Section 1518 - [Multiple versions] Natural organic reduction facility operationsCemetery corporations that operate a natural organic reduction facility shall have the following duties and obligations:
(a) Maintenance and privacy. (1) A natural organic reduction facility shall be maintained in a clean, orderly, and sanitary manner, with adequate ventilation and shall have a temporary storage area available to store the remains of deceased human beings pending disposition by natural organic reduction, the interior of which shall not be accessible to the general public.(2) Entrances and windows of the facility shall be maintained at all times to secure privacy, including (i) doors shall be tightly closed and rigid; (ii) windows shall be covered; and (iii) entrances shall be locked and secured when not actively attended by authorized facility personnel.(b) Natural organic reduction process. (1) The natural organic reduction process shall be conducted in privacy. No person except authorized persons shall be admitted into the reduction area, holding facility, or the temporary storage facility while the remains of deceased human beings are being naturally organically reduced. Authorized persons, on admittance, shall comply with all rules of the cemetery corporation and not infringe upon the privacy of the remains of deceased human beings.(2) The following are authorized persons: (i) licensed, registered funeral directors, registered residents, and enrolled students of mortuary science; (ii) officers and trustees of the cemetery corporation; (iii) authorized employees or their authorized agents of the cemetery corporation; (iv) public officers acting in the discharge of their duties; (v) authorized instructors of funeral directing schools; (vi) licensed physicians or nurses; and (vii) members of the immediate family of the deceased and their authorized agents and designated representatives.(c) Identification of deceased human beings. (1) No natural organic reduction facility shall naturally organically reduce the remains of any deceased human being without the accompanying natural organic reduction permit, required pursuant to section forty-one hundred forty-five of the public health law which permit shall constitute presumptive evidence of the identity of the said remains. In addition, all natural organic reduction facilities situated outside the city of New York, must comply with paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section forty-one hundred forty-five of the public health law pertaining to the receipt for the deceased human being. From the time of such delivery to the natural organic reduction facility, until the time the natural organic reduction facility distributes the remains as directed, the facility shall be responsible for the remains of the deceased human being. Further, a natural organic reduction authorization form shall accompany the permit required in section forty-one hundred forty-five of the public health law. This form, provided or approved by the facility, shall be signed by the next of kin or authorizing agent attesting to the permission for the natural organic reduction of the deceased, and disclosing to the natural organic reduction facility that such body does not contain a battery, battery pack, power cell, radioactive implant, or radioactive device, if any, and that these materials were removed prior to the natural organic reduction process.(2) Upon good cause being shown rebutting the presumption of the identity of such remains, the natural organic reduction shall not commence until reasonable confirmation of the identity of the deceased human being is made. This proof may be in the form of, but not limited to, a signed affidavit from a licensed physician, a member of the family of the deceased human being, the authorizing agent or a court order from the state supreme court within the county of the cemetery corporation. Such proof shall be provided by the authorizing agent.(3) The facility shall have a written plan to assure that the identification established by the natural organic reduction permit accompanies the remains of the deceased human being through the natural organic reduction process and until the identity of the deceased is accurately and legibly inscribed on the container in which the remains are placed. (d) Opening of a container holding the remains of the deceased human being. (1) The remains of a deceased human being shall be delivered to the natural organic reduction facility in an alternative container or in external wrappings sufficient to contain the remains and also designed to fully decompose in the natural reduction process. Such alternative container or external wrappings holding the remains of the deceased human being shall not be opened after delivery to the natural organic reduction facility unless there exists good cause to confirm the identity of the deceased, or to assure that no material is enclosed which might cause injury to employees or damage to natural organic reduction facility property, or upon reasonable demand by members of the immediate family or the authorized agent.(2) In such instances in which alternative container or wrappings are opened after delivery to the natural organic reduction facility, such action shall only be conducted by the licensed funeral director or registered resident delivering the remains of the deceased human being and a record shall be made, which shall include the reason for such action, the signature of the person authorizing the opening thereof, and the names of the person opening the container or wrappings and the witness thereto, which shall be retained in the permanent file of the natural organic reduction facility. The opening of the container or wrapping shall be conducted in the presence of the witness and shall comply with all rules and regulations intended to protect the health and safety of natural organic reduction facility personnel.(e) Ceremonial casket natural organic reduction disclosure. In those instances in which the remains of deceased human beings are to be delivered to a natural organic reduction facility in a casket or other container that is not to be naturally organically reduced with the deceased, timely disclosure thereof must be made by the person making the funeral arrangements to the natural organic reduction facility that prior to natural organic reduction the remains of the deceased human being shall be transferred to a container or in external wrappings sufficient to contain the remains and also designed to fully decompose in the natural reduction process. Such signed acknowledgement of the authorizing person, that the timely disclosure has been made, shall be retained by the natural organic reduction facility in its permanent records.(f) Transferring remains. (1) The remains of a deceased human being shall not be removed from the casket, alternative container, or external wrappings in which it is delivered to the natural organic reduction facility unless explicit, signed authorization is provided by the person making funeral arrangements or by a public officer discharging their statutory duty, which signed authorization shall be retained by the natural organic reduction facility in its permanent records.(2) When the remains of a deceased human being are to be transferred to an alternative container, the transfer shall be conducted in privacy with dignity and respect and by the licensed funeral director or registered resident who delivered those remains. The transferring operation shall comply with all rules and regulations intended to protect the health and safety of facility personnel. (g) Commingling human remains. The natural organic reduction of remains of more than one deceased human being in a reduction container at any one time is unlawful, except upon the explicit, signed authorization provided by the persons making funeral arrangements and the signed approval of the natural organic reduction facility, which shall be retained by the natural organic reduction facility in its permanent records.(h) Processing of remains. (1) Upon the completion of the natural organic reduction of the remains of a deceased human being, the interior of the natural organic reduction container shall be thoroughly swept or otherwise cleaned so as to render the natural organic reduction container reasonably free of all matter. The contents thereof shall be placed into an individual container and not commingled with other remains. The natural organic reduction permit shall be attached to the individual container preparatory to final processing.(2) A magnet and sieve, or other appropriate method of separation, may be used to divide the remains from unrecognizable incidental or foreign material.(3) The incidental and foreign material of the natural organic reduction process shall be disposed of in a safe manner in compliance with all sanitary rules and regulations as byproducts.(4) The remains shall be pulverized until no single fragment is recognizable as skeletal tissue.(5) The pulverized remains shall be transferred to a container or to multiple containers, if so requested in writing by the person making the funeral arrangements for the natural organic reduction. Such container or containers shall have inside dimensions of suitable size to contain the remains of the person who was naturally organically reduced.(6) The prescribed container or containers shall be accurately and legibly labeled with the identification of the human being whose remains are contained therein, in a manner acceptable to the division of cemeteries.(i) Disposition of remains. The authorizing agent shall be responsible for the final disposition of the remains. Disposition of remains resulting from the natural organic reduction process are not recoverable once scattered or interred. Remains shall be disposed of by scattering them in a designated scattering garden or area in a cemetery, or by prior authorization by the cemetery corporation, by placing them in a grave, crypt, or niche, or retrieval of the remains pursuant to prior authorization by the authorizing agent or a person specifically designated by the authorizing agent. Upon completion of the natural organic reduction process, the cemetery corporation shall notify the authorizing agent and funeral firm making such arrangements that the natural organic reduction process has been completed and that the remains are prepared to be disposed of in accordance with this paragraph. Upon receipt of the remains, the individual receiving them may transport them in any manner in the state without a permit, and may dispose of them in accordance with this section. After disposition, the cemetery corporation shall be discharged from any legal obligation or liability to deliver the remains to the authorizing agent or any other person enumerated under paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section forty-two hundred one of the public health law concerning the remains. If, after a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of the natural organic reduction, the authorizing agent has not instructed the cemetery corporation to arrange for the final disposition of the remains or claimed the remains, the cemetery corporation may dispose of the remains in any manner permitted by this section. The cemetery corporation, however, shall keep a permanent record identifying the site of final disposition. The authorizing agent shall be responsible for reimbursing the cemetery corporation for all reasonable expenses incurred in disposing of the remains. Upon disposing of the remains, the cemetery corporation shall be discharged from any legal obligation or liability to deliver the remains to the authorizing agent or any other person enumerated under paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section forty-two hundred one of the public health law concerning the remains. Except with the express written permission of the authorizing agent, no person shall place remains of more than one person in the same temporary container or urn.(j) Natural organic reduction facility operation certification. Any employee of a natural organic reduction facility whose function is to conduct the daily operations of the cremation or natural organic reduction process shall be certified by an organization approved by the division of cemeteries. Proof of such certification shall be posted in the natural organic reduction facility and available for inspection at any time. Any new employees of a natural organic reduction facility required to be certified under this section shall be certified within one year of their employment. Any employees of a natural organic reduction facility required to be certified under this section and retained prior to the effective date of this paragraph shall be certified within one year of such effective date. Renewal of such certification shall be completed every five years from the date of certification.(k) The cemetery board, in consultation with the department of health, the department of environmental conservation, and any other state agency deemed necessary, may promulgate rules and regulations consistent with law to effectuate the provisions of this section.N.Y. Not-For-Profit Corp. Law § 1518
Amended by New York Laws 2023, ch. 34,Sec. 18, eff. 3/3/2023.Amended by New York Laws 2023, ch. 34,Sec. 3, eff. 6/28/2023.Added by New York Laws 2022, ch. 817,Sec. 6, eff. 6/28/2023.