The legislature finds and declares that the lands and waters of New York state constitute an irreplaceable resource upon which is founded the well-being of public health, economic vitality and the state's environment; that these resources may be contaminated by spills and leaks of petroleum from active and abandoned petroleum bulk storage facilities; that once contaminated the quality of these resources cannot be completely restored to their original state; and that contamination of these resources must be prevented through improved safeguards in storage and handling.

The legislature declares these spills and leaks to be a threat to the public welfare of the state and hereby exercises the power of the state to prevent these spills and leaks from occurring through the establishment of a state petroleum bulk storage code for new and substantially modified facilities.