What is SEQRA?

State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) Process
Mount Sinai South Nassau is transforming into a Regional Healthcare Facility for the provision of health related services to the residents of the South Shore of Long Island. Towards this end, SNCH is proposing to develop new and/or expanded health care facilities at two sites it owns, in Long Beach and Oceanside. The State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) requires that before these projects can begin, that they be evaluated according to the process laid out in SEQRA and its implementing regulations.

What is SEQRA?

• SEQRA requires that local, regional and state agencies consider the potential environmental impacts of a project before undertaking, funding or approving a project. The process begins with the preparation and filing of Part 1 of an Environmental Assessment Form or "EAF".
  

Who participates in the environmental review?

• An agency (likely a board of the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach) will act as the lead agency for the environmental review of each respective project, and will be responsible for administering the review process. SNCH will not control the process, but is committed to full cooperation and participation.
• A coordinated environmental review process for each project will invite the involvement and input of a wide range of agencies having jurisdiction.
  

Will there be a detailed review of all potential impacts?

• It is expected that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be prepared for each project, ensuring that the potentially significant environmental impacts of the projects and the range of reasonable alternatives will be evaluated to an appropriate level of detail.
• SEQRA requires that the public be afforded the chance to review and comment on the DEIS.
• The coordinated review process, DEIS preparation, and public comment period, which often includes one or more public hearings, is expected to occur over a period of several months.
• After the close of the public comment period on the DEIS, it is expected that a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) will be prepared to address all substantive comments.
• Only after the FEIS is prepared and filed, and the appropriate statutory timeframes have elapsed, will any agency having jurisdiction be able to make its written findings and its decision on the proposed project.
  

How long will the SEQRA process take?

• The overall SEQRA process involves a number of procedural steps and there are several variables. The processes at the Town of Hempstead and City of Long Beach will be separate, but concurrent. It can be reasonably expected that the process will continue for 18-to-24 months or more from the time initial applications are submitted to the Town of Hempstead and City of Long Beach.
  

How will the community and public be involved?

• There will be multiple opportunities for community and public involvement throughout the SEQRA process
• A coordinated review process will invite the input of a wide range of agencies in the first stages of the process
• SEQRA requires that there be an opportunity for public comment on a DEIS. A public comment period will be established by the respective lead agency to accommodate a substantive review of each DEIS by all involved and interested parties and the public
• Each of the DEISs is expected to be the subject of a public hearing(s) to provide a forum for the collection of public comment
• A public consideration period will follow the filing of an FEIS before environmental findings or decisions are issued
• Extensive outreach with community stakeholders has already begun, and will continue. Information and updates will be shared via this website.
  

The information presented here is offered as a brief overview of the SEQRA process and should not be relied upon as legal advice. For further detail on SEQRA and how it is administered, you may refer to the text of the law itself, found at Environmental Conservation Law Article 8 and implementing regulations found at 6 NYCRR Part 617. Further information is also available at the NYSDEC's website.