§ 261 — New York state waste prevention program

§ 261. New York state waste prevention program. 1. As used in this\nsection, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context,\nthe term:\n a. "Financing institution" shall mean and include all banks, trust\ncompanies, savings banks, savings and loan associations and credit\nunions, whether incorporated, chartered, organized or licensed under the\nlaws of this state, any other state of the United States or the federal\ngovernment. This term may also include public authorities, public\nbenefit corporations, units of local government, domestic insurance\ncompanies and not-for-profit corporations, which make loans for\nimprovements for the benefit of eligible applicants.\n b. "Eligible applicant" or "applicant" shall mean: a small to medium\nsize business or nonprofit organization which employs less than five\nhundred workers or has gross annual sales of less than ten million\ndollars.\n c. "Waste" shall have the same meaning as is found in the following\nsections of the environmental conservation law: subdivision one of\nsection 27-0701, subdivision two of section 19-0107 and subdivision five\nof section 17-0105 of the environmental conservation law. Such term\nshall also include hazardous waste that appears on the list or satisfies\nthe characteristics of hazardous waste promulgated pursuant to section\n27-0903 of the environmental conservation law. Such term shall not\ninclude source, special nuclear or by-product material as defined in the\natomic energy act of 1954, as amended.\n d. "Secondary materials" shall mean material recovered from or\notherwise destined for the waste stream, including but not limited to,\npost-consumer material, industrial scrap material and overstock or\nobsolete inventories from distributors, wholesalers and other companies\nas defined in rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner in\nconsultation with the commissioner of environmental conservation but\nsuch term does not include those materials and by-products generated\nfrom, and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing process.\n e. "Feasibility study" shall mean a technical or economic analysis of\nthe feasibility of specific applications of waste prevention\ntechnologies or practices or both.\n f. "Waste prevention technologies" shall mean any technology employed\nto prevent wastes or to process secondary materials for use or reuse but\nshall not include technology employed for incineration of waste nor the\nprocessing of waste for use as refuse derived fuel.\n g. "Region" shall mean one or more of the economic development regions\ncreated pursuant to section 5-127 of the energy law.\n h. "Eligible project" shall mean actions taken by or on behalf of a\nNew York business involving the acquisition, construction, alteration,\nrepair or improvement of a building, fixtures, machinery or equipment,\nprovided that such project results in:\n (i) source reduction or material substitution, provided that the\nsubstitution of one hazardous substance, product or nonproduct output\nfor another does not result in the creation of a new risk,\n (ii) in-process recycling,\n (iii) recycling or reuse of non-hazardous solid wastes,\n (iv) increased energy efficiency,\n (v) conservation of the use of water or other natural resources\nimprovements in process economics,\n (vi) elimination of the purchase of materials, the production of which\nfor the use of said firm would result in more waste or resource\nconsumption, or\n (vii) other practices or technologies that reduce the use of hazardous\nmaterials or otherwise improve air or water quality.\n The term "eligible project" shall also include actions taken by or on\nbehalf of a business to support costs of equipment, and/or the\nacquisition and/or rehabilitation of real property or structures located\nor to be located in the state related to the collecting, sorting, and\npackaging of empty beverage containers as such terms are defined in\ntitle ten of article twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law.\nSuch actions shall be eligible for state assistance payments under the\nbeverage container assistance program pursuant to section 27-1018 of the\nenvironmental conservation law.\n The term "eligible project" shall not include end of pipe pollution\ncontrol technologies or practices where such controls or practices are\ndesigned primarily to achieve compliance with the environmental\nconservation law or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, or energy\nrecovery or incineration, or out-of-process recycling or reuse of\nhazardous waste or hazardous substances.\n 2. The department shall design and implement a waste prevention\nprogram, which shall promote economic development through environmental\nimprovement. A high priority for services and assistance provided by or\navailable to the department shall be to improve the economic and\nenvironmental performance of business through waste prevention.\n 3. The department shall consult with other agencies as appropriate on\nthese projects.\n 4. In carrying out the activities to implement the waste prevention\nprogram, the department shall, to the extent practicable, within amounts\nappropriated therefor:\n a. collect and maintain information identifying existing manufacturers\nwithin New York state that utilize secondary materials as raw materials\nin their manufacturing process;\n b. collect, maintain, and provide information to potential users\nidentifying existing processors of secondary materials within and\noutside New York state and items within the waste stream having the\ncapability for utilization as inputs in processing activities;\n c. maintain, provide and market a compilation of existing programs\nproviding incentives for new or expanded business enterprises which\ncould be utilized by the secondary materials processing industry;\n d. promote the utilization of such incentives for new or expanded\nbusiness enterprises which process or utilize secondary materials to\nlocate in New York state;\n e. promote incentives for existing businesses to expand their\nutilization of secondary materials and their adoption of waste\nprevention technologies and practices;\n f. identify special needs and problems facing the secondary materials\nprocessing industry and implementation of waste prevention within New\nYork state;\n g. contact institutions, organizations and commercial enterprises that\nare potential consumers of secondary materials and products manufactured\nwith secondary materials; urging their expanded consumption of secondary\nmaterials and products and establishing markets for such secondary\nmaterials and products through the use of letters of intent and such\nother techniques as the commissioner may deem appropriate;\n h. conduct market surveys of the potential consumers of secondary\nmaterials and products manufactured with secondary materials;\n i. conduct surveys to determine the potential supply of secondary\nmaterials in the state;\n j. evaluate the relationship between estimated supply and likely\ndemand for recovered materials in order to target the department's\nefforts to bring about utilization of (i) materials for which supply\nexceeds demand to the greatest degree; (ii) materials which would have\nthe greatest impact on the waste stream if recovered or recycled; and\n(iii) materials for which a market can most readily be obtained;\n k. develop and facilitate the establishment of markets necessary for\nimplementation of solid waste management programs;\n l. provide information concerning local and regional markets for\nsecondary materials;\n m. assist manufacturers interested in expansion or location of their\nfacilities or processes within the state with such governmental liaison\nmatters as siting, zoning, licensing, permitting, funding and other\nexpansion or location tasks through coordination with the relevant state\nand local agencies;\n n. identify federal incentives and policies designed to promote such\nmanufacturing industries;\n o. provide other technical assistance to assist businesses in reducing\nthe amount of waste generated by their processes and productively use or\nprovide for the productive use of others of wastes which are generated;\n p. assist vehicle dismantlers interested in maximizing the utilization\nof secondary materials as raw materials in the manufacturing process;\nand\n q. conduct such other activities as may be appropriate to the intent\nand purpose of this section.\n 5. The department shall fund feasibility studies for testing of waste\nprevention technologies or practices or both to reduce the amount of\nwaste and to promote energy and resource conservation by the adoption of\nsuch technologies or practices by small and medium sized firms in New\nYork state.\n 6. Applications. a. The department shall receive applications for\nfeasibility studies on a competitive basis. Funding shall be provided in\nnot less than two rounds annually.\n b. Applications shall be evaluated based on criteria including but not\nlimited to the following:\n (i) preliminary technical and economic feasibility of the project;\n (ii) management ability and commitment to the project;\n (iii) financial need;\n (iv) the potential for applying the results of the project to other\nbusiness enterprises; and\n (v) potential cost savings to the business and environmental benefits\nto the state.\n c. Technical feasibility. The department may consult with other state\nagencies, concerning the technical feasibility of the process.\n d. Total cost of studies. The state's share of the cost of individual\nstudies conducted through the program shall not exceed eighty percent of\nthe total cost or two hundred thousand dollars, whichever is less.\n 7. Waste prevention financing. The department is hereby authorized to\nutilize monies appropriated to the program for the purpose of providing\nloans, principal reductions, loan guarantees and interest subsidies for\nwaste prevention projects for eligible applicants.\n 8. a. Interest subsidies. The department may enter into cooperative\nagreements with one or more cooperating financial institutions within\nthe state to offer loans for the purposes of this section to eligible\napplicants at a rate that is no more than seventy-five percent of the\nprime interest rate. Such interest rate shall initially be five percent.\n b. Principal reductions and loan guarantees. The department shall be\nauthorized to utilize monies appropriated to this program for the\npurpose of providing principal reductions and loan guarantees for\neligible applicants. Such principal reduction shall be limited to not\nmore than fifty percent of the amount eligible for a loan through the\nprogram as is provided in subdivision nine of this section.\n 9. Loan agreements and agreements in connection with loans. Loan\nagreements and agreements in connection with loans made pursuant to\nsubdivision seven of this section shall require that: (a) the maximum\nloan per applicant shall be five hundred thousand dollars or no more\nthan fifty percent of the total project cost, whichever is less; (b)\nloans or agreements in connection with loans shall be made only after an\napplication has been made to the department, the department has approved\nthe technical merits of the proposed improvement and the department has\nnotified the cooperating financial institutions of its approval and the\namount of interest or principal reduction or of the approval of a loan\nguarantee upon the loan to be funded pursuant to such agreement; and (c)\nloan agreements or agreements in connection with loans with program\napplicants shall provide for a post installation inspection, as deemed\nnecessary by the department.\n 10. Technical feasibility study. The department shall require the\napplicant to submit a technical feasibility study which identifies and\nanalyzes in detail the waste prevention projects which the applicant\nwishes to implement. All feasibility studies must include the cost of\nimplementation, a construction schedule and, a description of how the\nproject will minimize, reduce or eliminate the generation of wastes, use\nor reuse wastes, increase energy efficiency or water conservation,\nimprove air or water quality and/or improve process economics.\n 11. Apportionment of monies. The commissioner shall apportion the\nmonies appropriated for this program for the purpose of providing loans,\ninterest subsidies, loan guarantees and principal reductions to\napplicants within each of the regions of the state identified in\nparagraph h of subdivision one of this section.\n 12. Reapportionment of funds. The department may reapportion the funds\navailable for loans, interest subsidies, loan guarantees or principal\nreductions for applicants within any region for use in one or more of\nthe other regions upon finding that participation in the program within\nthe former region would not be adversely affected, and that there exists\nin the latter region or regions inadequate funds to satisfy the demand\nfor program participation. In any fiscal year of the state the amount of\nfunds available to applicants within any region may be reduced by not\nmore than twenty-five percent of the total amount apportioned for such\nregion. A copy of the department's finding shall be given to the\nchairman of the senate finance committee and the chairman of the\nassembly ways and means committee.\n 13. Implementation. In implementing this program, the department shall\npromulgate rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations may\ninclude, but not be limited to, requirements for applications and\nsupporting materials and criteria for the selection of cooperating\nfinancial institutions. Such rules and regulations shall also provide in\nall agreements for financial assistance for immediate repayment of all\nsuch financial assistance plus interest and penalties if any portion of\na project as defined by paragraph i of subdivision one of this section\nis transferred out of New York state.\n 14. Reports. Beginning on January first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine,\nthe commissioner shall make an annual report to the governor and the\nlegislature which shall include, at a minimum, the status of the\nactivities undertaken pursuant to paragraphs a, c, d, e, f, i, j and k\nof subdivision four of this section, the status of any other activities\nundertaken pursuant to this article, and recommendations for programs or\npolicies that will further the objectives of expanding the utilization\nof secondary materials recovered for reuse within the state. The\nprovisions of this subdivision shall not be deemed to require or\nauthorize the disclosure of confidential information or trade secrets.\nThis report may be consolidated with the report required by subdivision\nfour of section two hundred sixty-three of this article.\n 15. Evaluation. The department shall submit to the director of the\ndivision of the budget, the chairman and ranking minority member of the\nsenate finance committee and the chairman and ranking minority member of\nthe assembly ways and means committee an evaluation of this program\nprepared by an entity independent of the department. Such evaluation\nshall be submitted by September first, nineteen hundred ninety and by\nSeptember first, every two years thereafter.\n