC under either program for a particular site has an allowable use
of commercial or industrial, provided that the change of use requirements in 6
NYCRR §
375-1.11(d)
are complied with;
(iii) sites
that have received an inactive hazardous waste disposal site full liability
release or a COC pursuant to 6 NYCRR §
375-2.9,
where the Department has determined an allowable use for a particular site is
commercial or industrial, provided that the change of use requirements in 6
NYCRR §
375-1.11(d)
are complied with;
(iv)
publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities;
(v) sites zoned for industrial use;
and
(vi) parking lots or parking
garages;
(15)
installation of solar energy arrays on an existing structure provided the
structure is not:
(i) listed on the National
or State Register of Historic Places;
(ii) located within a district listed in the
National or State Register of Historic Places;
(iii) been determined by the Commissioner of
the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to be eligible for
listing on the State Register of Historic Places pursuant to sections
14.07 or
14.09 of the Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation Law; or
(iv)
within a district that has been determined by the Commissioner of the Office of
Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to be eligible for listing on the
State Register of Historic Places pursuant to sections
14.07 or
14.09 of the Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation Law;
(16) granting of individual setback and lot
line variances and adjustments;
(17) granting of an area variance for a
single-family, two-family or three-family residence;
(18) Reuse of a residential or commercial
structure, or of a structure containing mixed residential and commercial uses,
where the residential or commercial use is a permitted use under the applicable
zoning law or ordinance, including permitted by special use permit, and the
action does not meet or exceeds any of the thresholds in section
617.4 of this
Part;
(19) the recommendations of a
county or regional planning board or agency pursuant to General Municipal Law
sections
239-m or
239-n;
(20) public or private best forest management
( silviculture) practices on less than 10 acres of land, but not including
waste disposal, land clearing not directly related to forest management,
clear-cutting or the application of herbicides or pesticides;
(21) minor temporary uses of land having
negligible or no permanent impact on the environment;
(22) installation of traffic control devices
on existing streets, roads and highways;
(23) mapping of existing roads, streets,
highways, natural resources, land uses and ownership patterns;
(24) information collection including basic
data collection and research, water quality and pollution studies, traffic
counts, engineering studies, surveys, subsurface investigations and soils
studies that do not commit the agency to undertake, fund or approve any Type I
or Unlisted action;
(25) official
acts of a ministerial nature involving no exercise of discretion, including
building permits and historic preservation permits where issuance is predicated
solely on the applicant's compliance or noncompliance with the relevant local
building or preservation code(s);
(26) routine or continuing agency
administration and management, not including new programs or major reordering
of priorities that may affect the environment;
(27) conducting concurrent environmental,
engineering, economic, feasibility and other studies and preliminary planning
and budgetary processes necessary to the formulation of a proposal for action,
provided those activities do not commit the agency to commence, engage in or
approve such action;
(28)
collective bargaining activities;
(29) investments by or on behalf of agencies
or pension or retirement systems, or refinancing existing debt;
(30) inspections and licensing activities
relating to the qualifications of individuals or businesses to engage in their
business or profession;
(31)
purchase or sale of furnishings, equipment or supplies, including surplus
government property, other than the following: land, radioactive material,
pesticides, herbicides, or other hazardous materials;
(32) 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;
(33) adoption of regulations, policies,
procedures and local legislative decisions in connection with any action on
this list;
(34) engaging in review
of any part of an application to determine compliance with technical
requirements, provided that no such determination entitles or permits the
project sponsor to commence the action unless and until all requirements of
this Part have been fulfilled;
(35)
civil or criminal enforcement proceedings, whether administrative or judicial,
including a particular course of action specifically required to be undertaken
pursuant to a judgment or order, or the exercise of prosecutorial
discretion;
(36) adoption of a
moratorium on land development or construction;
(37) interpretation of an existing code, rule
or regulation;
(38) designation of
local landmarks or their inclusion within historic districts;
(39) an agency's acquisition and dedication
of 25 acres or less of land for parkland, or dedication of land for parkland
that was previously acquired, or acquisition of a conservation
easement;
(40) sale and conveyance
of real property by public auction pursuant to article 11 of the Real Property
Tax Law;
(41) Construction and
operation of an anaerobic digester, within currently disturbed areas at an
operating municipal solid waste landfill, provided the digester has a feedstock
capacity of less than 150 wet tons per day, and only produces Class A digestate
(as defined in 6 NYCRR §
361-3.7
) that can be beneficially used or biogas to generate electricity or to make
vehicle fuel, or both.
(42)
emergency actions that are immediately necessary on a limited and temporary
basis for the protection or preservation of life, health, property or natural
resources, provided that such actions are directly related to the emergency and
are performed to cause the least change or disturbance, practicable under the
circumstances, to the environment. Any decision to fund, approve or directly
undertake other activities after the emergency has expired is fully subject to
the review procedures of this Part;
(43) actions undertaken, funded or approved
prior to the effective dates set forth in SEQR (see chapters 228 of the Laws of
1976, 253 of the Laws of 1977 and 460 of the Laws of 1978), except in the case
of an action where it is still practicable either to modify the action in such
a way as to mitigate potentially adverse environmental impacts, or to choose a
feasible or less environmentally damaging alternative, the commissioner may, at
the request of any person, or on his own motion, require the preparation of an
environmental impact statement; or, in the case of an action where the
responsible agency proposed a modification of the action and the modification
may result in a significant adverse impact on the environment, an environmental
impact statement must be prepared with respect to such modification;
(44) actions requiring a certificate of
environmental compatibility and public need under articles VII, VIII, X or 10
of the Public Service Law and the consideration of, granting or denial of any
such certificate;
(45) actions
subject to the class A or class B regional project jurisdiction of the
Adirondack Park Agency or a local government pursuant to sections
807,
808 and
809 of the Executive Law, except class B
regional projects subject to review by local government pursuant to section
807 of the Executive Law located within the
Lake George Park as defined by subdivision one of section
43-0103 of the Environmental
Conservation Law; and
(46) actions
of the Legislature and the Governor of the State of New York or of any court,
but not actions of local legislative bodies except those local legislative
decisions such as rezoning where the local legislative body determines the
action will not be entertained.