Senate Bill S6905

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  6905

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              March 4, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  O'MARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Infrastructure and Capital
  Investment

AN ACT establishing the New York State water infrastructure  improvement
  act of 2016

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. This act may be known and be cited as the "New  York  State
water infrastructure improvement act of 2016".
  S 2. For purposes of this act:
  1. "water quality infrastructure project" shall mean "sewage treatment
works"  as  defined in section 17-1903 of the environmental conservation
law or "eligible project" as defined in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (e)
of subdivision 4 of section 1160 of the public health law.
  2. "construction" shall mean:
  (a) for sewage treatment works, the same as defined in section 17-1903
of the environmental conservation law; and
  (b) for eligible projects, the same meaning as defined in section 1160
of the public health law.
  3. "municipality" shall mean any county, city, town, village, district
corporation, county or town improvement district, school district, Indi-
an 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  water  quality  infrastructure
project, or any two or more of the foregoing which are acting jointly in
connection with a water quality infrastructure project.
  S  3.  1. The environmental facilities corporation shall undertake and
provide state financial assistance payments, from funds appropriated for
such purpose, to municipalities in support of water quality  infrastruc-
ture  projects provided, however, in any such year that funds are appro-
priated for such purpose, no municipality shall receive more  than  five
million  dollars  of appropriated funds. Such state financial assistance

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD14455-01-6

S. 6905                             2

payments shall be awarded only to water quality infrastructure  projects
for:
  (a)   erection,  building,  acquisition,  alteration,  reconstruction,
improvement, replacement, repair, enlargement or  extension  of  infras-
tructure; or
  (b)  compliance  with  environmental  and public health laws and regu-
lations related to water quality.
  2. Any state financial assistance payment awarded pursuant to this act
shall not exceed sixty percent of the project cost.
  3. A municipality may make an application  for  such  state  financial
assistance  payment, in a manner, form and timeframe and containing such
information as the  environmental  facilities  corporation  may  require
provided  however, such requirements shall not include a requirement for
prior listing on the intended use plan.
  4. A municipality shall not be required to accept environmental facil-
ities corporation loan financing in order to obtain  a  state  financial
assistance  payment  pursuant  to  this  act  if it can provide proof of
having obtained similarly low  cost  financing  or  other  funding  from
another source.
  5.  In awarding such state financial assistance payments, the environ-
mental facilities corporation shall  consider  and  give  preference  to
municipalities  that meet the hardship criteria established by the envi-
ronmental facilities corporation  pursuant  to  section  1285-m  of  the
public  authorities  law  and projects that result in the greatest water
quality improvement or greatest reduction  in  serious  risk  to  public
health.   For the purposes of this act, the hardship criteria of section
1285-m of the public authorities law shall also apply to  sewage  treat-
ment  works defined in section 17-1903 of the environmental conservation
law.
  S 4. This act shall take effect April 1, 2016.