State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR)
The State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) is a New York State process that requires government agencies to assess environmental impacts before making decisions on certain projects or actions. The goal is to ensure that environmental factors are considered early in the planning stages and that potential impacts are identified, avoided, or minimized. SEQR is governed by the New York State Environmental Conservation (EPA) Law (Article 8) and implemented through regulations adopted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The DEC oversees compliance with SEQR and provides guidance to agencies and project sponsors throughout the process.
Regarding the SEQR process, the State ÃØÃÜÑо¿Ëù Department acts as an involved agency and not as a lead agency for public school construction projects. Per section 6NYCRR617.2 of the SEQR regulations, an involved agency is defined as an "agency that has jurisdiction by law to fund, approve or directly undertake an action." The District or BOCES responsible for the public school construction project is the lead agency, which is defined as "an involved agency principally responsible for undertaking, funding or approving an action, and therefore responsible for determining whether an environmental impact statement is required in connection with the action, and for the preparation and filing of the statement if one is required". Before taking any formal action on a project, the Board of ÃØÃÜÑо¿Ëù as the lead agency must satisfy the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR). This includes, in the opinion of SED, scheduling the vote.
SED will review submission documents to verify that either the Type II Board of ÃØÃÜÑо¿Ëù resolution was completed, or the appropriate Negative Declaration or Statement of Findings was issued, and that the date of SEQR completion was prior to the date of authorization. No review of your proposal can be undertaken until the SEQR process is complete.
SEQR Guidelines
Review theÌý for comprehensive information on SEQR requirements and processes.