§ 27-1417 — Citizen participation

§ 27-1417. Citizen participation.\n 1. Citizen participation handbook. The commissioner shall prepare a\ncitizen participation handbook for the purpose of providing guidance to\napplicants in the design and implementation of meaningful citizen\nparticipation plans consistent with the requirements of this section for\nthe remediation of brownfield sites as provided in this title. Such\nhandbook shall encourage citizen involvement by outlining opportunities\nand recommended methods for effective citizen participation. The\ncommissioner shall make such handbook available to all applicants and\nother interested members of the public upon request and shall make it\navailable on the department's website.\n 2. Citizen participation plans. (a) The design of any citizen\nparticipation plan, including the level of citizen involvement and the\ntools utilized, shall take into account the scope and scale of the\nproposed remedial program, local interest and history, and other\nrelevant factors. While retaining flexibility, citizen participation\nplans shall embody the following principles of meaningful citizen\nparticipation:\n (1) opportunities for citizen involvement should be provided as early\nas possible in the decision making process prior to the selection of a\npreferred course of action by the department and/or the applicant.\n (2) activities proposed in such plan should be as reflective of the\ndiversity of interests and perspective found within the community as\npossible, allowing the public the opportunity to have their views heard\nand considered, which may include opportunities for two-way dialogue.\n (3) full, timely, and accessible disclosure and sharing of information\nby the department shall be provided, including the provision of\ntechnical data and the assumptions upon which the analyses are based.\n (b) All citizen participation plans shall include the following\nminimum elements:\n (1) identification of the interested public and preparation of a\nbrownfield site contact list;\n (2) identification of major issues of public concern related to the\nbrownfield site;\n (3) a description and schedule of public participation activities\nrequired pursuant to this section; and\n (4) a description and schedule of any additional public participation\nactivities needed to address public concerns.\n 3. Citizen participation requirements. (a) In addition to the formal\nmilestones listed below, the public may provide comments at any time\nduring the remedial program.\n (b) The person submitting a request for participation, in cooperation\nwith the department, shall provide a newspaper notice of the person's\nrequest to participate in the program. The person, in cooperation with\nthe department, shall also provide notice thereof to the brownfield site\ncontact list. Such notice shall provide for a thirty day public comment\nperiod following publication.\n (c) Before the department finalizes the remedial investigation\nworkplan, the applicant, in cooperation with the department, must notify\nindividuals on the brownfield site contact list. Such notice shall\ninclude a fact sheet describing such plan and provide for a thirty day\npublic comment period.\n (d) Before the department approves a proposed remedial investigation\nreport, the department, in consultation with the applicant, shall notify\nindividuals on the brownfield site contact list. Such notice shall\ninclude a fact sheet describing such report.\n (e) Upon the department's determination of significant threat pursuant\nto section 27-1411 of this title, the department must provide notice to\nindividuals on the brownfield site contact list. Such notice shall\ninclude a fact sheet describing the basis of the department's\ndetermination.\n (f) Before the department finalizes a proposed remedial work plan or\nmakes a determination that site conditions meet the requirements of this\ntitle without the necessity for remediation pursuant to section 27-1411\nof this title, the department, in consultation with the applicant, must\nnotify individuals on the brownfield site contact list. Such notice\nshall include a fact sheet describing such plan and provide for a\nforty-five day public comment period. The commissioner shall hold a\npublic meeting if requested by the affected community and the\ncommissioner has found that the site constitutes a significant threat to\nthe public health or the environment. Further, the affected community\nmay request a public meeting at sites that do not constitute a\nsignificant threat. (1) To the extent that the department has determined\nthat site conditions do not pose a significant threat and the site is\nbeing addressed by a volunteer, the notice shall state that the\ndepartment has determined that no remediation is required for the\noff-site areas and that the department's determination of a significant\nthreat is subject to this forty-five day comment period. (2) If the\nremedial work plan includes a Track 2, Track 3 or Track 4 remedy at a\nnon-significant threat site, such comment period shall apply both to the\napproval of the alternatives analysis by the department and the proposed\nremedy selected by the applicant.\n (g) Before the applicant commences construction at the brownfield\nsite, the applicant, in cooperation with the department, shall provide\nnotice to the individuals on the brownfield site contact list.\n (h) Before the department approves a proposed final engineering\nreport, the department, in consultation with the applicant, must notify\nindividuals on such contact list. Such notice shall include a fact sheet\ndescribing the brownfield site report, including any proposed\ninstitutional or engineering controls.\n (i) Within ten days of the issuance of a certificate of completion at\na site which will utilize institutional or engineering controls, the\napplicant, in cooperation with the department, shall provide notice to\nthe brownfield site contact list. Such notice shall include a fact sheet\ndescribing such controls.\n 4. Technical assistance grants. (a) Within the limits of\nappropriations made available pursuant to paragraph j of subdivision\nthree of section ninety-seven-b of the state finance law, the\ncommissioner is authorized to provide grants to any not-for-profit\ncorporation exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the internal\nrevenue code at any site determined to pose a significant threat by the\ndepartment and which may be affected by a brownfield site remedial\nprogram. To qualify to receive such assistance, a community group must\ndemonstrate that its membership represents the interests of the\ncommunity affected by such site. Furthermore, the commissioner is\nauthorized to direct any applicant who is a responsible party, as\ndefined in section 27-1313 of this article, to provide such grants. Such\ngrants shall be known as technical assistance grants and may be used to\nobtain technical assistance in interpreting information with regard to\nthe nature of the hazard posed by contamination located or emanating\nfrom a brownfield site or sites and the development and implementation\nof a brownfield site remedial program or programs. Such grants may also\nbe used to hire health and safety experts to advise affected residents\non any health assessments and for the education of interested affected\ncommunity members to enable them to more effectively participate in the\nremedy selection process. Grants awarded under this section may not be\nused for the purposes of collecting field sampling data, political\nactivity or lobbying legislative bodies.\n (b) The amount of any grant awarded under this section may not exceed\nfifty thousand dollars at any one site.\n (c) No matching contribution from the grant recipient shall be\nrequired for a technical assistance grant. Following a grant award, a\nportion of the grant shall be made available to the grant recipient, in\nadvance of the expenditures to be covered by the grant, in five thousand\ndollar installments.\n