N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law § 17-1907: Contracts for construction of sewer systems

§ 17-1907. Contracts for construction of sewer systems.

1. As used in this section:

a. "Construction" means and includes the building, installation, or

extension of a sewer system; the inspection and supervision thereof; the

engineering, legal, fiscal and economic investigations; studies,

surveys, designs, plans, contract drawings, specifications, procedures;

and other actions necessary thereto.

b. "Sewer system" means and includes pipe lines or conduits, pumping

stations, force mains, and all other constructions, devices, and

appliances appurtenant thereto, used for conducting sewage (the

water-carried human, animal or other treatable wastes from residences,

buildings, industrial and commercial establishments or other places) to

a point of connection to the sewage treatment works as defined in

section 17-1903.

c. "Sewer connection" means and includes a point of connection between

a building, residence or other structure and a public sewer.

d. "Residence" means and includes a building or structure which is

occupied principally as the home of one or more persons; provided,

however, that such building or structure contain not more than two

dwelling units.

e. "Municipality" means and includes any county, town, village,

district corporation, county or town improvement district, or any two or

more of the foregoing which are acting jointly in connection with an

eligible project. For purposes of this section only, an Indian

reservation located partly or wholly within New York State shall be

construed as a "municipality".

f. "Local governing body" means and includes (1) in a county, the

county legislative body (2) in a town, the town board; (3) in a village,

the board of trustees; (4) in a district corporation or an improvement

district, the governing board; (5) in an Indian reservation, the proper

tribal officials.

g. "Federal assistance" means and includes funds available, other than

by loan, from the federal government to a municipality, either directly

or through allocation by the state, for construction of a sewer system

or which are used for such construction, pursuant to any other federal

law or program.

i. "Project" means the construction of the whole or connected portion

of a sewage collection system. Where the construction of a sewage

collection system is phased over a period of years, each phase may be

considered as a project.

j. "Eligible project" means a project which in the judgment of the

commissioner meets all of the following requirements:

(1) It is in accord with applicable comprehensive studies and reports

made pursuant to section 17-1901 of this article;

(2) It conforms with applicable rules and regulations of the

commissioner and, in his opinion, reflects a reasonable effort to

develop maximum economy in planning, design and construction, with an

acceptable ratio between costs and benefits;

(3) It is necessary for the accomplishment of the state water

pollution control program;

(4) It is under construction in the period between April 1, 1965 and

March 31, 1977;

(5) No portion of the project aided herein is eligible to receive

assistance pursuant to section 17-1903;

(6) It serves inhabited residences in existence prior to the effective

date of this law;

(7) It serves the public by providing for the collection of sewage

(house connections and pipes collecting exclusively industrial,

commercial and other nonresidential waste are ineligible);

(8) The project or major part thereof is, at the time of construction,

located in: (a) a town which has a total population of seventeen

thousand or less persons, or (b) a town outside of village area which

has a population density per square mile of less than one hundred

persons.

k. "Capital cost" means the actual cost of construction of an eligible

project, not to include the cost of securing financing or interest on

funds borrowed to finance such construction, and representing that part

of the cost of the eligible project that is not paid by the federal

government.

l. "Annual debt service" means such amounts as shall be required to be

paid annually to amortize obligations (both principal and interest)

issued in order to finance the capital cost of an eligible project;

provided, however, that for the purposes of state aid, such annual debt

service shall be computed on a debt amortization schedule of not less

than thirty years nor more than forty years, as the commissioner shall

determine, and shall not include any other debt service (whether

principal or interest) on obligations of or on behalf of a municipality,

other capital costs, or expenditures for the purpose as to which state

reimbursement is claimed under any provision of law other than this

section. Where the eligible portion of the sewage collection system

serves non-residential users as well as residences, the amount of annual

debt service to be used in computing state aid shall be reduced as

determined by the commissioner, to compensate for the benefits received

by the nonresidential users from such system.

m. "State aid" means financial support made available to a

municipality by way of state participation in annual debt service,

through contracts entered into between the commissioner and the

municipality, upon such terms and conditions as the commissioner shall

deem appropriate, which shall be based on the number of residences

served by the eligible project and computed as follows:

(1) The amount of annual debt service, as defined above, minus the

municipality's share of the expense for construction of the sewage

collection system.

(2) The municipality's share shall be the product of the number of

residential sewer connections served by the project multiplied by an

adjusted rate. The adjusted rate shall be determined by applying a

valuation correction from the sum of one hundred twenty-five dollars.

(3) Valuation correction shall consist of minus one dollar for each

one thousand dollars or part thereof that the project area per capita

full value is less than the average per capita full value for the state

excluding all cities. For projects wholly located within a village or

town the project area per capita full value shall be the per capita full

value for the village, or for the town outside of village area,

respectively. For other projects, per capita full value shall be per

capita full value of the town or village within which the major portion

of the project is located. Per capita full value shall mean the full

value of such municipality or area divided by the population thereof.

The amount of such state aid shall be recomputed each year, on the

basis of data reported by the local governing body as accepted by the

commissioner. State aid shall commence in the state fiscal year

beginning April 1, l971. No state-aid payments shall be made on the

basis of any portion of the debt service of eligible projects which was

due and payable prior to April 1, 1971.

2. For the purpose of meeting the state responsibility as provided

herein, with respect to the protection and promotion of the health of

the inhabitants of the state by the provision of sewer systems, the

commissioner, in the name of the state, may enter into contracts with

municipalities having power to construct, operate and maintain sewer

systems, and any such municipality may enter into a contract with the

commissioner concerning eligible projects. Any such contract may include

such provisions as may be agreed upon by the parties thereto, and shall

include, in substance, the following provisions:

a. The cost of the eligible project as determined by the commissioner.

b. The method by which the eligible project shall be financed.

c. An agreement between the commissioner and the municipality to

provide state aid to the municipality each year, during the progress of

construction or following completion of construction as may be agreed

upon by the parties.

d. An agreement by the municipality

(1) To proceed expeditiously with, and complete, the project in

accordance with plans approved pursuant to section 17-0701 of this

article;

(2) To commence operation of the sewer system on completion of the

project, and not to discontinue operation of the sewer system without

the approval of the commissioner,

(3) To operate and maintain the sewer system in accordance with

applicable provisions of this article, the state sanitary code and rules

and regulations of the commissioner,

(4) To apply for and make reasonable efforts to secure federal

assistance for the project,

(5) To secure the approval of the commissioner before applying for

federal assistance, in order to maximize the amounts of such assistance

received or to be received for all projects in New York state,

(6) To provide for the payment of the municipality's share of the cost

of the project,

(7) To execute a contract or agreement with the owner of the sewage

treatment plant, if other than the municipality itself, to accept sewage

from the sewage collection system aided under this section, and

(8) To promulgate a municipal sewage use ordinance acceptable to the

commissioner.

e. A provision that, in the event that federal assistance which was

not included in the calculation of the capital cost becomes available to

the municipality, the amount of the state payment shall be recalculated

by deducting the amount of such federal assistance from the eligible

capital cost, and adjustment shall be made either (1) by the

municipality paying to the state the amount by which the state payments

actually made exceed the state payments determined by the recalculation

or, (2) by deducting the excess paid from subsequent payments to be made

by the state.

3. The commissioner may adopt rules and regulations pursuant to

subdivision 3 of section 17-0303 of this article governing the making

and enforcing of contracts pursuant to this section.

4. All contracts entered into pursuant to this section shall be

subject to approval by the state comptroller, and by the attorney

general as to form. All payments by the state pursuant to such contracts

shall be made after audit by and upon the warrant of the comptroller on

vouchers approved by the commissioner.

5. In connection with each contract concerning an eligible project the

commissioner shall keep adequate records of the amount of the payment by

the state pursuant to subparagraph c of subdivision two of this section,

and of the amount of federal assistance received by the municipality.