Section 97-B. Hazardous waste remedial fund  


Latest version.
  • 1. There is hereby established
      in the custody of the state comptroller a nonlapsing revolving  fund  to
      be  known as the "hazardous waste remedial fund", which shall consist of
      a "site  investigation  and  construction  account",  an  "industry  fee
      transfer  account",  an  "environmental  restoration  project  account",
      "hazardous waste cleanup account", and a  "hazardous  waste  remediation
      oversight and assistance account".
        2. Such fund shall consist of all of the following:
        (a)  moneys appropriated for transfer to the fund's site investigation
      and construction account; (b) all fines and other  sums  accumulated  in
      the fund prior to April first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight pursuant to
      section 71-2725 of the environmental conservation law for deposit in the
      fund's  site  investigation  and  construction  account;  (c) all moneys
      collected or received by the department of taxation and finance pursuant
      to section 27-0923 of the environmental conservation law for deposit  in
      the  fund's  industry fee transfer account; (d) all moneys paid into the
      fund pursuant to section 72-0201 of the environmental  conservation  law
      which  shall  be  deposited in the fund's industry fee transfer account;
      (e) all moneys paid into  the  fund  pursuant  to  section  one  hundred
      eighty-six  of the navigation law which shall be deposited in the fund's
      industry fee transfer account; (f) all moneys  paid  into  the  fund  by
      municipalities  for repayment of landfill closure loans made pursuant to
      title five of article fifty-two of the  environmental  conservation  law
      for  deposit  in the fund's site investigation and construction account;
      (g) all monies recovered under sections 56-0503, 56-0505 and 56-0507  of
      the   environmental  conservation  law  into  the  fund's  environmental
      restoration project account; (h) all fees paid into the fund pursuant to
      section 72-0403 of the environmental conservation  law  which  shall  be
      deposited  in  the  fund's  industry  fee transfer account; (i) payments
      received for all state costs incurred in negotiating and overseeing  the
      implementation  of  brownfield site cleanup agreements pursuant to title
      fourteen of the environmental conservation law shall be deposited in the
      hazardous waste remediation oversight and assistance  account;  and  (j)
      other  moneys  credited  or  transferred  thereto from any other fund or
      source for deposit in the fund's  site  investigation  and  construction
      account.
        3.  Moneys  of the hazardous waste remedial fund, except monies in the
      industry fee transfer account, when allocated, shall be available to the
      departments of  environmental  conservation,  health  and  law  for  the
      following purposes:
        (a)  inactive hazardous waste disposal site remedial programs pursuant
      to section 27-1313 of the environmental  conservation  law  and  section
      thirteen hundred eighty-nine-b of the public health law;
        (b)  cleaning  up  or  restoring  to its original state any area where
      hazardous wastes were disposed of or possessed unlawfully  in  violation
      of  article  twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law. For the
      purposes of this section "the original state of the area" shall mean the
      reasonably ascertainable condition of the property immediately prior  to
      the  unlawful  disposal  or,  if  it  is impracticable to determine such
      condition, then it is the reasonable environmentally sound condition  of
      the area;
        (c)  inactive hazardous waste site identification, classification, and
      investigation actions including testing, analyses, record searches,  and
      other  expenditures  necessary  to  develop the state inactive hazardous
      waste disposal site remedial plan required pursuant to  section  27-1305
      of the environmental conservation law;
        (d)  financing  the non-federal share of the cost of clean up and site
      remediation  activities,  as  well   as   post-closure   operation   and
    
      maintenance  costs,  pursuant to the federal Comprehensive Environmental
      Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980;
        (e) emergency response action to clean up spills or abate other public
      health or environmental hazards involving hazardous wastes, except those
      provided for under the New York state environmental protection and spill
      compensation fund;
        (f)   to  undertake  such  remedial  measures  as  the  department  of
      environmental conservation may determine necessary due to  environmental
      conditions  related  to  the property subject to an agreement to provide
      state  assistance  under  title  five  of  article  fifty-six   of   the
      environmental  conservation  law that were unknown to such department at
      the time  of  its  approval  of  such  agreement  which  indicates  that
      conditions  on  such  property  are not sufficiently protective of human
      health for  its  reasonably  anticipated  uses  or  due  to  information
      received,  in whole or in part, after such department's approval of such
      agreement's final engineering report and certification, which  indicates
      that   such   agreement's   remedial  activities  are  not  sufficiently
      protective of human health for such  property's  reasonably  anticipated
      uses;  and,  respecting  the  monies  in  the  environmental restoration
      project account in excess of ten million dollars,  shall  provide  state
      assistance  under  title  five of article fifty-six of the environmental
      conservation law;
        (g)  with  respect  to  moneys  in  the  hazardous  waste  remediation
      oversight  and  assistance account, to pay the reasonable costs incurred
      by the state in negotiating and overseeing implementation of  brownfield
      site  cleanup agreements and conducting remediation under title fourteen
      of article twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law;
        (h)  with  respect  to  moneys  in  the  hazardous  waste  remediation
      oversight  and  assistance account, to provide state assistance pursuant
      to section nine hundred seventy-r of the general municipal law;
        (i)  with  respect  to  moneys  in  the  hazardous  waste  remediation
      oversight  and  assistance  account,  non-bondable costs associated with
      hazardous waste remediation projects. Such costs  shall  be  limited  to
      agency   staff   costs  associated  with  the  administration  of  state
      assistance for brownfield opportunity areas  pursuant  to  section  nine
      hundred  seventy-r  of  the  general  municipal  law, agency staff costs
      associated  with  the  administration  of  technical  assistance  grants
      pursuant  to titles thirteen and fourteen of article twenty-seven of the
      environmental  conservation  law,  and  costs  of  the   department   of
      environmental  conservation related to the geographic information system
      required by section 3-0315 of the environmental conservation law; and
        (j)  with  respect  to  moneys  in  the  hazardous  waste  remediation
      oversight  and  assistance account, technical assistance grants pursuant
      to  titles  thirteen  and  fourteen  of  article  twenty-seven  of   the
      environmental conservation law.
        4.  No  moneys  shall be available from the fund pursuant to paragraph
      (a) of subdivision three of this  section  unless  the  commissioner  of
      environmental  conservation  finds that all reasonable efforts to secure
      voluntary agreement to pay the costs of necessary remedial actions  from
      owners   or  operators  of  inactive  hazardous  waste  sites  or  other
      responsible persons have been made  except  where  the  commissioner  of
      environmental  conservation has made findings pursuant to paragraph b of
      subdivision three of section 27-1313 of the  environmental  conservation
      law  or  where  the  commissioner  of  health  has  declared a condition
      dangerous to life or health and made findings pursuant to paragraph  (b)
      of subdivision three of section one thousand three hundred eighty-nine-b
      of the public health law.
    
        6.  The  commissioner  of the department of environmental conservation
      shall make all reasonable efforts to recover  the  full  amount  of  any
      funds  expended  from  the fund pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision
      three of this section through litigation or cooperative agreements  with
      responsible persons. Any and all moneys recovered or reimbursed pursuant
      to  this  section  through voluntary agreements or court orders shall be
      deposited with the comptroller and credited to the account of such  fund
      from which such expenditures were made.
        7.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions of any general or special law, no
      moneys  shall  be  available  from  the  fund  until  a  certificate  of
      allocation and a schedule of amounts to be available therefor shall have
      been  issued  by  the  director  of  the  budget,  and  a  copy  of such
      certificate filed with the  comptroller,  the  chairman  of  the  senate
      finance  committee  and  the  chairman  of  the  assembly ways and means
      committee. Such certificate may be amended from  time  to  time  by  the
      director  of the budget and a copy of each such amendment shall be filed
      with the comptroller, the chairman of the senate finance  committee  and
      the chairman of the assembly ways and means committee.
        8.  The  moneys,  when allocated, shall be paid out of the fund on the
      audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified  or  approved
      by  the  commissioner of the department of environmental conservation or
      his duly designated officer.
        9. All  repayments  and  other  sums  collected  or  received  by  the
      department  pursuant  to  loan agreements entered into pursuant to title
      five of article fifty-two of the environmental conservation law shall be
      deposited daily to the credit of the comptroller with  such  responsible
      banks,  banking  houses  or  trust companies as may be designated by the
      comptroller. The comptroller shall require adequate  security  from  all
      such  depositories. The comptroller shall, on or before the tenth day of
      each month,  pay  all  moneys  collected  pursuant  to  such  title  and
      remaining to his credit in such banks, banking houses or trust companies
      at the close of business on the last day of the preceding month into the
      site  investigation  and  construction  account  of  the hazardous waste
      remedial fund. In the event  a  municipality  shall  fail  to  make  any
      payment  due  to  the  state pursuant to such title and the commissioner
      shall have certified that such municipality  has  failed  to  make  such
      payment,  the  comptroller  is  authorized  and shall withhold from such
      municipality any state aid payable to it to the extent necessary to meet
      the certified amount of principal and surcharge due the commissioner and
      shall immediately pay over to the design and construction account of the
      hazardous waste remedial fund the amount so withheld.
        10. No moneys of the fund derived from any form of tax or fee  imposed
      by  title  nine  of  article  twenty-seven or article seventy-two of the
      environmental conservation law or section one  hundred  seventy-four  of
      the  navigation  law  shall  be  used for any purpose if such use, under
      federal law, would preclude the collection of such tax or fee.
        11.  The  industry  fee  transfer  account,  established  pursuant  to
      subdivision  one  of  this  section,  is to provide for an equal sharing
      between the state and industry of the costs of debt  service  for  bonds
      and  notes  issued  to  finance hazardous waste remedial work other than
      those costs  attributable  to  or  payable  by  responsible  parties,  a
      municipality  or  the federal government. Such sharing shall be provided
      fifty percent from moneys of the general fund  and  fifty  percent  from
      fees and surcharges designated for this purpose pursuant to subdivisions
      two and fourteen of this section. When debt service is paid on bonds and
      notes  authorized by the environmental quality bond act of 1986 and sold
      to provide moneys for hazardous waste site  remediation  or  by  section
      twelve   hundred  eighty-five-q  of  the  public  authorities  law,  the
    
      comptroller shall transfer from the industry fee transfer account to the
      general fund an amount equal to  fifty  percent  of  such  debt  service
      payment.
        12.  (a)  The  comptroller  shall,  on  July  first,  nineteen hundred
      eighty-eight and on each succeeding July first until such  time  as  the
      surcharges required pursuant to subdivision fourteen of this section are
      imposed,  estimate the amount of revenues to be received by the industry
      fee transfer account of this fund in the next succeeding  twenty  months
      and  the  transfers  which  will  be required to be made during the same
      period. When calculating the estimate of industry fee  transfer  account
      revenues  available  for  the  purpose  of  certifying, pursuant to this
      subdivision, when such account's balance will be  insufficient  to  make
      the  transfer  required  by  subdivision  eleven  of  this  section, the
      comptroller shall add to the amount estimated to actually  be  available
      an  additional  credit  factor  as  determined  by paragraph (b) of this
      subdivision.  If  the  comptroller  determines  that  the  industry  fee
      transfer  account  will,  at any time during the succeeding twenty month
      period,  lack  sufficient  funds  to  make  the  transfer  required   by
      subdivision  eleven of this section, the comptroller shall so certify to
      the state super fund  management  board,  created  pursuant  to  section
      27-1319  of  the environmental conservation law, and to the governor and
      the legislature.
        (b) The additional credit factor required by  paragraph  (a)  of  this
      subdivision shall be the sum of the following:
        (i)  prior  to  March  thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, an
      amount equal to an amount estimated by the comptroller to be transferred
      from the industry fee transfer account to the general  fund  during  the
      period   March  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety  through  March
      thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-eight,  pursuant   to   chapter
      forty-one  of  the laws of nineteen hundred ninety as amended by chapter
      one hundred sixty-six  of  the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,
      chapter  fifty-five  of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-two, chapter
      fifty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred  ninety-three,  chapter  one
      hundred  seventy  of  the  laws of nineteen hundred ninety-four, chapter
      eighty-three of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five, chapter  three
      hundred nine of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-six and a chapter of
      the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred  ninety-seven  entitled  "An act making
      appropriations for the support of government and to amend chapter 63  of
      the  laws  of  1996 relating to making appropriations for the support of
      government, in relation to extending the effectiveness thereof; to amend
      chapter 30 of the laws of 1996, relating to a retirement  incentive,  in
      relation  to payment schedules; to amend chapter 41 of the laws of 1990,
      relating to authorizing and directing the transfer  of  hazardous  waste
      remedial fund industry fee transfer account balances and receipts to the
      general  fund,  and  the  state finance law, in relation to industry fee
      surcharges and the calculations relating thereto; to amend chapter 83 of
      the laws of 1995, amending the state finance law and other laws relating
      to state finances, in relation to the deposit of funds; and to authorize
      the transfer and deposit of various  moneys,"  which  is  in  excess  of
      amounts  estimated  to  be  needed  to  make  the  transfers required by
      subdivision eleven of this section during the  same  period  and,  after
      March  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred ninety-eight, an amount equal to
      the amount actually transferred from the industry fee  transfer  account
      to  the  general  fund  during  the  period March thirty-first, nineteen
      hundred   ninety   through   March   thirty-first,   nineteen    hundred
      ninety-eight,  pursuant  to  chapter  forty-one  of the laws of nineteen
      hundred ninety, as amended by chapter one hundred sixty-six of the  laws
      of  nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,  chapter  fifty-five  of  the laws of
    
      nineteen hundred ninety-two, chapter fifty-seven of the laws of nineteen
      hundred ninety-three,  chapter  one  hundred  seventy  of  the  laws  of
      nineteen  hundred  ninety-four,  chapter  eighty-three  of  the  laws of
      nineteen  hundred ninety-five, chapter three hundred nine of the laws of
      nineteen hundred ninety-six and  a  chapter  of  the  laws  of  nineteen
      hundred  ninety-seven  entitled  "AN  ACT  making appropriations for the
      support of government and to amend  chapter  63  of  the  laws  of  1996
      relating  to  making  appropriations  for  the support of government, in
      relation to extending the effectiveness thereof; to amend chapter 30  of
      the  laws  of  1996,  relating to a retirement incentive, in relation to
      payment schedules; to amend chapter 41 of the laws of 1990, relating  to
      authorizing  and directing the transfer of hazardous waste remedial fund
      industry fee transfer account balances and receipts to the general fund,
      and the state finance law, in relation to industry  fee  surcharges  and
      the  calculations  relating  thereto; to amend chapter 83 of the laws of
      1995, amending the state finance law and other laws  relating  to  state
      finances,  in  relation  to  the  deposit of funds; and to authorize the
      transfer and deposit of various moneys," which  was  in  excess  of  the
      amount  required  to  be  transferred during the same period pursuant to
      subdivision eleven of this section; except that  the  comptroller  shall
      reduce  this  amount  by  an amount equal to the amount which would have
      been debited against such calculated balance during the prior estimating
      periods for transfers pursuant to subdivision eleven of this section, if
      the amount transferred from the industry fee  transfer  account  to  the
      general  fund  pursuant  to  chapter  forty-one  of the laws of nineteen
      hundred ninety, as amended by chapter one hundred sixty-six of the  laws
      of  nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,  chapter  fifty-five  of  the laws of
      nineteen hundred ninety-two, chapter fifty-seven of the laws of nineteen
      hundred ninety-three,  chapter  one  hundred  seventy  of  the  laws  of
      nineteen  hundred  ninety-four,  chapter  eighty-three  of  the  laws of
      nineteen hundred ninety-five, chapter three hundred nine of the laws  of
      nineteen  hundred  ninety-six  and  a  chapter  of  the laws of nineteen
      hundred ninety-seven entitled "AN  ACT  making  appropriations  for  the
      support  of  government  and  to  amend  chapter  63 of the laws of 1996
      relating to making appropriations for  the  support  of  government,  in
      relation  to extending the effectiveness thereof; to amend chapter 30 of
      the laws of 1996, relating to a retirement  incentive,  in  relation  to
      payment  schedules; to amend chapter 41 of the laws of 1990, relating to
      authorizing and directing the transfer of hazardous waste remedial  fund
      industry fee transfer account balances and receipts to the general fund,
      and  the  state  finance law, in relation to industry fee surcharges and
      the calculations relating thereto; to amend chapter 83 of  the  laws  of
      1995,  amending  the  state finance law and other laws relating to state
      finances, in relation to the deposit of  funds;  and  to  authorize  the
      transfer and deposit of various moneys," had been left on deposit in the
      industry fee transfer account, and had been the only amount available to
      cover  the  transfers which would have been made pursuant to subdivision
      eleven of this section if an actual balance had been  available  in  the
      industry fee transfer account at such time.
        (ii)  an  amount, as estimated by the comptroller, equal to the amount
      of interest which  would  otherwise  have  been  earned  on  the  amount
      determined  by  subparagraph  (i)  of this paragraph, if such amount had
      been left on deposit in the industry fee transfer  account  and  accrued
      through the period for which the comptroller is estimating the available
      account balances pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision.
        13.   Upon  the  receipt  of  a  certification  provided  pursuant  to
      subdivision twelve of this section, the state superfund management board
      shall review and analyze the historical pattern of revenue  received  by
    
      the industry fee transfer account and the long term projection of future
      transfers  from  such  account,  and  shall report on or before December
      first  of  such  year  to  the  governor   and   the   legislature   its
      recommendations,  if any, as to the sources of additional revenues which
      could be used to supplement the revenues to be received by such fund  in
      order  to achieve the equal sharing of debt service costs as implemented
      in subdivision nine of this section.
        14. In the absence of further direction by law, effective April  first
      of  the  fiscal  year  immediately  following  the  certification by the
      comptroller  made  pursuant  to  subdivision  twelve  of  this  section,
      surcharges  in  the  following  amount shall be imposed: (a) twenty-five
      percent of the fees imposed by  sections  72-0402  and  72-0502  of  the
      environmental  conservation  law. Notwithstanding any other provision of
      law to the contrary, moneys  collected  from  such  surcharge  shall  be
      deposited  in  their  entirety  to  the  industry  fee  transfer account
      established pursuant to subdivision  one  of  this  section;  (b)  fifty
      percent  of  the  fees  imposed  by section 27-0923 of the environmental
      conservation law, except for those fees contained in paragraphs b and  c
      of  subdivision one, and paragraph b of subdivision two of such section,
      which shall be exempt from such surcharge. Moneys  collected  from  such
      surcharge  shall  be  deposited  to  the  industry  fee transfer account
      established pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
        15. On and after the date of such certification, the comptroller shall
      maintain records with respect to such account  to  reflect  each  unpaid
      transfer  for  the  period  during which it is unpaid. On and after such
      date, any deposits  in  the  industry  fee  transfer  account  shall  be
      immediately transferred to the general fund of the state until an amount
      equal  to  the  total  of  any unpaid transfers and accumulated interest
      shall have been transferred to the general fund.