(a) Upon the department's determination that an application is complete:

1. (1) a notification of the commencement of a 30-day comment period on the request to participate must be placed in the Environmental Notice Bulletin by the department; and

2. (2) newspaper notices, as defined in ECL 27-1405(22), must be prepared by the requestor and, subject to department review and approval, published in a local newspaper and mailed to the brownfield site contact list.

   (b) Citizen participation plans.

3. (1) Applicants shall prepare a site-specific citizen participation plan in accordance with ECL 27-1417(2) and section 375-1.10 of this Part. This plan shall include provision for all notices, fact sheets and comment periods for remedial program milestones required by ECL 27-1417(3) and section 375-1.10 of this Part. The citizen participation plan must be submitted to the department for approval. The remedial investigation work plan will not be approved until such time as the citizen participation plan has been approved.

4. (2) Unless otherwise determined by the department, all notices and fact sheets for the required milestones shall be prepared by the applicant and approved by the department prior to issuance.

   1. (i) Department-approved notices and fact sheets shall be distributed by the applicant to all parties on the brownfield site contact list.
   2. (ii) Within five days of mailing such notices and fact sheets the applicant shall provide proof of compliance with the notice requirements on a form approved by the department.
   3. (iii) All notices and facts sheets must be included in the document repository. Notices and facts sheets can be combined with the approval of the department.

(c) Technical assistance grants may be made to qualifying community groups for a brownfield site where the department has determined such site constitutes a significant threat.

1. (1) Grants may be used:

   1. (i) to obtain technical assistance in interpreting information with regard to the nature of the hazard posed by contaminants located at or emanating from a qualifying site;
   2. (ii) to hire health and safety experts to advise affected residents on any health assessments; and
   3. (iii) for the training and education of interested affected community members to enable them to more effectively participate in the remedy selection process.

2. (2) Grants may not be used for:

   1. (i) collecting field sampling data;
   2. (ii) political activity; or
   3. (iii) lobbying legislative bodies.

3. (3) Qualifying community groups. A community group must meet the following criteria to be eligible:

   1. (i) be either a domestic not-for-profit corporation as defined at NPCL 102(a)(5) or an authorized foreign not-for-profit corporation as defined at NPCL 102(a)(7);
   2. (ii) be exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. In determining this criterion, the department may consider any evidence which could be considered by a court pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(11);
   3. (iii) be affected by a remedial program for such site;
   4. (iv) not be sustained by or controlled by or affiliated with any person that is responsible for such site according to applicable principles of statutory or common law liability; and
   5. (v) demonstrate that its membership resides in the community and represents the interests of the community affected by such site. In determining this criterion, the department may consider any evidence that its members' health, economic well-being or enjoyment of the environment are potentially affected by such site.

4. (4) Grant amounts. The total amount of all technical assistance grants awarded for a particular brownfield site is limited to $50,000. The amount of each technical assistance grant:

   1. (i) will be determined by the department based upon the scope of work in the application; and
   2. (ii) the grant recipient may request increases to its grant, up to the maximum $50,000 per site. The request should be in writing and include appropriate justification and a budget.

5. (5) Grant applications. A community group desiring to obtain a grant shall submit an application to the department in such form and manner, and containing such information, as the department may require. A complete application consists of a:

   1. (i) completed application form containing such information as the department may prescribe; and

   2. (ii) a certification by a responsible officer of the corporation, in a form provided by the department, which certifies at a minimum that:

      1. (a) the corporation is not sustained by or controlled by or affiliated with any person that is responsible for the site according to applicable principles of statutory or common law liability;
      2. (b) all statements made for the purpose of obtaining a grant either are set out in full on this application or are set out in full in exhibits attached to this application and incorporated by reference in the application;
      3. (c) all information included in this application, including attachments, is accurate to the best of the responsible officer's knowledge;
      4. (d) that the undersigned is authorized to execute this application for the corporation; and
      5. (e) acknowledges that a false statement made in the certification is punishable as a class "A" misdemeanor pursuant to section 210.45 of the Penal Law.
6. (6) A technical assistance grant shall be made by the department pursuant to a State assistance contract between the department and the grant recipient as set forth in section 375-2.5(c) of this Part. The State assistance contract shall contain such terms and conditions as the commissioner may deem to be appropriate. All such grants are recoverable State costs subject to recovery from responsible parties.
7. (7) The department may require a responsible party, as defined in section 375-2.2(i) of this Part, to provide a technical assistance grant directly to a qualifying community group. Such responsible party shall provide for a grant consistent with the requirements of this section within a time frame directed by the department.