N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law § 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.