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ISSUING A PERMIT FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF UP TO 1.5 BILLION GALLONS OF RIVER WATER PER DAY TO COOL A POWER PLANT IS NOT A MINISTERIAL, NON-DISCRETIONARY ACT, THEREFORE THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (SEQRA) APPLIES TO THE PERMITTING PROCESS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Connolly, reversing Supreme Court, determined that the Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC's) issuance of a permit for the withdrawal of up to 1.5 billion gallons of river water (per day) to cool an electric power plant was not a ministerial, non-discretionary act. Therefore the permitting process was not exempt from the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), including the need for an environmental impact statement (EIS):

Here, while ECL [Environmental Conservation Law] 15-1501(9) states that the DEC “shall issue” an initial permit to an existing operator for its self-reported maximum water withdrawal capacity, the statute provides that such initial permit is “subject to appropriate terms and conditions as required under this article.” Notably, the WRPA [Water Resources Protection Act] specifically provides the DEC with the power “to grant or deny a permit or to grant a permit with conditions” … . The statutory factors that the DEC is required to consider when reviewing an application and imposing conditions on the permittee do not lend themselves to mechanical application. For instance, whether “the proposed water withdrawal will be implemented in a manner that incorporates environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation measures” … will almost certainly vary from operator to operator, or from water source to water source. The DEC's own regulations state that an “initial permit” must include “environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation measures to promote the efficient use of supplies” … . Whether a condition is “appropriate” for a given operator is a matter that falls within the DEC's expertise and involves the exercise of judgment, and, therefore, implicates matters of discretion … . Matter of Sierra Club v Martens, 2018 NY Slip Op 00153, Second Dept 1-10-18

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (ISSUING A PERMIT FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF UP TO 1.5 BILLION GALLONS OF RIVER WATER PER DAY TO COOL A POWER PLANT IS NOT A MINISTERIAL, NON-DISCRETIONARY ACT, THEREFORE THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (SEQRA) APPLIES TO THE PERMITTING PROCESS (SECOND DEPT))/STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (SEQRA) (RIVER WATER, ISSUING A PERMIT FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF UP TO 1.5 BILLION GALLONS OF RIVER WATER PER DAY TO COOL A POWER PLANT IS NOT A MINISTERIAL, NON-DISCRETIONARY ACT, THEREFORE THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (SEQRA) APPLIES TO THE PERMITTING PROCESS (SECOND DEPT))/RIVERS (ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, ISSUING A PERMIT FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF UP TO 1.5 BILLION GALLONS OF RIVER WATER PER DAY TO COOL A POWER PLANT IS NOT A MINISTERIAL, NON-DISCRETIONARY ACT, THEREFORE THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (SEQRA) APPLIES TO THE PERMITTING PROCESS (SECOND DEPT))/WATER RESOURCES PROTECTION ACT (WRPA)  (RIVER WATER, ISSUING A PERMIT FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF UP TO 1.5 BILLION GALLONS OF RIVER WATER PER DAY TO COOL A POWER PLANT IS NOT A MINISTERIAL, NON-DISCRETIONARY ACT, THEREFORE THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (SEQRA) APPLIES TO THE PERMITTING PROCESS (SECOND DEPT))/ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS (RIVER WATER, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, ISSUING A PERMIT FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF UP TO 1.5 BILLION GALLONS OF RIVER WATER PER DAY TO COOL A POWER PLANT IS NOT A MINISTERIAL, NON-DISCRETIONARY ACT, THEREFORE THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (SEQRA) APPLIES TO THE PERMITTING PROCESS (SECOND DEPT))

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