Section 56-0505. Environmental restoration projects; criteria

1.  The department shall determine the eligibility of an environmental
  restoration project for state assistance under this title based upon the
  following criteria:
    (a) the  benefit  to  the  environment  realized  by  the  expeditious
  remediation of the property proposed to be subject to such project;
    (b)  the  economic benefit to the state by the expeditious remediation
  of the property proposed to be subject to such project;
    (c) the potential opportunity of the property proposed to  be  subject
  to such project to be used for public recreational purposes;
    (d) real property in a designated brownfield opportunity area pursuant
  to section nine hundred seventy-r of the general municipal law; and
    (e)  the opportunity for other funding sources to be available for the
  remediation of such property, including, but not limited to, enforcement
  actions against responsible parties  (other  than  the  municipality  to
  which  state assistance was provided under this title; or a successor in
  title, lender, or lessee who was not otherwise a responsible party prior
  to such municipality taking title to  the  property),  state  assistance
  payments  pursuant  to  title  thirteen  of article twenty-seven of this
  chapter, and the existence of private parties willing to remediate  such
  property  using  private  funding  sources.  Highest  priority  shall be
  granted to projects  for  which  other  such  funding  sources  are  not
  available.
    2.  The department shall not enter into a contract with a municipality
  pursuant  to  section  56-0503  of  this  title  for  an   environmental
  restoration  project  for  any  site  listed in the registry of inactive
  hazardous waste sites under section 27-1305 of this chapter and given  a
  classification as described in subparagraph one or two of paragraph b of
  subdivision two of such section 27-1305.
    3.   The   remediation   objective  of  an  environmental  restoration
  remediation project shall meet  the  same  standard  for  protection  of
  public  health  and  the  environment  that  applies to remedial actions
  undertaken pursuant to section 27-1313 of this chapter.
    4. After completion of such project,  the  municipality  may  use  the
  property  for  public purposes or may dispose of it. If the municipality
  shall dispose of such property by sale  to  a  responsible  party,  such
  party  shall  pay  to  such  municipality,  in  addition  to  such other
  consideration, an amount of  money  constituting  the  amount  of  state
  assistance  provided  to  the municipality under this title plus accrued
  interest and transaction costs and the municipality shall  deposit  that
  money   into  the  environmental  restoration  project  account  of  the
  hazardous waste remedial fund established under  section  ninety-seven-b
  of the state finance law.
    5.   In   the   event  that  an  environmental  restoration  project's
  remediation objective shall not have been attained to  the  department's
  satisfaction  at  the  time  of  the  municipality's disposition of such
  property,  such  municipality  shall  be  liable  to  ensure  that  such
  objective is attained within the time called for in the state assistance
  contract.