Sec. 155.16. School asbestos hazard grant program

School asbestos hazard grants shall be awarded in accordance with the provisions of section 437 of the Education Law, and this section.

(a) Public school districts, boards of cooperative educational services and those nonpublic schools which provide instruction substantially equivalent to that provided in the public schools may submit grant applications for the approval of the commissioner.

(b) Grant applications shall be in the form prescribed by the commissioner, and shall be filed with the commissioner no later than December 1st of the school year in which the grant is to be awarded. Such application shall include the following assurances by the governing body of the school district, BOCES or nonpublic school applying for a school asbestos hazard grant:

(1) that an imminent hazard to health due to the presence of asbestos, as such terms are defined in section 432 of the Education Law, exists;

(2) that grant funds received will be used exclusively for the abatement of asbestos hazards;

(3) for school district and BOCES applicants only, that, contingent upon approval of the grant application pursuant to this section, a building project application, including plans and specifications, will be submitted to the Education Department no later than April 1st of the school year in which the grant is to be awarded;

(4) for nonpublic school applicants only, that, contingent upon approval of the grant application pursuant to this section, copies of building permits issued for the project by the appropriate authority, or equivalent documentation satisfactory to the commissioner, will be submitted to the Education Department no later than April 1st of the school year in which the grant is to be awarded;

(5) that contingent upon approval of the grant application pursuant to this section, construction contracts for the project will be executed on behalf of the governing body of the applicant no later than May 1st of the school year in which the grant is to be awarded;

(6) that contingent upon approval of the grant application pursuant to this section, all reports required pursuant to subdivision (f) of this section will be submitted to the Education Department in a timely manner; and

(7) that the local funds required to successfully complete the project will be available in a timely manner, or, where applicable, that a proposition authorizing the expenditure of funds for such purpose will be submitted to the voters of the school district.

(c) The commissioner will rank all grant applications according to the degree of imminent hazard to health presented by the asbestos materials, using an exposure assessment scale. The exposure assessment scale shall be based on the nature and magnitude of the existing and potential hazards presented by the asbestos materials, and shall take into account the following factors:

(1) the nature and condition of the asbestos material, including the degree of friability and asbestos content;

(2) the extent of damage to the asbestos material, including water damage;

(3) the exposed surface area;

(4) the accessibility of the asbestos material;

(5) the degree of activity and movement of the material; and

(6) the degree of exposure to an air plenum or direct air stream.

(d) The priority of approval of all grant applications which meet the requirements of this section shall be based upon their ranking on the exposure assessment scale as established by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section. Grant applications which receive the highest ranking will be approved first, and, subject to the availability of funds, additional applications will be approved in the descending order of their ranking on the exposure assessment scale. In the event that two or more applications have identical rankings on the exposure assessment scale and sufficient funds are not available for all such applications, the commissioner may, to the extent that funds are available, approve such applications or combination of applications as will, in the judgment of the commissioner, result in the abatement of an imminent hazard to the health of the greatest number of persons.

(e) Grants shall be awarded for amounts of 60 percent of approved costs. Costs eligible for approval shall include costs associated with removal, encapsulation or containment of asbestos hazards and other costs incidental to such abatement procedures, including but not limited to the cost of bulk sample and air testing, architectural, engineering and other consultant fees, work site preparation costs, and worker protection costs.

(f) Grant recipient shall submit such reports as are required by the Commissioner of Education, including but not limited to a building project data form SA-139 and a final building project report. The final building project report shall be in a form prescribed by the commissioner and shall be submitted no later than August 1st of the school year next following the school year in which the grant application is approved.

(g) Payment of grants shall be pursuant to the following schedule:

(1) sixty percent of the grant amount will be paid to public school districts and BOCES upon approval by the Commissioner of Education of the final plans and specifications for abatement projects for which grants were awarded;

(2) sixty percent of the grant amount will be paid to nonpublic schools upon receipt by the Education Department of copies of building permits issued for the project by the appropriate authority, or of equivalent documentation satisfactory to the commissioner;

(3) twenty-five percent of the grant amount will be paid upon the receipt and approval by the State Education Department of the building project data form SA-139; and

(4) fifteen percent of the grant amount will be paid upon receipt by the State Education Department of the final building project report form.

(h) Approval may be granted for a variance from any of the requirements of subdivisions (b) through (g) of this section, upon a finding that the requirements of this section will be substantially met.