N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 6 § 651.74

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 651.74 - Definitions

(a) Construction. The building, installation or extension of a sewer system; the inspection and supervision thereof; the engineering, legal, fiscal and economic investigation; studies, surveys, designs, plants, contract drawings, specifications, procedures; and other actions necessary thereto.

(b) Under construction. Work actually in progress at the project site after execution of the construction contract.

(c) Sewer system. Pipelines or conduits, pumping stations, force mains, and all other constructions, devices and appliances appurtenant thereto, used for conducting sewage (the water-carried human, animal or other treatable wastes from residences, buildings, industrial and commercial establishments or other places) to a point of connection to the sewage treatment works.

(d) Sewage treatment works. A facility for the purpose of treating, neutralizing or stabilizing sewage, including treatment or disposal plants, the necessary intercepting, outfall and outlet sewers, pumping stations integral to such plants or sewers, equipment and furnishings thereof and their appurtenances.

(e) Sewer connection. A connection between a building, residence or other structure and a public sewer.

(f) Public sewer. A sewer owned by a municipality entirely within a public right-of-way or easement acquired for a sewer line, that serves the public.

(g) House connection. That portion of a sewer connection extending from the closest public right-of-way or easement boundary to the residence. House connections are not eligible for State aid.

(h) Residence. A building or structure which is occupied principally as the home of one or more persons; provided, however, that such building or structure contain not more than two dwelling units. A dwelling unit is any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating. Residences containing more than two dwelling units, including multi-family dwellings, apartment houses, condominiums, motels, hotels, and such other facilities as trailer and mobile home parks, migrant labor camps, combined store and owner's dwelling unit, etc., are deemed commercial buildings. As an exception, mobile homes on isolated lots not part of a mobile home park, may be considered as residences.

(i) Municipality. Any county, town, village, district corporation, county or town improvement district, or any two or more of the foregoing which are acting jointly in connection with an eligible project. For purposes of these rules and regulations only, an indian reservation located partly or wholly within New York State shall be construed as a "municipality". However, only that part of the project located wholly within New York State is eligible for State aid.

(j) Applicant. Any municipality, as defined above, that files an application for State aid pursuant to section 12 63-d of the Public Health Law.

(k) Local governing body.

(1) in a county, the county board of supervisors or the county legislature;

(2) in a town, the town board;

(3) in a village, the board of trustees;

(4) in a district corporation or an improvement district, the governing board;

(5) in an indian reservation, the proper tribal officials.

(l) Indian reservation. Lands validly set apart for use of indians.

(m) Town outside village. The area of the town outside of the villages.

(n) Commissioner. The Commissioner of Environmental Conservation of the State of New York, or his authorized representative.

(o) Federal assistance. Funds available, other than by loan, from the Federal government to a municipality, either directly or through allocation by the State, for construction of a sewer system or which are used for such construction, pursuant to any other Federal law or program.

(p) Project. The construction of the whole or connected portion of a sewage collection system. Where the construction of a sewage collection system is phased over a period of years, each phase may be considered as a project.

(q) Eligible project. A project which in the judgment of the commissioner meets all of the following requirements:

(1) It is in accord with applicable comprehensive studies and reports made pursuant to section 1263-a, article 12 of the Public Health Law,

(2) It conforms to applicable rules and regulations of the commissioner and, in his opinion, reflects a reasonable effort to develop maximum economy in planning, design and construction, with an acceptable ratio between costs and benefits,

(3) It is necessary for the accomplishment of the State water pollution control program,

(4) It is under construction in the period between April 1, 1965 and March 31, 1973,

(5) No portion of the project aided herein is eligible to receive assistance pursuant to section 1263-b of the Public Health Law,

(6) It serves inhabited residences in existence prior to July 6, 1971,

(7) It serves the public by providing for the collection of sewage (house connections and pipes collecting exclusively industrial, commercial and other nonresidential waste are ineligible).

(r) Capital cost. The actual cost of construction of an eligible project, not to include the cost of securing financing or interest on funds borrowed to finance such construction, and representing that part of the cost of the eligible project that is not paid by the Federal government.

(s) Annual debt service. Such amounts as shall be required to be paid annually to amortize obligations (both principal and interest) issued in order to finance the capital cost of an eligible project; provided, however, that for the purposes of State aid, such annual debt service shall be computed on a debt amortization schedule of not less than 30 years nor more than 40 years, as the commissioner shall determine, and shall not include any other debt service (whether principal or interest) on obligations of or on behalf of a municipality, other capital costs, or expenditures for a purpose as to which State reimbursement is claimed under any provision of law other than section 1263-d of the Public Health Law. Where the eligible portion of the sewage collection system serves nonresidential users as well as residences, the amount of annual debt service to be used in computing State aid shall be reduced as determined by the commissioner, to compensate for the benefits received by the nonresidential users from such system. Benefits shall be based on proportion of the volume of flow contributed to the sewage collection system, or other means acceptable to the commissioner.

(1) Where the municipality issues bonds to amortize the capital costs of the project over a period of 30 to 40 years, the annual debt service to be used in determining State aid shall be in accordance with the actual bond maturity schedule with the annual debt service adjusted in the same proportion as the eligible capital cost for the project as determined by the commissioner is to the principal amount of the bonds as issued.

(2) Where the municipality issues bonds to amortize the capital cost of the project over a period less than 30 years, the debt service requirement to be used in determining State aid shall be based upon the assumptions and criteria as shown below:

(i) Principal amount to be the eligible capital costs as determined by the commissioner,

(ii) Term of schedule to be 30 years for eligible capital costs where the actual maturity was 30 years or less,

(iii) Interest rate to be the interest rate paid on obligations of 30 year maturities as approved by the commissioner after consultation with the State Comptroller,

(iv) Annual payments to be based on varying annual payments in accordance with section 20.00 -d of the Local Finance Law which provides that no annual installment of serial bonds shall be more than 50 percent in excess of the smallest prior installment,

(v) Administration date to be the date coinciding with the date of the permanent financing arrangements.

(t) State aid. Financial support made available to a municipality by way of State participation in annual debt service, through contracts entered into between the commissioner and the municipality, upon such terms and conditions as the commissioner shall deem appropriate, which shall be based on the number of residences served by the eligible project and computed as follows:

(1) The amount of annual debt service, as defined above, minus the municipality's share of the expense for construction of the sewage collection system.

(2) The municipality's share shall be the product of the number of residential sewer connections served by the project multiplied by an adjusted rate. The adjusted rate shall be determined by applying a valuation correction from the sum of $125.

(3) Valuation correction shall consist of minus one dollar for each $1000 or part thereof that the project area per capita full value is less than the average per capita full value for the State excluding all cities. For projects wholly located within a village or town the project area per capita full value shall be the per capita full value for the village, or for the town outside the village area respectively. For other projects, per capita full value shall be per capita full value of the town or village within which the major portion of the project is located. Per capita full value shall mean the full value of such municipality or area divided by the population thereof. Population shall be based on the latest regular or special census or such other determination as acceptable to the commissioner.

(4) The amount of such State aid shall be recomputed each year, on the basis of data reported by the local governing body as accepted by the commissioner.

(5) State aid shall commence in the State fiscal year beginning April 1, 1971. No State-aid payments shall be made on the basis of any portion of the debt service of eligible projects which was due and payable prior to April 1, 1971.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 6 § 651.74