N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law § 3-0309: Stand-by contracts

§ 3-0309. Stand-by contracts.

1. Consistent with the commissioner's authority to undertake such

activities pursuant to this chapter, the state public health law, the

public authorities law and the state finance law, the commissioner may

enter into stand-by contracts for the purpose of achieving timely and

effective remedies in a cost-effective manner for:

a. services related to a release or a suspected release of a hazardous

substance as defined in section 40-0105 of this chapter and regulations

promulgated thereunder;

b. other than for major physical construction associated with

permanent remedial actions, the cleanup or return to its original state

of any area where hazardous wastes were disposed, possessed, or dealt in

unlawfully in violation of section 27-0914 of this chapter;

c. emergency response action to clean up spills or abate other public

health or environmental hazards involving hazardous wastes; and

d. other than for major physical construction associated with

permanent remedial actions, all services related to the investigation in

support of, or to the development, implementation and oversight of the

program for remediation of inactive hazardous waste disposal sites

pursuant to article 27 of this chapter.

2. For the purposes of this section, a stand-by contract shall mean a

contract which provides for services and goods to be rendered to the

department, at prenegotiated rates or predetermined unit prices, with

such services or goods to be supplied by the contractor only when and

where directed to do so by the commissioner. All such contracts shall be

subject to the approval of the state comptroller in accordance with

section one hundred twelve of the state finance law; however, such

approval shall not obligate to any particular contract any specific

amount of funds, but shall obligate on an individual basis, as such

contracts are utilized, the actual amount required to pay for work

performed pursuant to such contracts except that a maximum dollar amount

shall be placed on each such contract. Any necessary approvals of

availability of funds for a particular project in accordance with any

provision of the state finance law shall be made as soon as possible

after any activity identified in subdivision one of this section is

ordered by the commissioner, or undertaken by the contractor.

3. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to alter the authority

conferred upon the commissioner to conduct the activities identified in

subdivision one of this section, or to modify the requirements which are

established by this chapter, the state public health law, the public

authorities law, or section ninety-seven-b of the state finance law and

are applicable to such activities.

4. The department in cooperation with the state comptroller shall as

soon as practicable and prior to the execution of stand-by contracts

pursuant to this section develop and implement a stand-by contract

management protocol system. Such system shall provide for but not be

limited to:

a. guidelines for selecting contractors based upon section one hundred

thirty-six-a of the state finance law, if applicable, and upon other

factors which shall include but are not limited to past performance,

reasonableness of prices charged for specific tasks, and overall

qualifications of the contractor;

b. departmental bid or proposal analysis and negotiation documentation

requirements;

c. contractor reporting and documentation requirements;

d. formal procedures for inspecting contractor work and reviewing

payment requests;

e. maintenance of equipment inventory with location; and

f. requirements and controls for subcontractors.

5. The department shall submit to the director of the division of the

budget, the temporary president and minority leader of the senate, the

speaker and minority leader of the assembly, the chairman and ranking

minority member of the senate finance committee and the chairman and

ranking minority member of the assembly ways and means committee an

evaluation and audit of the department's use of stand-by contracts

pursuant to this section prepared by an entity independent of the

department. Such entity may be the office of the state comptroller.

Such evaluation and audit shall be submitted by September first,

nineteen hundred ninety and by September first, every two years

thereafter.