N.Y. Navigation Law § 177: Emergency oil spill control network

§ 177. Emergency oil spill control network. 1. The commissioner shall

establish an emergency oil spill control network which shall be

comprised of available equipment from appropriate town, county and state

highway departments. Such network shall be employed to provide an

immediate response to a discharge on any of the waters of the state.

Furthermore, such network shall be employed in conjunction with the

cleanup operations of the owner or operator, the department and any

federal agency.

2. The commissioner shall make an inventory of all equipment in town,

county, and state highway departments that would be capable of

participating in discharge cleanup operations.

3. The commissioner shall have the power to deploy such equipment to

participate in a discharge cleanup operation at his discretion and to

reimburse such town, county, and state highway departments for use of

such equipment from the fund.

4. The commissioner may request and shall receive from any other state

agency such assistance and data as will enable him to carry out his

responsibilities pursuant to this section.

5. (a) The commissioner shall issue a catalogue designed to expedite

responses to discharges of petroleum.

(b) The catalogue shall contain the following information, broken down

by geographical area:

(i) a listing of state stand-by contractors, their equipment and spill

response capabilities;

(ii) a listing of state-owned equipment which could be used in the

event of a major discharge of petroleum;

(iii) a listing of companies and organizations that have spill

response equipment available for sale, lease or loan; and

(iv) a listing of organizations which are involved in the cleanup and

rehabilitation of birds and wildlife.

(c) The catalogue shall be updated as deemed appropriate by the

commissioner.

(d) The commissioner shall notify the chief executive officer of all

counties which border on any navigable waters of the state or on the

marine and coastal district, as defined in section 13-0303 of the

environmental conservation law, of the availability of the catalogue.

This catalogue shall be distributed upon request at a maximum fee of

twenty-five cents per page. Any such fee shall be deposited into the New

York environmental protection and spill compensation fund established

pursuant to section one hundred seventy-nine of this article.

6. The commissioner may institute a program to educate local officials

on procedures to follow in reporting and responding to spill

emergencies.