File #: Int 0995-2024    Version: * Name: Feasibility study of carbon capture and sequestration of certain byproducts of the anaerobic digestion process used to break down compost, sewage, and other organic matter.
Type: Introduction Status: Committee
Committee: Committee on Environmental Protection, Resiliency and Waterfronts
On agenda: 7/18/2024
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: A Local Law in relation to a feasibility study of carbon capture and sequestration of certain byproducts of the anaerobic digestion process used to break down compost, sewage, and other organic matter
Sponsors: Lynn C. Schulman
Council Member Sponsors: 1
Summary: This bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to determine whether it is feasible to capture and sequester any greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) produced by the anaerobic digesters the department uses to process compost and sewage. The study must consider the ways in which sequestration can be done relative to whether the possible emissions source is a solid, liquid, or a gas, whether there is the capacity to store the emissions source, the challenges therein, and the cost of sequestration. Upon completion of the study, the DEP commissioner may undertake any potential GHG capture and sequestration if the study shows that it is a feasible option.
Indexes: Report Required
Attachments: 1. Summary of Int. No. 995, 2. Int. No. 995, 3. July 18, 2024 - Stated Meeting Agenda, 4. Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 7-18-24

Int. No. 995

 

By Council Member Schulman

 

A Local Law in relation to a feasibility study of carbon capture and sequestration of certain byproducts of the anaerobic digestion process used to break down compost, sewage, and other organic matter

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. The department of environmental protection, in consultation with the department of sanitation, shall study and report on the feasibility of capturing and sequestering greenhouse gas emissions produced as a byproduct of the department’s anaerobic digestion process for compost, sewage, and other organic matter, where less than 100 percent of the byproduct will be repurposed for beneficial use. No later than one year after the effective date of this local law, the department of environmental protection shall submit to the mayor and speaker of the council and shall post conspicuously on its website a report on the findings of such study. Such study shall consider the following:

1. The methods by which capture and sequestration might be achieved depending on whether the byproduct not repurposed is in a solid, liquid, or gaseous state;

2. The capacity for capturing and sequestering byproduct not repurposed depending on the volume of such byproduct;

3. The challenges in ensuring that captured and sequestered byproduct not repurposed will remain sequestered and not enter the atmosphere as fugitive emissions; and

4. The costs of capture and sequestration compared to other methods of disposal.

§ 2. Ninety days after completion of the study required by section two of this local law, the commissioner of environmental protection shall inform the speaker of the council in writing whether the department will implement capture and sequestration programs wherever practicable according to the results of the feasibility study. Such notification shall include a detailed written framework of the timeline for such capture and sequestration programs, including relevant milestones and implementation deadlines. If the department is not able to meet the implementation deadlines laid out, it shall promptly submit to the mayor and speaker of the council a memorandum detailing why the target will not be met and identify remedial steps the department has the authority to take to achieve the implementation timeframe. If the department will not implement capture and sequestration programs the commissioner of environmental protection shall inform the speaker of the council and the mayor in writing of such determination and the reasons therefor.

§ 3. This local law takes effect immediately.

 

NAW

LS #16795

6/28/2024 12:24 PM