Terms Used In New York Laws > Environmental Conservation > Article 19 - Air Pollution Control

• Acid deposition: means the wet or dry deposition from the atmosphere of chemical compounds, usually in the form of rain or snow, having the potential to form an aqueous compound with a pH level lower than the level considered normal under natural conditions, or lower than 5. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Act: means the Federal Clean Air Act, 42 U. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Administrator: means the administrator of the United States environmental protection agency. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Air contaminant: means a dust, fume, gas, mist, odor, smoke, vapor, pollen, noise or any combination thereof. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Air contamination: means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air contaminants which contribute or which are likely to contribute to a condition of air pollution. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Air contamination source: means any source at, from or by reason of which there is emitted into the atmosphere any air contaminant, regardless of who the person may be who owns or operates the building, premises or other property in, at or on which such source is located or the facility, equipment or other property by which the emission is caused or from which the emission comes. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Air pollution: means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air contaminants in quantities, of characteristics and of a duration which are injurious to human, plant or animal life or to property or which unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property throughout the state or throughout such areas of the state as shall be affected thereby; excluding however all conditions subject to the requirements of the Labor Law and Industrial Code. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Area of the state: means any county, city, town, village, or other geographical area of the state as may be designated by the department. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Best available control technology: means an emission limitation or equipment standard based on the maximum degree of reduction which the department determines is achievable on a case-by-case basis taking into account energy, economic, environmental and health impacts and other costs related to the source. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Clean alternative fuels: means fuels, for use in motor vehicles which meet the requirements of section 7511a(c)(4) of the Act. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Clean fuel vehicle: means a vehicle in a class or category of vehicles which has been certified to meet, for any model year, the clean fuel vehicle standards for clean fuel vehicles specified in this article pursuant to section 7583 of the Act. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Coal: means bituminous coal, anthracite coal or lignite. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conversion or modification: means any construction, reconstruction, addition to or alteration of any facility or stationary source or other physical changes to allow burning of coal as a boiler fuel. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Covered fleet: means ten or more motor vehicles which are owned or operated by a single person in an area designated as being a severe ozone non-attainment area by the administrator pursuant to Title I of the Act. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Emission: means the release of acid deposition precursors into the atmosphere from any facility or stationary source. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• emission reduction credit: means the actual decrease in emissions of a regulated air contaminant in tons per year. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Environmental threshold value: means a deposition rate, expressed in kilograms of sulfate per hectare per year, at which no significant damaging chemical or biological effects of acid deposition have been reported, and above which there is high probability that such effects would occur. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• facility: means a steam electric generating facility with a generating capacity of fifty thousand kilowatts or more which burns fossil fuel. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Final control target: means a limitation, expressed in terms of fuel sulfur content or equivalent emissions reductions, that will reduce the New York state share of total measured or estimated wet sulfate deposition in sensitive receptor areas by the percentage derived according to the following formula:
  
  (Total measured or estimated New York's contribution to wet sulfate deposition) minus total measured or esti- (Environmental threshold value) mated wet sulfate deposition, X _______________________________ expressed as a percentage
  
  Total measured or estimated
  
  wet sulfate deposition
  
  9. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Fossil fuel: means coal, petroleum products and fuel gases. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Fugitive emissions: means those emissions of regulated air contaminants which could not reasonably pass through a stack, chimney, vent or other functionally-equivalent openings. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Interim control target: means a limitation, expressed in terms of fuel sulfur content, that achieves a level of sulfur deposition reduction that is approximately forty per centum of the final control target. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Least emissions dispatch: means the utilization of the cleanest facility or other stationary source on a priority basis so that less clean facilities or stationary sources are operated at full capacity only when need arises. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Major industrial grouping: means all activities belonging to the same major group identified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual (1987) published by the United States department of commerce. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• major stationary source: means any stationary source or any group of stationary sources located within a contiguous area and under common control and belonging to a single major industrial grouping that:
  
  a. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• offset: means emission reductions or emission reduction credits which are required to be obtained by an air contamination source in order to obtain approval for a permit to construct a new air contamination source, or modify an existing air contamination source, in a non-attainment area pursuant to Title I of the Act. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Operating permit: means a permit issued pursuant to section 19-0311 of this article. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision, agency, board, department or bureau of the state, municipality, partnership, association, firm, trust, estate or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Potential to emit: means the maximum capacity of a stationary source to emit any regulated air contaminant under its physical and operational design. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Regulated air contaminant: means the following:
  
  a. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Sensitive receptor areas: means regions of the state, encompassing geographically significant land areas not wholly contained within any county, that the department determines to be susceptible to the impacts of acid deposition based upon:
  
  a. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Special limitation: means a special fuel use limitation for a specific facility, stationary source, or specified area of the state promulgated by the department in rules and regulations that permits the sale, offering for sale, purchase and use of oil or coal with a sulfur content in excess of established sulfur limits, when acceptable diffusion analyses have demonstrated to the department's satisfaction that such use would not contribute to the contravention of any applicable federal ambient air quality standard nor significantly increase acid deposition at sensitive receptor areas. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Stationary source: means any building, structure, facility or installation that emits or may emit any regulated air contaminant. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0107
• Stationary source: means any source other than major steam electric generating facilities that emits acid deposition precursors in excess of one hundred tons per year. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 19-0903
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.