§ 1161. Eligible projects; priority ranking. Subject to the provisions of section thirty-two of the chapter of the laws of 1996 which added this section, in consultation with the commissioner of environmental conservation, the commissioner shall establish and maintain a list of potentially eligible projects and shall establish, pursuant to rules and regulations, a process for listing potentially eligible projects identified by potential recipients and a priority ranking system for the purpose of providing financial assistance to recipients for such projects under this title. In establishing such system, the commissioner shall take into account the public health significance of such potentially eligible projects which shall include, but need not be limited to, an assessment of (i) public health and safety; (ii) population affected; (iii) attainment of state drinking water quality goals and standards; (iv) taking into consideration the water resources management strategy pursuant to title twenty-nine of article fifteen of the environmental conservation law; (v) taking into consideration future physical climate risk due to sea level rise, and/or storm surges and/or flooding, based on available data predicting the likelihood of future extreme weather events, including hazard risk analysis data if applicable; and (vi) compliance with state and federal law, rules and regulations.
