Sec. 625.1. Definitions

(a) Commissioner shall mean the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation.

(b) Department shall mean the Department of Environmental Conservation.

(c) Municipality shall mean a city, county, town, village, the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation, a sewer authority within a city, or an improvement district or district corporation within a city, county, town or village, or indian tribes residing within New York State, or any combination thereof.

(d) Governing body shall mean

(1) in the case of a town, a town board;

(2) in the case of a county outside the City of New York, the county board of supervisors or other elective governing body;

(3) in the case of a city or village, the local legislative body thereof, as the term is defined in the Municipal Home Rule Law;

(4) in the case of a public benefit corporation, the board of directors, members or trustees thereof;

(5) in the case of an improvement district or a district corporation, the governing board; and

(6) in the case of an indian tribe, the proper tribal officials.

(e) Federal assistance shall mean funds available, other than by loan, from the Federal government to a municipality, either directly or through allocation by the State for construction or program purposes pursuant to any Federal law or program.

(f) Federal pollution abatement assistance shall mean funds available to a municipality, either directly or through allocation by the State, from the Federal government as grants for construction of sewage treatment works, pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and acts amendatory thereto.

(g) Water quality improvement project shall mean a sewage treatment works for the purpose of treating, neutralizing or stabilizing sewage, including treatment or disposal plants, the necessary intercepting, outfall sewers, pumping stations integral to such plants or sewers, equipment and furnishings thereof and their appurtenances.

(h) Construction shall mean the preliminary planning to determine the feasibility of the treatment works, the erection, building, acquisition, alteration, reconstruction, improvement or extension of sewage treatment works; the inspection and supervision thereof; and the engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal and economic investigations and studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, and other actions necessary thereto.

(i) Eligible project shall mean a water quality improvement project for the construction of sewage treatment works:

(1) which is, in the judgment of the commissioner, in accord with applicable waste treatment management plans, comprehensive studies and reports;

(2) which conforms with applicable law, rules and regulations;

(3) which is, in the judgment of the commissioner, necessary for the accomplishment of the State water pollution control program;

(4) which is approved for Federal pollution abatement assistance, and

(5) for which a permit to construct has been issued by the department.

(j) Project cost shall mean the actual cost or estimated reasonable cost, whichever is lower, of construction of an eligible project. The estimated reasonable cost will be determined and the contract will be executed after the project is approved for Federal pollution abatement assistance and this estimated reasonable cost will constitute the dollar amount approved for State grant participation for this project.