§ 261. New York state waste prevention program. 1. As used in this section, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the term:

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a. "Financing institution" shall mean and include all banks, trust companies, savings banks, savings and loan associations and credit unions, whether incorporated, chartered, organized or licensed under the laws of this state, any other state of the United States or the federal government. This term may also include public authorities, public benefit corporations, units of local government, domestic insurance companies and not-for-profit corporations, which make loans for improvements for the benefit of eligible applicants.

b. "Eligible applicant" or "applicant" shall mean: a small to medium size business or nonprofit organization which employs less than five hundred workers or has gross annual sales of less than ten million dollars.

c. "Waste" shall have the same meaning as is found in the following sections of the environmental conservation law: subdivision one of section 27-0701, subdivision two of section 19-0107 and subdivision five of section 17-0105 of the environmental conservation law. Such term shall also include hazardous waste that appears on the list or satisfies the characteristics of hazardous waste promulgated pursuant to section 27-0903 of the environmental conservation law. Such term shall not include source, special nuclear or by-product material as defined in the atomic energy act of 1954, as amended.

d. "Secondary materials" shall mean material recovered from or otherwise destined for the waste stream, including but not limited to, post-consumer material, industrial scrap material and overstock or obsolete inventories from distributors, wholesalers and other companies as defined in rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner in consultation with the commissioner of environmental conservation but such term does not include those materials and by-products generated from, and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing process.

e. "Feasibility study" shall mean a technical or economic analysis of the feasibility of specific applications of waste prevention technologies or practices or both.

f. "Waste prevention technologies" shall mean any technology employed to prevent wastes or to process secondary materials for use or reuse but shall not include technology employed for incineration of waste nor the processing of waste for use as refuse derived fuel.

g. "Region" shall mean one or more of the economic development regions created pursuant to section 5-127 of the energy law.

h. "Eligible project" shall mean actions taken by or on behalf of a New York business involving the acquisition, construction, alteration, repair or improvement of a building, fixtures, machinery or equipment, provided that such project results in:

(i) source reduction or material substitution, provided that the substitution of one hazardous substance, product or nonproduct output for another does not result in the creation of a new risk,

(ii) in-process recycling,

(iii) recycling or reuse of non-hazardous solid wastes,

(iv) increased energy efficiency,

(v) conservation of the use of water or other natural resources improvements in process economics,

(vi) elimination of the purchase of materials, the production of which for the use of said firm would result in more waste or resource consumption, or

(vii) other practices or technologies that reduce the use of hazardous materials or otherwise improve air or water quality.

The term "eligible project" shall also include actions taken by or on behalf of a business to support costs of equipment, and/or the acquisition and/or rehabilitation of real property or structures located or to be located in the state related to the collecting, sorting, and packaging of empty beverage containers as such terms are defined in title ten of Article 27 of the environmental conservation law. Such actions shall be eligible for state assistance payments under the beverage container assistance program pursuant to section 27-1018 of the environmental conservation law.

The term "eligible project" shall not include end of pipe pollution control technologies or practices where such controls or practices are designed primarily to achieve compliance with the environmental conservation law or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, or energy recovery or incineration, or out-of-process recycling or reuse of hazardous waste or hazardous substances.

2. The department shall design and implement a waste prevention program, which shall promote economic development through environmental improvement. A high priority for services and assistance provided by or available to the department shall be to improve the economic and environmental performance of business through waste prevention.

3. The department shall consult with other agencies as appropriate on these projects.

4. In carrying out the activities to implement the waste prevention program, the department shall, to the extent practicable, within amounts appropriated therefor:

a. collect and maintain information identifying existing manufacturers within New York state that utilize secondary materials as raw materials in their manufacturing process;

b. collect, maintain, and provide information to potential users identifying existing processors of secondary materials within and outside New York state and items within the waste stream having the capability for utilization as inputs in processing activities;

c. maintain, provide and market a compilation of existing programs providing incentives for new or expanded business enterprises which could be utilized by the secondary materials processing industry;

d. promote the utilization of such incentives for new or expanded business enterprises which process or utilize secondary materials to locate in New York state;

e. promote incentives for existing businesses to expand their utilization of secondary materials and their adoption of waste prevention technologies and practices;

f. identify special needs and problems facing the secondary materials processing industry and implementation of waste prevention within New York state;

g. contact institutions, organizations and commercial enterprises that are potential consumers of secondary materials and products manufactured with secondary materials; urging their expanded consumption of secondary materials and products and establishing markets for such secondary materials and products through the use of letters of intent and such other techniques as the commissioner may deem appropriate;

h. conduct market surveys of the potential consumers of secondary materials and products manufactured with secondary materials;

i. conduct surveys to determine the potential supply of secondary materials in the state;

j. evaluate the relationship between estimated supply and likely demand for recovered materials in order to target the department's efforts to bring about utilization of (i) materials for which supply exceeds demand to the greatest degree; (ii) materials which would have the greatest impact on the waste stream if recovered or recycled; and (iii) materials for which a market can most readily be obtained;

k. develop and facilitate the establishment of markets necessary for implementation of solid waste management programs;

l. provide information concerning local and regional markets for secondary materials;

m. assist manufacturers interested in expansion or location of their facilities or processes within the state with such governmental liaison matters as siting, zoning, licensing, permitting, funding and other expansion or location tasks through coordination with the relevant state and local agencies;

n. identify federal incentives and policies designed to promote such manufacturing industries;

o. provide other technical assistance to assist businesses in reducing the amount of waste generated by their processes and productively use or provide for the productive use of others of wastes which are generated;

p. assist vehicle dismantlers interested in maximizing the utilization of secondary materials as raw materials in the manufacturing process; and

q. conduct such other activities as may be appropriate to the intent and purpose of this section.

5. The department shall fund feasibility studies for testing of waste prevention technologies or practices or both to reduce the amount of waste and to promote energy and resource conservation by the adoption of such technologies or practices by small and medium sized firms in New York state.

6. Applications. a. The department shall receive applications for feasibility studies on a competitive basis. Funding shall be provided in not less than two rounds annually.

b. Applications shall be evaluated based on criteria including but not limited to the following:

(i) preliminary technical and economic feasibility of the project;

(ii) management ability and commitment to the project;

(iii) financial need;

(iv) the potential for applying the results of the project to other business enterprises; and

(v) potential cost savings to the business and environmental benefits to the state.

c. Technical feasibility. The department may consult with other state agencies, concerning the technical feasibility of the process.

d. Total cost of studies. The state's share of the cost of individual studies conducted through the program shall not exceed eighty percent of the total cost or two hundred thousand dollars, whichever is less.

7. Waste prevention financing. The department is hereby authorized to utilize monies appropriated to the program for the purpose of providing loans, principal reductions, loan guarantees and interest subsidies for waste prevention projects for eligible applicants.

8. a. Interest subsidies. The department may enter into cooperative agreements with one or more cooperating financial institutions within the state to offer loans for the purposes of this section to eligible applicants at a rate that is no more than seventy-five percent of the prime interest rate. Such interest rate shall initially be five percent.

b. Principal reductions and loan guarantees. The department shall be authorized to utilize monies appropriated to this program for the purpose of providing principal reductions and loan guarantees for eligible applicants. Such principal reduction shall be limited to not more than fifty percent of the amount eligible for a loan through the program as is provided in subdivision nine of this section.

9. Loan agreements and agreements in connection with loans. Loan agreements and agreements in connection with loans made pursuant to subdivision seven of this section shall require that: (a) the maximum loan per applicant shall be five hundred thousand dollars or no more than fifty percent of the total project cost, whichever is less; (b) loans or agreements in connection with loans shall be made only after an application has been made to the department, the department has approved the technical merits of the proposed improvement and the department has notified the cooperating financial institutions of its approval and the amount of interest or principal reduction or of the approval of a loan guarantee upon the loan to be funded pursuant to such agreement; and (c) loan agreements or agreements in connection with loans with program applicants shall provide for a post installation inspection, as deemed necessary by the department.

10. Technical feasibility study. The department shall require the applicant to submit a technical feasibility study which identifies and analyzes in detail the waste prevention projects which the applicant wishes to implement. All feasibility studies must include the cost of implementation, a construction schedule and, a description of how the project will minimize, reduce or eliminate the generation of wastes, use or reuse wastes, increase energy efficiency or water conservation, improve air or water quality and/or improve process economics.

11. Apportionment of monies. The commissioner shall apportion the monies appropriated for this program for the purpose of providing loans, interest subsidies, loan guarantees and principal reductions to applicants within each of the regions of the state identified in paragraph h of subdivision one of this section.

12. Reapportionment of funds. The department may reapportion the funds available for loans, interest subsidies, loan guarantees or principal reductions for applicants within any region for use in one or more of the other regions upon finding that participation in the program within the former region would not be adversely affected, and that there exists in the latter region or regions inadequate funds to satisfy the demand for program participation. In any fiscal year of the state the amount of funds available to applicants within any region may be reduced by not more than twenty-five percent of the total amount apportioned for such region. A copy of the department's finding shall be given to the chairman of the senate finance committee and the chairman of the assembly ways and means committee.

13. Implementation. In implementing this program, the department shall promulgate rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations may include, but not be limited to, requirements for applications and supporting materials and criteria for the selection of cooperating financial institutions. Such rules and regulations shall also provide in all agreements for financial assistance for immediate repayment of all such financial assistance plus interest and penalties if any portion of a project as defined by paragraph i of subdivision one of this section is transferred out of New York state.

14. Reports. Beginning on January first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, the commissioner shall make an annual report to the governor and the legislature which shall include, at a minimum, the status of the activities undertaken pursuant to paragraphs a, c, d, e, f, i, j and k of subdivision four of this section, the status of any other activities undertaken pursuant to this article, and recommendations for programs or policies that will further the objectives of expanding the utilization of secondary materials recovered for reuse within the state. The provisions of this subdivision shall not be deemed to require or authorize the disclosure of confidential information or trade secrets. This report may be consolidated with the report required by subdivision four of section two hundred sixty-three of this article.

15. Evaluation. The department shall submit to the director of the division of the budget, 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 of this program prepared by an entity independent of the department. Such evaluation shall be submitted by September first, nineteen hundred ninety and by September first, every two years thereafter.