N.Y. CAL Law § 6 — New York Code / Act CAL / Article 1-A / Section 6
Transfer of canal lands and other assets
Status: in_force

§ 6. Transfer of canal lands and other assets.  1. The jurisdiction of\nthe thruway authority over the New York state canal system and over all\nstate assets, equipment and property, both tangible and intangible,\nowned or used in connection with the planning, development,\nconstruction, reconstruction, maintenance and operation of the New York\nstate canal system, as set forth in articles one through and including\nfourteen, except article seven, of this chapter, and except properties\nin use on the effective date of this article in support of highway\nmaintenance, equipment management and traffic signal operations of the\ndepartment of transportation, heretofore transferred by the commissioner\nof transportation to the thruway authority, are hereby transferred\nwithout consideration to the authority, to be held by the authority in\nthe name of the people of the state of New York. In addition the\ncommissioner of transportation and the chair of the authority or his or\nher designee may, in their discretion, enter into an agreement or\nagreements transferring jurisdiction over any or all of the bridges and\nhighways set forth in article seven of this chapter, and any or all\nstate assets, equipment and property, both tangible and intangible,\nowned or used in connection with the planning, development,\nconstruction, reconstruction, maintenance and operation of such bridges\nand highways, which shall be transferred without consideration to the\nauthority, to be held by the authority through the corporation in the\nname of the people of the state of New York. Any other rights and\nobligations resulting from or arising out of the planning, development,\nconstruction, reconstruction, operation or maintenance of the New York\nstate canal system shall be deemed assigned to and shall be exercised by\nthe authority through the corporation, except that the authority may\ndesignate the chair of the thruway authority to be its agent for the\noperation and maintenance of the New York state canal system, provided\nthat such designation shall have no force or effect after January first,\ntwo thousand seventeen. Such canal system shall remain the property of\nthe state and under its management and control as exercised by and\nthrough the authority, through the corporation which shall be deemed to\nbe the state for the purposes of such management and control of the\ncanals but for no other purposes.\n  2. The department of transportation and thruway authority shall\ndeliver to the authority all books, policies, procedures, papers, plans,\nmaps, records, equipment and property of such department pertaining to\nthe functions transferred pursuant to this article.\n  3. All rules, regulations, acts, determinations, orders and decisions\nof the commissioner of transportation, department of transportation, or\nthruway authority pertaining to the functions transferred pursuant to\nthis article in force at the time of such transfer shall continue in\nforce and effect as rules, regulations, acts, determinations, orders and\ndecisions of the authority and corporation until duly modified or\nabrogated by such authority or corporation.\n  4. Any business or other matters undertaken or commenced by the\nthruway authority, including executed contracts, permits and other\nagreements, but excluding bonds, notes or other evidences of\nindebtedness, pertaining to or connected with the powers, duties and\nobligations transferred pursuant to this article, and in effect on the\neffective date of the transfer of such matters from the thruway\nauthority to the authority provided for in this article, shall, except\nas otherwise agreed by the authority and the thruway authority, be\nconducted and completed by the authority through the corporation in the\nsame manner and under the same terms and conditions and with the same\neffect as if conducted and completed by the thruway authority, provided\nthat nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to require the\nauthority to take any action in a manner that would in its judgment be\ninconsistent with the provisions of any bond or note resolution or any\nother contract with the holders of the authority's bonds, notes or other\nobligations.\n  5. No existing rights or remedies of the state, authority, thruway\nauthority, or canal corporation shall be lost, impaired or affected by\nreason of this article.\n  6. (a) No action or proceeding pending on the effective date of the\ntransfer of powers, duties and obligations from the thruway authority to\nthe authority brought by or against the thruway authority, the\ncommissioner of transportation, the corporation, the department of\ntransportation or the authority shall be affected by this article. Any\nliability arising out of any act or omission occurring prior to the\neffective date of the transfer of the powers, duties and obligations\nfrom the thruway authority to the authority, of the officers, employees\nor agents of the thruway authority, the department of transportation, or\nany other agency of the state, other than the authority, in the\nperformance of their obligations or duties under the canal law, any\nother law of the state or any federal law, or pursuant to a contract\nentered into prior to the effective date of such transfer, shall remain\na liability of the thruway authority, the department of transportation\nor such other agency of the state and not of the authority.\n  (b) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in\nparagraph (a) of this subdivision, the state shall indemnify and hold\nharmless the thruway authority, the corporation and the authority for\nany and all claims, damages, or liabilities, whether or not caused by\nnegligence, including civil and criminal fines, arising out of or\nrelating to any generation, processing, handling, transportation,\nstorage, treatment, or disposal of solid or hazardous wastes in the\ncanal system by any person or entity other than the thruway authority or\nthe authority occurring prior to August third, nineteen hundred\nninety-two. Such indemnification shall extend to, without limitation,\nany releases into land, water or air, including but not limited to\nreleases as defined under the federal comprehensive environmental\nresponse compensation and liability act of nineteen hundred eighty,\noccurring or existing prior to August third, nineteen hundred\nninety-two; provided that the thruway authority, the corporation and the\nauthority shall cooperate in the investigation and remediation of\nhazardous waste and other environmental problems.\n  (c) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in\nparagraph (a) of this subdivision, the thruway authority shall indemnify\nand hold harmless the corporation and the authority for any and all\nclaims, damages, or liabilities, whether or not caused by negligence,\nincluding civil and criminal fines, arising out of or relating to any\ngeneration, processing, handling, transportation, storage, treatment, or\ndisposal of solid or hazardous wastes in the canal system by any person\nor entity other than the authority occurring after August third,\nnineteen hundred ninety-two and no later than the effective date of the\ntransfer of powers, duties and obligations from the thruway authority to\nthe authority. Such indemnification shall extend to, without limitation,\nany releases into land, water or air, including but not limited to\nreleases as defined under the federal comprehensive environmental\nresponse compensation and liability act of nineteen hundred eighty,\noccurring or existing prior to the effective date of the transfer of\npowers, duties and obligations from the thruway authority to the\nauthority; provided that the corporation and the authority shall\ncooperate in the investigation and remediation of hazardous waste and\nother environmental problems.\n  (d) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the thruway\nauthority shall retain all liabilities, whether or not caused by\nnegligence, arising out of any acts or omissions occurring on or after\nAugust third, nineteen hundred ninety-two, in connection with its\npowers, duties and obligations with respect to the corporation. The\nauthority and the state shall not be held liable in connection with any\nliabilities arising out of such acts or omissions.\n  7. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, in connection\nwith the transfer of jurisdiction of the corporation to the authority\nand the assumption of management of the corporation as a subsidiary\ncorporation of the authority pursuant to the chapter of the laws of two\nthousand sixteen which added this subdivision, the thruway authority\nshall have the power to fulfill any existing agreements or obligations,\nmake any agreements, receive, retain or pay any funds, deemed necessary\nand in the public interest to effectuate the provisions and intent of\nthis chapter, including but not limited to, the entering into any\nagreements with the corporation, the authority and any other federal,\nstate, municipal or other entities, and to receive funds from the\nfederal emergency management agency or the state, to fulfill the thruway\nauthority's existing financial or other obligations arising from its\njurisdiction over the canal system and the corporation.\n