NY Env Conserv L § 56-0101 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ENV - Environmental Conservation Article 56 - Implementation of the Clean Water/clean Air Bond Act of 1996 Title 1 - General Provisions 56-0101 - Definitions.

§  56-0101.  Definitions.  As  used  in this article the following terms shall mean and include:   1. "Aquatic habitat restoration project" means the  planning,  design, construction,  management,  maintenance, reconstruction, revitalization, or rejuvenation activities intended to improve waters of  the  state  of ecological  significance or any part thereof, including, but not limited to ponds, bogs, wetlands, bays, sounds, streams, rivers,  or  lakes  and shorelines   thereof,   to   support  a  spawning,  nursery,  wintering, migratory, nesting, breeding, feeding, or foraging environment for  fish and wildlife and other biota.   2.  "Clean water project" means a project undertaken pursuant to title 3 of this article but shall not include navigational dredging projects.   3. "Combined or separate sewer overflow abatement" means the planning, design, construction of, or improvement  to,  a  system  that  prevents, eliminates,  or  partially eliminates raw untreated sewage from entering the receiving water as the result of a  precipitation  event,  including but  not  limited  to  temporary storage tanks, pumping stations related thereto, sewer pipe, and pilot or demonstration technologies.   4. "Cost" means the cost of an approved project, which  shall  include appraisal,  surveying, engineering and architectural services, plans and specifications, consultant and legal services,  construction  and  other direct  expenses  incident  to  such  project  less any federal or state funds, other than those provided pursuant  to  this  article,  for  such project received or to be received.   5.  "Drinking  water infrastructure project" or "water supply project" means the planning, design, construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities, equipment, sites, or  buildings  for  the  supply,  control, treatment, distribution, and transport of drinking water and the testing and  monitoring  to  ensure  the  integrity  and  quality  of such water intended to improve drinking water facilities including  achievement  of compliance  with the federal safe drinking water act or other applicable federal law and state drinking water quality goals and standards  taking into  consideration  the  water  resources  management strategy prepared pursuant to title twenty-nine of article fifteen of this chapter.   6. "Environmental compliance assistance project" means  the  planning, design,   construction,  improvement,  maintenance,  or  acquisition  of facilities, production  processes,  equipment,  buildings  or  water  or wastewater  infrastructure  for  compliance  with environmental laws and regulations or other pollution avoidance activities.   7. "Environmental restoration project" means a project to  investigate or to remediate contamination pursuant to title five of this article.   8.  "Federal  assistance"  means  funds available, other than by loan, from the federal government, either directly or  through  allocation  by the  state  for construction or program purposes pursuant to any federal law or program.   9. "Governing body" means:  (a) in the case of a county outside of  the  city  of  New  York,  the county board of supervisors or other elective governing body;  (b)  in  the  case  of  a  city or village, the local legislative body thereof, as the term is defined in the municipal home rule law;  (c) in the case of a town, the town board;  (d) in the case of a school district, the board of education thereof;  (e) in the case of a supervisory district, the  board  of  cooperative educational services thereof;  (f)  in  the  case  of  a  public  benefit  corporation,  the board of directors, members or trustees thereof;  (g) in the  case  of  a  public  authority,  the  governing  board  of directors, members, or trustees thereof;  (h)  in  the  case  of  a  not-for-profit  corporation,  the  board of directors thereof or such other body designated in  the  certificate  of incorporation to manage the corporation; and  (i)  in  the case of an Indian tribe, any governing body recognized by the United States or the state of New York.   10. "Air quality project" means a project undertaken pursuant to title six of this article.   11. "Hazardous substances"  mean  substances  found  on  the  list  of substances  hazardous  to  the  public health, safety or the environment promulgated pursuant to article 37 of this  chapter  and  petroleum,  as that  term  is  defined  in  subdivision  fifteen of section one hundred seventy-two of the navigation law.   12. "Heritage area project" means a project undertaken by or through a municipality, public benefit corporation or a not-for-profit corporation identified  in  a  management  plan  prepared  and   approved   by   the commissioner   of   the   office   of  parks,  recreation  and  historic preservation in accordance with the provisions of section 35.05  of  the parks, recreation and historic preservation law.   13.  "Historic  preservation  project" means a project undertaken by a municipality  or  a  not-for-profit  corporation  to  acquire,  improve, restore  or  rehabilitate  property  listed  on  the  state  or national registers of historic places, including, but not limited to, projects at zoos, botanical gardens, and aquaria, to protect the historic, cultural, archeological, or architectural significance thereof, or  undertaken  by the  office  of  parks, recreation and historic preservation to improve, restore or rehabilitate state historic properties listed on the state or national  registers  of  historic  places  to  protect  the  historical, cultural or architectural significance thereof.   14.  "Marine  holding  tank" means any container aboard any vessel, as defined in section two of the navigation law, that is designed and  used for  the  purpose  of collecting and storing treated or untreated sewage from marine toilets.   15. "Municipality" means a local public authority  or  public  benefit corporation, a county, city, town, village, school district, supervisory district,  district  corporation,  improvement district within a county, city, town or village, or Indian nation or tribe recognized by the state or the United States with a reservation  wholly  or  partly  within  the boundaries of New York state, or any combination thereof. In the case of aquatic  habitat  restoration  projects,  the  term  municipality  shall include the state.   16. "Not-for-profit corporation" means a corporation  formed  pursuant to  the  not-for-profit  corporation  law  and  qualified for tax-exempt status under the federal internal revenue code.   17. "Office" means  the  office  of  parks,  recreation  and  historic preservation.   18.  "Open space land conservation project" means acquisition projects undertaken with willing sellers  including,  but  not  limited  to,  the purchase  of conservation easements, undertaken by the commissioner, the commissioner  of  the  office  of   parks,   recreation   and   historic preservation or by municipalities pursuant to article twenty-five-AAA of the agriculture and markets law.   19. "Park project" means a project undertaken by a municipality, state agency,  public benefit corporation, public authority, or not-for-profit corporation for the acquisition, development or  improvement  of  parks, preserves,  beaches,  shorefronts,  recreational  sites  and  facilities including construction of structures, roads and parking facilities.   20.  "Pollution  prevention  project"  means  the  planning,   design, construction,  improvement,  maintenance  or  acquisition of facilities,  production processes,  equipment  or  buildings  owned  or  operated  by municipalities  for  the reduction, avoidance, or elimination of the use of toxic or hazardous substances or the generation of such substances or pollutants  so  as  to reduce risks to public health or the environment, including  changes  in  production  processes  or  raw  materials;  such projects  shall  not  include  incineration, transfer from one medium of release or discharge to another  media,  off-site  or  out-of-production recycling, end-of-pipe treatment or pollution control.   21.  "Responsible  party"  means  a party responsible under applicable principles of  statutory  or  common  law  liability  to  remediate  the contamination located at, or emanating from, real property subject to an environmental restoration project.   22.  "Safe drinking water project" means a project undertaken pursuant to title 2 of this article.   23. "Small business" means any business  which  is  resident  in  this state,  independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field, and employs not more than one hundred individuals.   24. "Solid waste project" means a project undertaken pursuant to title 4 of this article.   25. "Solid waste" shall have the definition set forth in  title  5  of article  27  of  this  chapter  but shall not include hazardous waste as defined in title 9 of article 27 of this chapter.   26. "State assistance payment" means payment of the state share of the cost of projects authorized by this act to  preserve,  enhance,  restore and improve the quality of the state's environment.   27.  "Stormwater  collecting system" means systems of conduits and all other  constructions,  devices,  and  appliances  appurtenant   thereto, designed  and  used  to  collect and carry stormwater and surface water, street wash, and other wash and drainage waters to a  point  source  for discharge.   28. "Vessel pumpout station" means a project for the planning, design, acquisition or construction of a permanent or portable device capable of removing human sewage from a marine holding tank.   29.  "Wastewater  treatment  improvement  project" means the planning, design, construction, acquisition, enlargement, extension, or alteration of a sewage treatment plant to treat, neutralize,  stabilize,  eliminate or  partially  eliminate  sewage or reduce pollutants in treatment plant effluent or to create mechanisms to transport wastewater to a  treatment plant,  including permanent or pilot demonstration wastewater treatment, outfall and dispersal  apparatus,  pumping  stations  integral  to  such plants  or  sewers,  sewer  pipes,  combined  sewer  overflow abatement, stormwater collecting systems, vessel pumpout stations, or equipment  or furnishings thereof.   30.  "Waterbodies"  means  waters or waters of the state as defined in section 17-0105 of this chapter  except  private  waters  which  do  not provide public access.   31. "Water quality improvement project" means:  (a) wastewater treatment improvement projects;  (b)  non-point source abatement and control program projects developed pursuant  to  section  eleven-b  of  the  soil  and  water  conservation districts  law, title 14 of article 17 of this chapter, section 1455b of the federal coastal zone management act, or  article  forty-two  of  the executive law;  (c) aquatic habitat restoration projects; and  (d) pollution prevention projects.   32.  "Contamination"  or "contaminated" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 27-1405 of this chapter.