N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1285-t: Water infrastructure emergency financial assistance

§ 1285-t. Water infrastructure emergency financial assistance. 1. For

purposes of this section, "municipality" means any county, city, town,

village, district corporation, county or town improvement district,

school district, 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, any public benefit corporation or public authority

established pursuant to the laws of New York or any agency of New York

state which is empowered to construct and operate a wastewater or

drinking water infrastructure project, or any two or more of the

foregoing which are acting jointly in connection with such a project.

2. Upon a municipality's formal declaration of an emergency, the

municipality shall provide the department of environmental conservation

or the department of health, as appropriate, with information to assess

any situation in which the state of the municipality's wastewater or

water infrastructure is causing or may cause an imminent hazard to the

public health or welfare, or the environment. After its assessment, if

either department determines the state of the infrastructure is

resulting or may result in imminent hazard to the public health or

welfare, or to the environment, the corporation shall provide temporary

emergency assistance, within amounts appropriated, to the municipality

in an amount not to exceed reasonable costs for infrastructure

construction, replacement, or repair, and related engineering costs,

that is immediately necessary to eliminate or substantially reduce such

hazard.

3. The corporation and the municipality shall enter into an agreement

signed by an officer duly authorized by the governing body of the

municipality pursuant to which the corporation shall transmit emergency

financial assistance in an amount determined by the department of

environmental conservation or the department of health, as applicable,

as necessary to address the imminent hazard, and shall provide the

assistance payment to the municipality within two business days of

receipt of such determination. The municipality shall submit an itemized

cost estimate from the municipality's engineer or engineering consultant

to the applicable department sufficient to make such determination.

4. No later than fourteen days after the cessation of the emergency,

the municipality shall provide to the corporation documentation for all

costs paid with the emergency assistance and refund to the corporation

any portion of the financial assistance not used or committed to pay for

the construction, replacement, or repair and related engineering costs

determined to be necessary under subdivision one of this section.

5. Subject to appropriation or duly authorized indebtedness, the

municipality shall repay the corporation within one year of its receipt

of emergency financial assistance the full amount of such assistance

provided to it under this section. The corporation may extend the time

to repay for up to one additional year if the corporation determines in

its sole discretion that such an extension is warranted under the

circumstances.

6. Nothing in this section nullifies the eligibility of a municipality

for other infrastructure funding, including grant, which may be provided

by the state for water infrastructure directly related to the

infrastructure for which emergency financial assistance is awarded under

this section, including funding the municipality could use to repay the

emergency financial assistance. If the municipality receives such other

funding from the state or any financial assistance from a third party

for the same infrastructure, the municipality shall within ten days

first repay the corporation the outstanding balance of the emergency

financial assistance before paying any remaining costs for the water

infrastructure.