Fighting for Our Right to Clean Air and Water with the Green Amendment

“Each person shall have the right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” 

We’re not the only ones who think that. In fact, environmental rights have been written into the New York State Bill of Rights. In November of 2021, Article 1 Section 19—the Green Amendment—was added to the Bill of Rights. New York voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitutional right for all New Yorkers to a healthy environment on par with free speech and the right to vote.

The Green Amendment helps ensure that state agencies, municipalities, and other governmental bodies—all levels of government—are held accountable and uphold their obligation to prioritize the environment in their decision making on projects, actions, plans, and more. It makes it more difficult for decision-making bodies to approve a project that infringes on this right, and also incentivizes governments to monitor and enforce existing environmental laws and policies to ensure they are not violating the amendment.

Because of this amendment, each branch of government, including Suffolk County, is required to “conserve and maintain” the environment by imposing a duty to prevent and remedy the degradation, diminution, or depletion of public natural resources, such as clean water. 

While the right to clean air and water exists, it does not guarantee action.

For decades, Suffolk County has been facing a severe nitrogen pollution problem. Government agencies have formally recognized that virtually all of Suffolk County's coastal waters and tributaries are not meeting state water quality standards because of nitrogen pollution. Efforts are being made to address these problems, but how much can we achieve and what is our timeline for measurable progress? Addressing this one critical issue highlights the struggles of effectively enforcing the Green Amendment throughout our environment.

In order to enforce the Green Amendment, governments either have to make the right decisions OR citizens, civic groups, and nonprofit organizations have to advocate before our government leaders, or ask the courts to sue the government to address the most significant violations of our environmental rights. How courts will eventually interpret the power of the Green Amendment is a long and indirect process, which will likely take years to resolve. However, in the meantime it will be essential that we continue to advocate at public hearings and through letter writing to our elected officials in support of our constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment, and remind every level of New York State government of its obligation to uphold this right — even making a new state law as necessary.

Group for the East End remains committed to ensuring the Green Amendment is considered in all development and land-use projects as each one impacts our land, water, and wildlife on the East End.