§ 3-0309. Stand-by contracts.

1. Consistent with the commissioner's authority to undertake such
activities pursuant to this chapter, the state public health law, the
public authorities law and the state finance law, the commissioner may
enter into stand-by contracts for the purpose of achieving timely and
effective remedies in a cost-effective manner for:

a. services related to a release or a suspected release of a hazardous
substance as defined in section 40-0105 of this chapter and regulations
promulgated thereunder;

b. other than for major physical construction associated with
permanent remedial actions, the cleanup or return to its original state
of any area where hazardous wastes were disposed, possessed, or dealt in
unlawfully in violation of section 27-0914 of this chapter;

c. emergency response action to clean up spills or abate other public
health or environmental hazards involving hazardous wastes; and

d. other than for major physical construction associated with
permanent remedial actions, all services related to the investigation in
support of, or to the development, implementation and oversight of the
program for remediation of inactive hazardous waste disposal sites
pursuant to article 27 of this chapter.

2. For the purposes of this section, a stand-by contract shall mean a
contract which provides for services and goods to be rendered to the
department, at prenegotiated rates or predetermined unit prices, with
such services or goods to be supplied by the contractor only when and
where directed to do so by the commissioner. All such contracts shall be
subject to the approval of the state comptroller in accordance with
section one hundred twelve of the state finance law; however, such
approval shall not obligate to any particular contract any specific
amount of funds, but shall obligate on an individual basis, as such
contracts are utilized, the actual amount required to pay for work
performed pursuant to such contracts except that a maximum dollar amount
shall be placed on each such contract. Any necessary approvals of
availability of funds for a particular project in accordance with any
provision of the state finance law shall be made as soon as possible
after any activity identified in subdivision one of this section is
ordered by the commissioner, or undertaken by the contractor.

3. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to alter the authority
conferred upon the commissioner to conduct the activities identified in
subdivision one of this section, or to modify the requirements which are
established by this chapter, the state public health law, the public
authorities law, or section ninety-seven-b of the state finance law and
are applicable to such activities.

4. The department in cooperation with the state comptroller shall as
soon as practicable and prior to the execution of stand-by contracts
pursuant to this section develop and implement a stand-by contract
management protocol system. Such system shall provide for but not be
limited to:

a. guidelines for selecting contractors based upon section one hundred
thirty-six-a of the state finance law, if applicable, and upon other
factors which shall include but are not limited to past performance,
reasonableness of prices charged for specific tasks, and overall
qualifications of the contractor;

b. departmental bid or proposal analysis and negotiation documentation
requirements;

c. contractor reporting and documentation requirements;

d. formal procedures for inspecting contractor work and reviewing
payment requests;

e. maintenance of equipment inventory with location; and

f. requirements and controls for subcontractors.

5. The department shall submit to the director of the division of the
budget, the temporary president and minority leader of the senate, the
speaker and minority leader of the assembly, the chairman and ranking
minority member of the senate finance committee and the chairman and
ranking minority member of the assembly ways and means committee an
evaluation and audit of the department's use of stand-by contracts
pursuant to this section prepared by an entity independent of the
department. Such entity may be the office of the state comptroller.
Such evaluation and audit shall be submitted by September first,
nineteen hundred ninety and by September first, every two years
thereafter.