§ 56-0505. Environmental restoration projects; criteria.

1. The department shall determine the eligibility of an environmental
restoration project for state assistance under this title based upon the
following criteria:

(a) the benefit to the environment realized by the expeditious
remediation of the property proposed to be subject to such project;

(b) the economic benefit to the state by the expeditious remediation
of the property proposed to be subject to such project;

(c) the potential opportunity of the property proposed to be subject
to such project to be used for public recreational purposes;

(d) real property in a designated brownfield opportunity area pursuant
to section nine hundred seventy-r of the general municipal law; and

(e) the opportunity for other funding sources to be available for the
remediation of such property, including, but not limited to, enforcement
actions against responsible parties (other than the municipality to
which state assistance was provided under this title; or a successor in
title, lender, or lessee who was not otherwise a responsible party prior
to such municipality taking title to the property), state assistance
payments pursuant to title thirteen of article twenty-seven of this
chapter, and the existence of private parties willing to remediate such
property using private funding sources. Highest priority shall be
granted to projects for which other such funding sources are not
available.

2. The department shall not enter into a contract with a municipality
pursuant to section 56-0503 of this title for an environmental
restoration project for any site listed in the registry of inactive
hazardous waste sites under section 27-1305 of this chapter and given a
classification as described in subparagraph one or two of paragraph b of
subdivision two of such section 27-1305.

3. The remediation objective of an environmental restoration
remediation project shall meet the same standard for protection of
public health and the environment that applies to remedial actions
undertaken pursuant to section 27-1313 of this chapter.

4. After completion of such project, the municipality may use the
property for public purposes or may dispose of it. If the municipality
shall dispose of such property by sale to a responsible party, such
party shall pay to such municipality, in addition to such other
consideration, an amount of money constituting the amount of state
assistance provided under this title plus accrued interest and
transaction costs and the municipality shall deposit that money into the
environmental restoration project account of the hazardous waste
remedial fund established under section ninety-seven-b of the state
finance law.

5. In the event that an environmental restoration project's
remediation objective shall not have been attained to the department's
satisfaction at the time of the municipality's disposition of such
property, such municipality shall be liable to ensure that such
objective is attained within the time called for in the state assistance
contract.