Citizen Participation.
43 RCNY § 43-1409
in effect§ 43-1409 Citizen Participation.
a. To facilitate the remedial process and enable citizens to participate more fully in decisions that affect their health, the office shall require applicants and enrollees to provide opportunities for citizen involvement in the development and implementation of a remedial program and shall encourage applicants and enrollees to consult with the public prior to the office adopting final determinations. The primary goal of the citizen participation program is to facilitate communication between the office and enrollees and the individuals, groups, and organizations that have expressed interest in or are affected by a site, its remedial program, or the decision-making process associated with the remediation of a site.
b. All remedial programs shall include a citizen participation program that, at a minimum, shall include, the preparation of a citizen participation plan, establishment of a document repository and a site contact list, and public notice with a prescribed public comment period at select milestones.
c. The design of any citizen participation plan, including the level of citizen involvement and the tools utilized, shall take into account the scope and scale of the proposed remedial program, local interest and history, and other relevant factors. Citizen participation plans shall embody the following principles of meaningful citizen participation:
1. Opportunities for citizen involvement shall be provided as early as possible in the decision-making process prior to the selection of a preferred course of action by the office and/or the enrollee;
2. Activities proposed in such plan shall be as reflective as possible of the diversity of interests and perspectives found within the community and shall allow members of the public the opportunity to have their views heard and considered, including, where possible, opportunities for dialogue; and
3. The office and the enrollee shall provide full, timely, and accessible disclosure and sharing of reports, including technical data and the assumptions upon which any analyses are based.
d. Upon application to the City voluntary cleanup program, an applicant shall submit a citizen participation plan to the office that shall include at a minimum the following elements:
1. A site contact list;
2. The name and address of a document repository and evidence that the repository has agreed to serve as a repository for the remedial project;
3. Overview of the site's history and contamination issues;
4. Identification of major issues of potential concern to the public related to the site and a description of any mitigation planned to address the issues, if appropriate;
5. A description and schedule of the major elements of the site's remedial program;
6. A description and schedule of citizen participation activities conducted or planned relating to the site; and
7. A description of any additional citizen participation activities needed to address public concerns.
e. All citizen participation plans shall be subject to office review and approval. The citizen participation plan shall be updated, as required by the office, during the implementation of the remedial program.
f. Document repository. The enrollee shall establish a document repository at a location accessible to citizens where they can review the remedial program documents.
1. Documents shall be placed in the repository that are:
A. set forth in 43 RCNY § 43-1406(d) or 43 RCNY § 43-1407(l)(3); or
B. otherwise designated by the office for inclusion.
2. An enrollee shall ensure that the repository contains all appropriate documents and shall inspect the repository at each citizen participation milestone listed in subdivision g of this section to ensure that the repository contains complete and current project information.
3. The office may allow for a digital document repository to serve as the primary document repository subject to feedback from the community.
g. Public notice and public comment.
1. In addition to distributing a notice of application as required by 43 RCNY § 43-1404(f), public notice, in the form of a fact sheet, and public comment activities are required for each site in the City voluntary cleanup program at the following milestones:
A. Upon the availability of a remedial investigation work plan, if such plan is submitted as part of the application. The applicant shall distribute to the site contact list public notice, in the form of a fact sheet summarizing the contents of the work plan, noting the initiation of a thirty-day public comment period, and identifying the location of the repository where the document can be reviewed. The office shall not approve the remedial investigation work plan until the public comment period has ended.
B. Upon the availability of a remedial investigation report and remedial action work plan. The enrollee shall distribute to the site contact list public notice, in the form of a fact sheet, summarizing the contents of the remedial investigation report and remedial action work plan, noting the initiation of a thirty-day public comment period for the remedial action work plan, and identifying the location of the repository where the documents can be reviewed. The office shall extend the public comment period to forty-five days upon public request and conduct a public meeting upon public request. The office shall not approve the remedial action work plan until the public comment period has ended.
C. At the start of remediation. The enrollee shall distribute to the site contact list a public notice announcing the start of remediation.
D. Upon the issuance of a notice of completion. The enrollee shall distribute to the site contact list a fact sheet announcing the completion of remediation and identifying all institutional and/or engineering controls.
2. Public notices and fact sheets.
A. Unless otherwise determined by the office, all notices and fact sheets for the required milestones and any additional notices and fact sheets required by the office shall be prepared by the enrollee and approved by the office prior to issuance.
B. Office-approved notices and fact sheets shall be distributed by the enrollee to all parties on the site contact list. No other information may be distributed with the notices and fact sheets.
C. Within five days of distributing such notices and fact sheets, the enrollee shall provide proof of compliance with the notice requirements on a form approved by the office.
D. All notices, fact sheets, and project documents shall be included in the document repository.
3. Where the site or adjacent real property contains multiple dwelling units, the enrollee may propose an alternative method, consistent with the citizen participation goals set forth in subdivision a of this section, for providing notice in lieu of mailing to each individual.
h. Public comment period extensions.
1. The office shall consider a request to extend a public comment period provided such request is received at least five days prior to the end of the public comment period.
2. Extensions shall not be greater than thirty days. One automatic extension of fifteen days shall be provided for remedial action work plans upon request.
3. Additional notice is not required upon granting an extension.
i. Interim remedial measures. For interim remedial measures, the office shall not require citizen participation activities unless the scope of the interim remedial measure is likely to represent the remedy or a significant portion of the remedy, in which case the office shall require a thirty-day public comment period.
(Amended City Record 12/28/2015, eff. 1/27/2016)
Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-82291Fetched: 10/24/2026