§ 176. Removal of prohibited discharges. 1. Any person discharging\npetroleum in the manner prohibited by section one hundred seventy-three\nof this article shall immediately undertake to contain such discharge.\nNotwithstanding the above requirement, the department may undertake the\nremoval of such discharge and may retain agents and contractors who\nshall operate under the direction of such department for such purposes.\nThe commissioner shall develop a system of immediate response type\ncontracts with appropriate agents and contractors. Such contracts shall\nbe subject to the approval of the state comptroller in accordance with\nsection one hundred twelve of the state finance law, however, such\napproval shall not obligate to any particular contract any specific\namount of monies from the fund but shall obligate from the fund on an\nindividual basis as such contracts are utilized the actual amount\nrequired to effectuate any contract or any portion thereof. Any\nnecessary approvals of availability of funds for a particular project in\naccordance with any provision of the state finance law shall be\nundertaken as soon as practical after clean up and removal procedures\nare undertaken, or such procedures are ordered by the commissioner.\n 2. (a) Upon the occurrence of a discharge of petroleum, the department\nshall respond promptly and proceed to cleanup and remove the discharge\nin accordance with environmental priorities or may, at its discretion,\ndirect the discharger to promptly cleanup and remove the discharge. The\ndepartment shall be responsible for cleanup and removal or as the case\nmay be, for retaining agents and contractors who shall operate under the\ndirection of that department for such purposes. Implementation of\ncleanup and removal procedures after each discharge shall be conducted\nin accordance with environmental priorities and procedures established\nby the department.\n (b) Section eight of the court of claims act or any other provision of\nlaw to the contrary notwithstanding, the state shall be immune from\nliability and action with respect to any act or omission done in the\ndischarge of the department's responsibility pursuant to this article;\nprovided, however, that this subdivision shall not limit any liability\nwhich may otherwise exist for unlawful, willful or malicious acts or\nomissions on the part of the state, state agencies, or their officers,\nemployees or agents or for a discharge in violation of section one\nhundred seventy-three of this article.\n 3. Any unexplained discharge of petroleum within state jurisdiction or\ndischarge of petroleum occurring in waters beyond state jurisdiction\nthat for any reason penetrates within state jurisdiction shall be\nremoved by or under the direction of the department. Except for those\nexpenses incurred by the party causing such discharge, any expenses\nincurred in the removal of discharges shall be paid promptly from the\nNew York environmental protection and spill compensation fund pursuant\nto sections one hundred and eighty-six and one hundred seventy-nine-a of\nthis article and any reimbursements due such fund shall be collected in\naccordance with the provisions of section one hundred and eighty-seven\nof this article.\n 4. Cleanup and removal of petroleum and actions to minimize damage\nfrom discharges shall be, to the greatest extent possible, in accordance\nwith the National Contingency Plan for removal of oil and hazardous\nsubstances established pursuant to section 311 (d) of the Federal Water\nPollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), as amended by the\nFederal Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), or revised\nunder section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,\nCompensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9605).\n 5. The department in consultation with the attorney general shall\ndevelop a standard contract form to be used when contracting services\nfor the cleanup and removal of a discharge.\n 6. When
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