The purpose of this Article is to simplify the task of determining whether or not a proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment by identifying for agencies actions or classes of actions that are likely to have a significant effect and those which will not have a significant effect.
Because of the complex and varied nature of agency actions, the lists in this section are not all-inclusive. The omission from the lists of an action does not mean that it is exempt from this chapter, nor does it mean that it is automatically an action requiring environmental impact statement preparation.
The following classification system is used in this section:
A.
Type I: actions or classes of actions that are likely to require preparation of environmental impact statements because they will, in almost every instance, have a significant effect on the environment.
B.
Type II: actions or classes of actions which have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and which do not require environmental impact statements under this chapter.
Type I actions or classes of actions are likely to, but will not necessarily, require preparation of environmental impact statements because they will, in almost every instance, have a significant effect on the environment. The following are Type I actions or classes of actions:
A.
Construction of new (or expansion by more than 50% of existing size, square footage or usage of existing):
(1)
Airports.
(2)
Public institutions such as hospitals, schools and institutions of higher learning and correction facilities and major office centers.
(3)
Road or highway sections, including bridges, which require an indirect source permit under 6 NYCRR Part 203.
(4)
Parking facilities or other facilities with an associated parking area for 250 or more cars, only if such facility would require an indirect source permit under 6 NYCRR Part 203.
(5)
Dams with a downstream hazard of C classification under Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) § 15-0503.
(6)
Stationary combustion installations operating at a total heating input exceeding 1,000 million BTU's per hour.
(7)
Chemical pulp mills.
(8)
Portland cement plants.
(9)
Iron and steel plants.
(10)
Primary aluminum ore reduction plants.
(11)
Incinerators operating at a refuse charging rate exceeding 250 tons of refuse per twenty-four-hour day.
(12)
Sulfuric acid plants.
(13)
Petroleum refineries.
(14)
Lime plants.
(15)
By-product coke manufacturing plants.
(16)
Storage facilities designed for or capable of storing 1,000,000 or more gallons of liquid natural gas, liquid petroleum gas or other liquid fuels.
(17)
Sulfur recovery plants.
(18)
Fuel conversion plants.
(19)
Process, exhaust and/or ventilation systems emitting air contaminants assigned an environmental rating of A under 6 NYCRR 212 and whose total emission rate of such A contaminants exceeds one pound per hour.
(20)
Process, exhaust and/or ventilation systems from which the total emission rate of all air contaminants exceeds 50 tons per day.
(21)
A sanitary landfill for an excess of 100,000 cubic yards per year of waste fill.
(22)
Any facility, development or project which is to be directly located in one of the following critical areas:
(23)
Any facility, development or project having an adverse impact on any historic or prehistoric building, structure or site listed on the National Register of Historic Places or in the Statewide Inventory of Historical and Cultural Resources.
(24)
Any development, project or permanent facility or a nonagricultural use in an agricultural district which requires a permit, except those listed as Type II actions.
(25)
Any facility, development or project which would generate more than 5,000 vehicle trips per any hour or more than 25,000 vehicle trips per any eight-hour period.
(26)
Any facility, development or project which would use ground or surface water in excess of 2,000,000 gallons in any day.
(27)
Any industrial facility which has a yearly average discharge flow, based on days of discharge, of greater than 0.5 million gallons per day.
(28)
Any publicly or privately owned sewage treatment works which has an average daily design flow of more than 0.5 million gallons per day.
(29)
A residential development outside any standard metropolitan statistical area as defined by the United States Census Bureau that includes 50 or more units in an unsewered area or 250 or more units in a sewered area or within a standard metropolitan statistical area that includes 50 or more units in an unsewered area or 2,500 or more units in a sewered area.
(30)
Lakes or other bodies or water with a water surface in excess of 200 acres.
B.
Any funding, licensing or planning activities in respect of any of the types of construction listed in Subsection A above.
C.
Application of pesticides or herbicides over more than 1,500 contiguous acres.
D.
Clear-cutting of 640 or more contiguous acres of forest cover or vegetation other than crops.
E.
The proposed adoption of comprehensive land use plans, zoning ordinances, building codes, comprehensive solid waste plans, state and regional transportation plans, water resource basin plans, comprehensive water quality studies, areawide wastewater treatment plans, state environmental plans, local floodplain control plans and the like.
F.
Commercial burial of radioactive materials requiring a permit under 6 NYCRR Part 380.
G.
Any action which will result in excessive or unusual noise or vibration, taking into consideration the volume, intensity, pitch, time duration and the appropriate land uses for both the source and the recipient of such noise or vibration.
H.
Acquisition or sale by a public agency of more than 250 contiguous acres of land.
J.
Site plan reviews for permitted principal uses located in R-3, C-H, C-S, I-R and I-G Zoning Districts and for residential projects in excess of two units in these zones.
K.
Special use permits for all uses in all zoning districts, except:
(1)
Those involving the utilization of existing facilities on a shared basis, such as the installation of a banking terminal in an existing commercial occupancy or of a nursing school in an existing church school; or
(2)
The construction of a single-family house if not located in a critical area such as a freshwater wetland (as defined in Article 24 of the ECL) or a floodplain (as defined in Article 36 of the ECL).
Type II actions or classes of actions have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and do not require environmental impact statements under this chapter. The following are Type II actions or classes of actions:
A.
Construction or alteration of a single- or two-family residence and accessory appurtenant uses or structures not in conjunction with the construction or alteration of two or more such residences and not in one of the critical areas described in this Article for Type I actions.
B.
The extension of utility facilities to serve new or altered single- or two-family residential structures or to render service in approved subdivisions.
C.
Construction or alteration of a store, office or restaurant designed for an occupant load of 20 persons or less, if not in conjunction with the construction or alteration of two or more stores, offices or restaurants and if not in one of the critical areas described in this Article for Type I actions and the construction of utility facilities to serve such establishments.
D.
Actions involving individual setback and lot line variances and the like.
E.
Agricultural farm management practices, including construction, maintenance and repair of farm buildings and structures and land use changes consistent with generally accepted principles of farming.
F.
Operation, repair, maintenance or minor alteration of existing structures, land uses and equipment.
G.
Restoration or reconstruction of a structure in whole or in part being increased or expanded by less than 50% of its existing size, square footage or usage.
H.
Repaving of existing highways not involving the addition of new travel lanes.
I.
Street openings for the purpose of repair or maintenance of existing utility facilities.
J.
Installation of traffic control devices on existing streets, roads and highways other than multiple fixtures on long stretches.
K.
Mapping of existing roads, streets, highways, uses, ownership patterns and the like.
L.
Regulatory activities not involving construction or changed land use relating to one individual, business, institution or facility such as inspections, testing, operating certification or licensing and the like.
M.
Sales of surplus government property other than land, radioactive material, pesticides, herbicides or other hazardous materials.
N.
Collective bargaining activities.
O.
Operating, expense or executive budget planning, preparation and adoption not involving new programs or major reordering of priorities.
P.
Investments by or on behalf of agencies or pension or retirement systems.
Q.
Actions which are immediately necessary for the protection or preservation of life, health, property or natural resources.
R.
Routine administration and management of agency functions, not including new programs or major reordering of priorities.
S.
Routine license and permit renewals where there is no significant change in preexisting conditions.
T.
Routine activities of educational institutions which do not include capital construction.
U.
Reconstruction and resurfacing of Town streets, including the widening of existing travel lanes by not more than 50%, provided that such widening does not exceed the standards of the Street and Roadway Ordinance[1] and takes place in the existing right-of-way.
V.
Routine maintenance of Town streets, including cleaning, patching, sealing, painting and shoulder repairs.
W.
Installation and maintenance of all street, regulatory and warning signs within Town street rights-of-way, other than multiple fixtures on long stretches.
X.
Removal of dead, hazardous or diseased trees along street rights-of-way, easements and other Town-owned property.
Y.
The maintenance and repair of Town-owned drainage facilities.
Z.
The installation and replacement and repair of storm sewers and related appurtenances in Town streets, easements and other Town property not exceeding 24 inches in diameter.
AA.
Pickup of brush and leaves along Town streets.
BB.
Snow removal and ice control operations.
CC.
Operation and maintenance of the existing sanitary landfill site.
DD.
Operation and maintenance of the Town's water supply system, including wells, filtration plant, storage tanks, pumping stations, distribution lines, hydrants, water meters, valves and other appurtenances.
EE.
Operation and maintenance of the Town's sanitary sewer collection and disposal systems, including sewer lines, manholes, pumping stations, primary and secondary treatment facilities and other appurtenances.
FF.
Maintenance of existing ice skating rinks and accessory functions and development of new facilities less than two acres in size.
GG.
Maintenance and improvement of existing parks and recreation facilities, expansion of existing facilities by not more than 50%.
HH.
Purchase, transport, store and stockpile of materials necessary to carry out all Type II actions.
II.
Maintenance and repair of all existing equipment and purchase of new equipment of equal or greater efficiency.
JJ.
Maintenance and operation of existing fuel storage facilities and expansion of said facilities by not more than 50% of the size as of the date of adoption of this chapter.
KK.
Maintenance and repair of existing Town buildings and expansion of said buildings by not more than 50% of the size as of the date of adoption of this chapter or construction of new buildings less than 5,000 square feet in size.
LL.
Maintenance and repair of existing Town parking facilities, expansion thereof by not more than 50% of the size as of the date of adoption of this chapter or construction of new facilities with fewer than 50 parking spaces.
MM.
Maintenance of existing landscaped areas on Town property and removal of brush from Town-owned property.
NN.
Maintenance and repair of existing fences on Town property and installation of new fences less than eight feet in height and less than 1,500 feet in length at any one location.
OO.
Planting of grass, flowers, shrubs and trees and the like on Town property.
PP.
Inspection and investigation activities necessary to enforce existing codes, ordinances and regulations and all new codes, ordinances and regulations adopted in accordance with the SEQRA Law and Part 617.
QQ.
The use of legally approved pesticides and herbicides in conjunction with other Type II actions.
RR.
The use of legally approved chemicals to control mosquito larvae in pools of water not exceeding 0.5 acre in size.
SS.
Continuation without substantial change of any operating activity regularly engaged in by the Town prior to the effective date of SEQRA.
TT.
The issuance of a building permit for a single-family or two-family home, along with associated plumbing, septic and road cut permits.
UU.
Minor subdivisions as defined in the Subdivision Regulations.
VV.
Construction of accessory structures for existing uses in R-3, C-N, C-H, C-S, I-R and I-G Zoning Districts.
WW.
An activity engaged in by the Town in accordance with a state law (other than SEQRA) or a state regulation (other than Part 617) requiring the Town to act, regulating the way in which the Town may act or setting standards within which the Town is permitted to act, except to the extent that the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation or the state agency responsible for the administration of the state law or regulation specifically determines that the activity may be a Type I action and issues regulations guiding local governments in carrying out the activity required, regulated or permitted by the state law or regulation.
