NY Pub Auth L § 1285-U (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBA - Public Authorities Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities Title 12 - New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation 1285-U - Septic System Replacement Fund.

§ 1285-u. Septic system replacement fund. 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section:  (a)  "Cesspool" means a drywell that receives untreated sanitary waste containing human excreta, which sometimes  has  an  open  bottom  and/or perforated sides.  (b)  "Fund"  means the state septic system replacement fund created by this section.  (c)  "Participating  county"  means  a  county   that   notifies   the corporation  that  it  seeks  authority  to  administer  a septic system replacement program within its municipal boundaries and agrees to  abide by   the  program's  goals,  guidelines,  eligibility  requirements  and reimbursement procedures and  provide  information  to  property  owners regarding program parameters including eligibility criteria.  (d)  "Septic  system"  means  a system that provides for the treatment and/or disposition of the combination of human and sanitary  waste  with water  not  exceeding  one  thousand  gallons  per day, serving a single parcel of land, including residences and small businesses.  (e) "Septic system project" means the replacement of a cesspool with a septic system, the installation, replacement  or  upgrade  of  a  septic system   or  septic  system  components,  or  installation  of  enhanced treatment technologies, including an advanced nitrogen  removal  system, to  significantly  and  quantifiably  reduce environmental and/or public health impacts associated with effluent from a cesspool or septic system to groundwater used as drinking water, or a threatened  or  an  impaired waterbody.  (f)  "Small  business"  means  any  business which is resident in this state, independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field,  and employing not more than one hundred individuals.   2.  (a)  There is hereby created the state septic system replacement fund, which shall  be  administered  by  the  corporation  to  reimburse property  owners  or  at  the  written  request of a property owner, the septic system installer contracted by the  property  owner,  for  up  to fifty  percent of the eligible costs incurred for eligible septic system projects, provided that no property owner shall be reimbursed more  than ten  thousand  dollars  and no septic system installer may be reimbursed more than ten thousand dollars per property.  (b) Eligible costs include design and installation costs, and costs of the system, system components, or enhanced treatment  technologies,  but shall  not  include  costs associated with routine maintenance such as a pump out of a septic tank.  (c) The department of environmental conservation, in consultation with the department of health and participating counties, shall from the list of participating counties establish priority geographic  areas  and,  in the  absence  of  county  information,  identify  eligible septic system projects, based on an area's vulnerability to  contamination,  including the   presence  of  a  sole  source  aquifer,  or  known  water  quality impairment,  population  density,  soils,  hydrogeology,  climate,   and reasonable  ability for septic system projects to mitigate water quality impacts. The department of environmental conservation may delegate to  a participating  county  the  identification of priority geographic areas. The department  of  environmental  conservation,  in  consultation  with participating  counties  in  which  priority areas have been identified, shall determine the amount of money from the fund to be provided to each participating county based on density, demand for reimbursement from the fund and the criteria used to establish the priority  geographic  areas. The corporation shall publish information, application forms, procedures and  guidelines  relating  to the program on its website and in a manner that is accessible to the public.  (d) The corporation shall provide state financial assistance  payments from the fund, from moneys appropriated by the legislature and available for  that  purpose,  to  participating  counties  to administer a septic system replacement program to  support  septic  system  projects  within their  municipal  boundaries  undertaken by property owners within their municipal boundaries. Where  such  project  is  located  in  a  priority geographic   area   identified   by   the  department  of  environmental conservation  as  threatened  or   impaired   by   nitrogen,   including groundwater  used  as  drinking  water,  such septic system project must reduce nitrogen levels by at least thirty percent.  (e) The corporation shall make payments  monthly  to  a  participating county  upon  the receipt by the corporation of a certification from the participating county of the total  costs  incurred  by  property  owners within  its  municipal  boundaries for septic system projects within its municipal boundaries that are eligible for reimbursement from the fund.   3. (a) A participating county shall notify property owners who may  be eligible  to  participate  in the program. Determinations of eligibility will be made by the participating county based on the published  program criteria  and  consideration  of  a property's location in relation to a waterbody, impacts to  groundwater  used  as  drinking  water,  and  the condition  of  the  property owner's current septic system as determined by:  (i) the county health department official; or  (ii) other  designated  authority  having  jurisdiction,  pursuant  to septic  inspections  required by a municipal separate storm sewer system permit; or  (iii) a septic contractor pursuant to the applicable  county  sanitary code  provided,  however, in cases where a property owner has authorized in writing such contractor to receive reimbursement directly, additional verification shall be required.  (b) An owner of property served by a septic  system  or  cesspool  may apply  to  a participating county on an application substantially in the form provided by the corporation.  (c) Property owners in  participating  counties  must  have  signed  a property  owner participation agreement with the county before the start of the design phase to be eligible for reimbursement from the fund.  The agreement  must be substantially in the form provided by the corporation and  include,  without  limitation,  the  program's  goals,  guidelines, eligibility requirements and reimbursement procedures.  (d)  A property owner may apply for reimbursement of eligible costs by submitting to the  participating  county  a  reimbursement  application, which must include at least:  (i) a signed property owner participation agreement;  (ii)  a  completed reimbursement application form substantially in the form provided by the corporation;  (iii) any applicable design approval for the septic system project;  (iv) description of all work completed;  (v) cost documentation and invoice or invoices for eligible costs; and  (vi) any written  authorization  for  a  septic  system  installer  to receive reimbursement directly.  (e)  Participating  counties  will  be responsible for reviewing their property owners' applications and approving, modifying  or  denying  the reimbursement requests as appropriate and issuing reimbursement payments to property owners from financial assistance payments made to the county from the fund.  (f)  Participation  in  this program and the receipt of payments shall not   prevent   participating   counties   from   providing   additional reimbursement to property owners.  (g)  Subject  to the limitations of paragraph (d) of this subdivision, the county may set graduated incentive reimbursement  rates  for  septic system projects to maximize pollution reduction outcomes.   4.  On  or  before  March  first,  two thousand nineteen, and annually thereafter, the corporation shall submit to the governor, the  temporary president  of  the  senate  and  the  speaker  of  the assembly a report regarding the program. Such report  shall  include,  but  shall  not  be limited  to,  the  number  and amount of grants provided, the number and amount of any grants denied, geographic distribution  of  such  projects and   any   other  information  the  corporation  determines  useful  in evaluating the benefits of the program.