While children played in the distance at the playground at Saxon Woods Pool in White Plains on Oct. 12, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, surrounded by members of the County Legislature and representatives of environmental groups and local governments signed a package of four new environmental laws.
At the same time, the county announced expansion of its programs for using electric vehicles. It said that as of now, a full 90% of the county’s 325 buses are either all-electric or electric hybrid. Additionally, 33 public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations have been installed and another 206 are in the works for installation by the summer of 2024, with another 148 due to be installed in the fall of 2025.
Latimer credited the county’s Director of Research Ellen Hendrickx and Director of Environment, Energy, and Sustainability Peter McCartt with having spent months collaborating with the Board of Legislators to draft and pass the new environmental legislation.
The environmental law package includes:
- The Lead Free Parks Act, which will create a process for monitoring and remediating drinking water in all county parks to ensure its safety;
- The Addressing Asthma in Communities of Color Amendment, which will create a subcommittee of the African-American Advisory Board dedicated to studying the high rates of Asthma in communities of color;
- The Renewable Energy Database Act, which will allow the county to assist municipalities in their move to create more renewable energy by establishing a database to encourage siting of renewable energy infrastructure on municipal property;
- The Equity in Environmental Legislation Act, which will ensure that all communities are treated fairly when the county is considering any new law in an effort to combat historical cases of violation of environmental justice.
“This is an example of the across the board commitment that Westchester County, not just the government of Westchester County, Westchester County’s people and institutions have to improving our environmental presence, to reduce our carbon footprint, and to increase means of recycling and to reduce the amount of waste in our system,” Latimer said. “All of these things and more are part of the agenda going forward.”
Board of Legislators Chairperson Vedat Gashi said, “We continue to be committed to these practical and progressive solution to stave off climate change, increase sustainability and reduce the proliferation of toxic agents in our environment.”
Legislator Ben Boykin of White Plains said that no one wants Westchester to have the kind of lead problems that have affected some communities around the country.
“We’re not going to have that in Westchester County,” Boykin said. “We are committed to a cleaner and greener environment. We see the number of people in our parks. They need water to drink. This first bill will make sure that we monitor our drinking water because if we’ve got lead n our drinking water that’s not a very good thing.”
Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins said that the four bills that were signed into law were just a part of the administration’s ongoing environmental efforts.
“It’s not just our young folks,” Jenkins said. “It’s our not-so-young folks that need to make sure they can take in and breathe the air that we have, make sure there’s green available spaces for them, making sure that that water quality no matter where you are is the kind of quality that is not only top-rated but is more healthy than anything else we can have.”
