Section 23 - [Multiple versions] Coal combustion by-product demonstration project1. The commissioner shall undertake in nineteen hundred eighty-eight, after consultation with and in cooperation with the commissioner of environmental conservation, a demonstration project utilizing coal combustion by-products in the construction or improvement of state highways. Such project shall demonstrate the feasibility of the use of coal combustion by-products generated in the state, for the purpose of, but not solely limited to, large volume applications of such by-products as embankments and/or as fill.2. On or before April first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, the commissioner and the commissioner of environmental conservation shall submit a report to the governor, to the speaker of the assembly and to the president pro tem of the senate. In making such report, the commissioner shall make use of and report on existing studies, analyses and pilot projects conducted by the state of New York or the other states or the federal government, and such other sources of information they deem appropriate. Such report shall summarize and analyze the demonstration project and other data and information compiled by the commissioners. Such summary and analysis shall include: (a) a comparison of costs of conventional embankment and fill materials to the costs of the use of coal combustion by-products for such purposes;(b) a comparison of the methods of application of conventional embankment and fill materials to the application of coal combustion by-products for the same purposes and the ability to adapt equipment and processes, if necessary, to incorporate coal combustion by-products into the commissioner's specification for embankments and fill;(c) a comparison of the performance of coal combustion by-products to conventional materials with respect to stability, erosion, environmental compatibility and such other similar characteristics as may be deemed appropriate by the commissioners;(d) a comparison of the environmental benefits and detriments of the use of coal combustion by-products with those of alternative products or materials;(e) the findings of the commissioner as to the optimum and appropriate percentage of coal combustion by-products for construction or improvement of state highways in consideration of projected performance, and costs;(f) a finding of the quantity of coal combustion by-products that would be used annually if the percentage of coal combustion by-products recommended by the commissioners were to be utilized in embankments and fills for contracts for the construction or improvement of state highways or sections thereof;(g) a description of existing or potential impediments to the maximum utilization of coal combustion by-products in contracts for the construction or improvement of state highways;(h) recommendations of the commissioner as to future actions that could be taken by the department, the governor and the legislature to facilitate the use of coal combustion by-products for highway construction or improvement;(i) an analysis of the potential for the use of coal combustion by-products by local governments, regional and statewide authorities governing the construction or improvement of highways or bridges, including, but not limited to:(i) the projected annual demand for coal combustion by-products by local governments, regional and statewide authorities, based upon the percentage recommended by the commissioner for use in fills and embankments; and(ii) known or anticipated impediments to the maximum utilization of coal combustion by-products by local governments, regional and statewide authorities; and(j) an estimation of the additional expense, if any, to the state or localities in the utilization of coal combustion by-products technologies.3. The commissioner shall further examine, and make recommendations regarding the following: (a) actions that may be necessary to ensure the availability of an adequate supply of coal combustion by-products to meet projected demand in the construction or improvement of public highways;(b) methods of encouraging the use of coal combustion by-products in concrete and asphalt applications.4. In the preparation of this report, the commissioner and the commissioner of environmental conservation shall consult with the county and other state governments, the New York state thruway authority, the port authority of New York and New Jersey and such public or private agencies as the commissioner deems appropriate.