N.Y. Highway Law § 23*2: Coal combustion by-product demonstration project

* § 23. Coal combustion by-product demonstration project. 1. The

commissioner shall undertake in nineteen hundred eighty-eight, after

consultation with and in cooperation with the commissioner of

environmental conservation, a demonstration project utilizing coal

combustion by-products in the construction or improvement of state

highways. Such project shall demonstrate the feasibility of the use of

coal combustion by-products generated in the state, for the purpose of,

but not solely limited to, large volume applications of such by-products

as embankments and/or as fill.

2. On or before April first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, the

commissioner and the commissioner of environmental conservation shall

submit a report to the governor, to the speaker of the assembly and to

the president pro tem of the senate. In making such report, the

commissioner shall make use of and report on existing studies, analyses

and pilot projects conducted by the state of New York or the other

states or the federal government, and such other sources of information

they deem appropriate. Such report shall summarize and analyze the

demonstration project and other data and information compiled by the

commissioners. Such summary and analysis shall include:

(a) a comparison of costs of conventional embankment and fill

materials to the costs of the use of coal combustion by-products for

such purposes;

(b) a comparison of the methods of application of conventional

embankment and fill materials to the application of coal combustion

by-products for the same purposes and the ability to adapt equipment and

processes, if necessary, to incorporate coal combustion by-products into

the commissioner's specification for embankments and fill;

(c) a comparison of the performance of coal combustion by-products to

conventional materials with respect to stability, erosion, environmental

compatibility and such other similar characteristics as may be deemed

appropriate by the commissioners;

(d) a comparison of the environmental benefits and detriments of the

use of coal combustion by-products with those of alternative products or

materials;

(e) the findings of the commissioner as to the optimum and appropriate

percentage of coal combustion by-products for construction or

improvement of state highways in consideration of projected performance,

and costs;

(f) a finding of the quantity of coal combustion by-products that

would be used annually if the percentage of coal combustion by-products

recommended by the commissioners were to be utilized in embankments and

fills for contracts for the construction or improvement of state

highways or sections thereof;

(g) a description of existing or potential impediments to the maximum

utilization of coal combustion by-products in contracts for the

construction or improvement of state highways;

(h) recommendations of the commissioner as to future actions that

could be taken by the department, the governor and the legislature to

facilitate the use of coal combustion by-products for highway

construction or improvement;

(i) an analysis of the potential for the use of coal combustion

by-products by local governments, regional and statewide authorities

governing the construction or improvement of highways or bridges,

including, but not limited to:

(i) the projected annual demand for coal combustion by-products by

local governments, regional and statewide authorities, based upon the

percentage recommended by the commissioner for use in fills and

embankments; and

(ii) known or anticipated impediments to the maximum utilization of

coal combustion by-products by local governments, regional and statewide

authorities; and

(j) an estimation of the additional expense, if any, to the state or

localities in the utilization of coal combustion by-products

technologies.

3. The commissioner shall further examine, and make recommendations

regarding the following:

(a) actions that may be necessary to ensure the availability of an

adequate supply of coal combustion by-products to meet projected demand

in the construction or improvement of public highways;

(b) methods of encouraging the use of coal combustion by-products in

concrete and asphalt applications.

4. In the preparation of this report, the commissioner and the

commissioner of environmental conservation shall consult with the county

and other state governments, the New York state thruway authority, the

port authority of New York and New Jersey and such public or private

agencies as the commissioner deems appropriate.

* NB There are 2 § 23's