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The following persons, facilities and hazardous substances shall be exempt from the requirements of section 24-706 and 24-711: (a) facilities where the only hazardous substances, except for those substances on the special health hazard list pursuant to section 24-704, were present during the preceding calendar year in mixtures in which the total content of the hazardous substance was of one percent or less by weight or volume per container unless such hazardous substance was present at the facility in an aggregate amount of five hundred pounds or more; (b) owners or tenants of residential buildings that contain no commercial or manufacturing enterprise; or (c) fossil fuels, petroleum products, and combustible or flammable chemicals or materials, the manufacture, transportation, or storage of which is subject to the jurisdiction of the fire department pursuant to title twenty-seven of the code.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1988/026.
(a) Any person required under section 24-706 to submit information to the department may withhold from such submittal the specific chemical identity of a hazardous substance, including the chemical name and other specific identification, if such information has been withheld as a trade secret pursuant to section three hundred twenty-two of the emergency planning and community right-to-know act of nineteen hundred eighty-six (42 U.S.C. § 11001, et seq.), article forty-eight of the public health law or article twenty-eight of the labor law. No person shall be entitled to withhold such trade secret information from such submittal unless such person demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commissioner that such information has been so determined to be a trade secret and that such person has taken reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of such information and intends to continue to take such measures. The commissioner may grant a temporary extension of not more than thirty days from the reporting requirements of section 24-706 for the purpose of allowing such person to make such demonstration.
(b) With respect to any information not withheld as a trade secret in the manner described by subdivision (a) of this section, the commissioner may withhold from disclosure, pursuant to article six of the public officers law, (i) specific chemical identities, including chemical names and other specific information, which are trade secrets which if disclosed would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of a commercial enterprise or (ii) methods or processes described in plans filed pursuant to section 24-718 of this chapter entitled to protection as trade secrets. The commissioner shall promulgate by rule a procedure for implementing the provisions of this subdivision. The subdivision shall not be construed to affect, limit or modify in any manner the reporting requirements of section 24-706.
(c) 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in a response to an emergency caused by the presence or release of a hazardous substance, the commissioner shall make trade secret information about such hazardous substance available, upon request, to emergency response personnel responding to such an emergency.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, for the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment of an individual exposed to a hazardous substance, where the commissioner has withheld any information from disclosure pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section, the person submitting such information to the department shall upon request disclose such information to medical personnel, including doctors and nurses, treating such an individual.
(d) Except as is necessary for the internal administration of the department or as is otherwise provided by subdivision (c) of this section, or by federal, state or local law, no person shall disclose to any other person any information, record or portions thereof received by the department pursuant to this chapter and determined by the commissioner to be a trade secret pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section. Each person having access to such information or records, including persons receiving such information or records pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section, shall, in a written confidentiality agreement with the person submitting such information to the department, agree that he or she will not use the information, record or portion thereof for any purpose other than internal administration of the department, response to an emergency caused by the presence or release of a hazardous substance, or medical diagnosis or treatment. In the case of a medical emergency, a written confidentiality agreement is not required as a precondition of disclosure pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section, but shall be entered into by the person receiving the information as soon as circumstances permit.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be constructed to affect, limit or modify in any manner the disclosure of any information to a health professional to the extent such disclosure is required or authorized pursuant to section three hundred twenty-three of the emergency planning and community right-to-know act of nineteen hundred eighty-six (42 U.S.C. § 11001, et seq.).
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1988/026 and L.L. 1993/092.
(b) The commissioner shall make available to the public, in such form and manner as may be prescribed by regulation, the information filed pursuant to section 24-706 and the data compiled pursuant to section 24-707, during normal working hours, at the location or locations designated by the commissioner. Within thirty days after the annual completion of the compilation of citywide facility inventory data pursuant to section 24-707 of this chapter, the commissioner shall publish a notice in the City Record that such information shall be available for inspection by the public at the location or locations specified in the notice.
(c) Any person may submit a written request to the commissioner for any information filed with the department pursuant to section 24-706 of this chapter with respect to a specific facility. The commissioner shall make the requested information available to the person making the request within ten business days after the receipt of the request.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1988/026 and L.L. 1993/092.
Within thirty days after a facility inventory form is first required to be filed for a facility, all hazardous substances present at such facility shall be clearly marked with a label showing the chemical name and CAS identification number of the hazardous substance. The information set forth on the label shall be in accordance with a recognized hazardous substances labeling system, accepted by the commissioner. In the case of a substance protected under the "trade secrets" provision contained in section 24-709 of this chapter, the label should bear the specific code assigned by the commissioner for such substance.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1988/026.
(a) The department, upon providing prior notice, shall have the authority to inspect any facility during normal business hours. However, whenever there is a reason to believe that a facility is in violation of the requirements of this chapter, the department shall be authorized to inspect the facility without prior notice. Any reasonable party who refuses to allow an authorized employee or representative of the department to conduct an inspection of the facility after appropriate credentials are presented shall be in violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties provided in subdivision c of section 24-713 of this chapter.
(b) Within twenty business days of receipt of a written complaint in such form as may be prescribed by the commissioner, alleging a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, the department shall investigate such complaint and shall inform the complainant of the results of such investigation.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1988/026.
(a) Any person who knowingly or recklessly makes any false statement, representation or certification on a facility inventory form, risk management plan, or any other document filed with the department, or on any label required, pursuant to this chapter, shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than two thousand dollars, or imprisonment of up to one year, or both. In addition to its application to any other person, the penalty provided for in this subdivision shall be deemed a special fine for a corporation within the meaning of section 80.10 of the penal law of the state of New York.
(b) Any person who violates the requirements of sections 24-706, 24-711 or 24-718 of this chapter shall be liable for a civil penalty, as follows: (1) for a first violation, in an amount of not less than one hundred nor more than five thousand dollars; (2) for a second violation, in an amount of not less than three thousand five hundred nor more than ten thousand dollars; and (3) for each subsequent violation, in an amount of not less than seven thousand five hundred nor more than twenty thousand dollars. For purposes of this section, the second and any subsequent violation shall only occur after notice of the first violation has been properly served and an opportunity to cure said violation has been provided to the violator, provided that such opportunity to cure shall not exceed thirty days. For purposes of this section, a second or subsequent violation shall occur where a person violates section 24-706, 24-711 or 24-718 of this chapter within five years of having been found to have violated this chapter. Such penalties may be recovered in a civil action brought in the name of the commissioner or in a proceeding before the environmental control board. In determining the civil penalty, the hearing officer or judge shall consider any evidence presented by the defendant showing a good faith effort to comply with relevant requirements of this chapter, the nature and seriousness of the defendant's violation of the chapter, whether the violation was voluntarily disclosed, previous violations, if any, of this chapter and any other evidence found to be relevant.
(c) Any person who without justification refuses to allow an inspection of a facility pursuant to section 24-712 of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty, returnable before the environmental control board or in civil court in the name of the commissioner, in an amount not to exceed twenty thousand dollars.
(d) Any person who violates any rule promulgated pursuant to subdivision b of section 24-716 of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty, returnable before the environmental control board, in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars. Each notice of violation shall contain an order of the commissioner directing such person, within thirty days from the date of the order, to correct the condition constituting the violation and to file with the department electronically, or in such other manner as the department shall authorize, a certification that the condition has been corrected. In any proceeding before the board, no civil penalty shall be imposed for a violation pursuant to this subdivision if such person complies with the commissioner's order to correct and to certify correction of the violation within thirty days.
(Am. L.L. 2023/151, 11/17/2023, eff. 11/17/2023)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1988/026 and L.L. 1993/092.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section, any person may commence an action in a court of competent jurisdiction on his or her own behalf against a responsible party of a facility for failure to file any information required to be filed with the department or fire department pursuant to section 24-706 of this chapter. Such action shall be brought in the county in which the alleged violation occurred or where the complainant resides. The court may impose the civil penalty provided for violation of this chapter.
(b) No action may be commenced under subdivision (a) of this section prior to sixty days after the plaintiff has given notice of the alleged violation to the commissioner and the alleged violator. Notice required under this subdivision shall be given in such manner as may be prescribed by the commissioner.
(c) No action may be commenced under subdivision (a) if the commissioner has commenced and is diligently pursuing an administrative or civil action concerning the facility which would be the subject of such action to enforce the reporting requirements of this chapter or to impose any civil penalty for violation of such reporting requirements.
(d) The court, in issuing any final order in any section brought pursuant to this section, may award costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney's and expert witness fees, to the prevailing party whenever the court determines such an award is appropriate.
(e) In any action brought pursuant to this section, the commissioner, may intervene as a matter of right.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1988/026.
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