Greater New York Watch: News Digest

Among other things, it calls for registering, testing, inspecting and certifying cooling towers atop buildings.

Under the emergency health regulations, all owners of buildings with cooling towers will be required to register the structures with the state health department within 30 days. There have been 121 cases of the disease, which is a type of pneumonia that can be especially dangerous to the elderly and those with underlying health issues.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was critical of the city’s response to the outbreak, said in a statement that the “framework for these emergency regulations was drafted in consultation with the New York City Mayor’s Office and City Council representatives.”

The state is also setting up a hotline – (888) 769-7243 – to answer any questions about the disease or provide tips.

The regulations also spell out inspection requirements and penalties for violations of the testing rules.

“Cooling towers have been implicated in several outbreaks of Legionnaire’s Disease in recent years”. All building owners will need to use a statewide online system to register and report their inspections.

All cooling towers must be certified by Nov. 1, 2016 and again annually every Nov. 1.

Electronic Registration & Reporting- Registration of cooling towers will be through a statewide electronic system. The towers have been identified as a source of outbreaks, according to State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker.

GSK said last week that the potentially deadly bacteria were found in two cooling towers that are used to maintain proper manufacturing conditions at the site.

Violation of the regulations is subject to civil and criminal penalties, and each day that an owner remains in violation of any provision constitutes a separate and distinct violation.

The emergency regulations are in effect for 90 days, after which they will become permanent.