Lawmakers also raided the state's Environmental Protection Fund to pay for the parks.
A view of Round Lake at Green Lakes State Park on July 4. State lawmakers passed a bill that will allow all state parks to open for Memorial Day weekend.
Syracuse, NY -- New York’s state parks have been saved. They will be open this weekend, on Memorial Day and for the rest of the year. But it will likely cost New Yorkers. The state Legislature agreed to millions of dollars in new fees to pay for the parks.
“This is a cash grab, plain and simple,” said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua.
The Legislature today approved a bill that immediately re-opened 57 shuttered parks and historic sites around the state, including Clark Reservation State Park, Chittenango Falls State Parks and Fort Ontario State Historic Site. But tucked into the bill was an electronic waste program that is expected to cost manufacturers $1 million (charges that will probably be passed onto consumers), more than $2 million in increased fees for hazardous waste generators and $1 million in higher fines for people who violate environmental laws.
Democrats who voted for the bill argued the e-waste program will benefit the environment, and that people who pollute air and water should face higher fines. They said they were following the wishes of their constituents, who wanted the parks open and said they were willing to pay for them.
In exchange for open parks and happy constituents, lawmakers also agreed to raid $74 million from the Environmental Protection Fund, a permanent pot of money that pays for recycling programs, water-quality projects, farmland protection and other Earth-friendly initiatives. The $134 million fund is down 37 percent from last year and has been slashed by $500 million over the past eight years, even though it comprises less than 1 percent of the state budget.
Environmental advocates called the latest sweep “a colossal blunder.”
Gov. David Paterson could have kept the parks open with an executive order, but he chose not to. Several senators said there was enough money in budget extender bills to pay for the parks. Republican senators suggested that the state use $6 million from New York Power Authority’s budget, from which Paterson recommended sweeping $65 million. That proposal was rejected.
The e-waste program included in the parks bill creates a statewide electronics recycling program. Starting next year, manufacturers will be required to accept old electronics for recycling or reuse. The amount they will have to take in will be based on how many electronics they sell. If a company doesn’t accept enough old products, it will be fined, from 30 cents a pound to 50 cents a pound.
Electronics manufacturers will have to register with the state by January and pay a $5,000 registration fee. Beginning in 2012, companies also will have to submit an annual report and pay a $3,000 reporting fee.
Republicans blasted the fees as new taxes. Environmentalists, although unhappy with the hits the EPF is taking, praised the program. “It’s going to have a huge impact,” said Dereth Glance, executive program director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment and a board member at the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency. “It’s no longer solely the responsibility of local governments to manage this waste stream.” Glance said the new law will encourage manufacturers to make more recyclable, less toxic products.
Minutes after the bill passed Friday, parks officials around the state began scrambling. They opened gates to parking lots and unlocked bathrooms for hikers, picnickers and anglers. Over the next few days, workers will be assigned to park locations and seasonal employees and lifeguards will be hired. Tours at historic sites won’t resume until the week of June 6, but grounds will be open for the Memorial Day weekend. Fort Ontario opens today with free admission.
“Flags flying. Museum shop open. Coffee on. Spread the word,” site manager Paul Lear wrote today in an e-mail. “Thanks to all who were in the fight! Now it is time to repair the works and prepare for the summer campaign season. Essayons!”
Contact Delen Goldberg at dgoldberg@syracuse.com or 470-2274.