Lower Hudson Valley Legislators Ranked for Support of Environmental Bills

EPL/Environmental Advocates as released its 2011 Voters Guide and Environmental Scorecard, which ranks state representatives according to how they voted on environmentally-relevant bills last session.

The rankings, issued annually for more than 40 years, are compiled using a system developed by Environmental Advocates of New York. Legislators are given one to three "trees" for voting in favor of bills that would help protect the state's environment. Additional points are earned for co-sponsoring such bills. For co-sponsoring or voting in favor of bills that would harm the environment, legislators receive one to three "smokestacks," which take away from their overall score.

Statewide, the EPL/EA noted that Republican legislators fared less well than Democrats, the lower Hudson Valley region only has three Republican legislators. Republican Assemblyman Robert Castelli was recognized for the largest score increase from the EPL/EA's . Since June, his score increased from 76 to 101.

However, Castelli's fellow regional Republicans, Assemblyman Steve Katz and Senator Greg Ball, earned 43 and 63 points, respectively. Six of the region's 12 Democrats earned the highest potential scores of 105. The average Republican score statewide was 57. For Democrats, it was 83.

Here's a rundown of the report's scores for lower Hudson Valley legislators:

Assembly

• Thomas J. Abinanti (D-92/Tarrytown) 105
• Sandra R. Galef (D-90/Ossining) 105
• Ellen Jaffee (D-95/Pearl River) 105
• George S. Latimer (D-91/Mamaroneck) 105
• Amy R. Paulin (D-88/Scarsdale) 105
• Mike Spano (D-93/Yonkers) 105
• J. Gary Pretlow (D-87/Mount Vernon) 102
• Kenneth Zebrowski (D-94/New City) 102
• Robert J. Castelli (R-89/White Plains) 101
• Steve Katz (R-99/Mahopac) 43

Senate

• Suzi Oppenheimer (D-37/Port Chester) 86
• Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-35/Yonkers) 81
• Jeffrey Klein (D-34/Bronx) 73
• Greg Ball (R-40/Brewster) 63
• David Carlucci (D-38/Nanuet) 63

This year, EPL/EA designated five "super bills," worth three "trees," that the group believes are of utmost importance for the state's environment. Only two of the bills were signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The super bills included:

Water Resources Protection Act (A.5318-A and S.3798)

• Signed into law by Gov. Cuomo on Aug. 16, 2011

•  Would require a DEC issued permit for anyone seeking to withdraw more than 100,000 gallons of water per day from sources in New York.

Global Warming Pollution Cap (A.5346 and S.2742-A)

• Passed Assembly, died in Senate Environmental Conservation Committee

• Would mandate that the NYS Department of Environmental Protection establish greenhouse gas emissions limits from all sources in the state, with a maximum emission rate equal to that in 1990. By 2050, overall emissions would be capped at 80 percent below 1990 levels.

3. Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act

• (A.5713-C and S.4178-A) - Died in Senate Finance Committee

• Would require state utility and energy service companies to purchase solar energy credits in order to spur industry job growth.

4. Hazardous Waste Loophole for Fracking Fluid Disposal

• (A.7013 and S.4616) - Passed Assembly, died in Senate Environmental Conservation Committee

• Would update state laws that don't currently categorize hydraulic fracturing by-products as hazardous waste.

5. Complete Streets

• (A.8366 and S.5411-A) Signed into law by Gov. Cuomo on Aug. 15, 2011.

• Would amend the state's highway laws to include safer travel and road infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, thus encouraging modes of travel that generate less carbon. The bill notes that in 2009, 4,000 people were killed by motor vehicles in the U.S., 20 percent of whom were senior citizens.

Only one piece of legislation earned three "smokestacks" in the report. A bill in suburban counties, the group said, would have increased both public transit costs for users, as well as pollution. The bill passed the Senate, but died in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

While the governor's office isn't included in the rankings, EPL/EA has expressed concern for Cuomo's actions regarding hydraulic fracturing in New York.

"The Governor is currently poised to open New York State to fracking without the protections necessary to safeguard the health and safety of our water supplies or our communities," the report states. "His next steps on fracking will cement his environmental legacy."

Hydraulic fracturing, or , is a process in which millions of gallons of water, chemicals and sand are blasted into shale beneath the earth's surface in order to release trapped natural gas. While vertical fracking already takes place in the state's Southern Tier, horizontal hydrofracking poses greater potential threats to the environment and public health.

The DEC is set to start issuing permits for hydrofracking in New York in early 2012, but environmental advocates and members of the public have said that not enough study has been conducted to ensure that small upstate communities won't be harmed.

While the oil and gas industry argues that allowing fracking will bring jobs to New York, those jobs are only likely to last less than five years. Cuomo and DEC representatives have continued to skirt around the issue of protecting residents and municipalities from the potential ill effects of hydrofracking.

According to a Siena Research Institute poll last month, 44 percent of New Yorkers surveyed were in favor of allowing hydraulic fracturing in the state if the Department of Environmental Conservation's regulations are followed. Of those surveyed, 40 percent were opposed to hydraulic fracturing, and 16 percent said they didn't know or had no opinion. The survey included 808 registered voters, with data adjusted to "ensure representativeness" by age, political party and gender.