New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has adopted a rulemaking package that will make the first major update to State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) regulations in more than two decades.

The updates to SEQR will take effect on January 1, 2019.  According to DEC, the new rules will “expand the number of actions not subject to further review, known as Type II actions, modify thresholds for actions deemed more likely to require the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS), and require scoping of an EIS. Additional highlights regarding content of a draft EIS, are the consideration of measures to avoid or reduce an action’s impacts on climate change-induced conditions such as sea level rise and flooding, as well as enhancements to make acceptance procedures for EIS more consistent. ” » Continue Reading.