By GREGORY ZELLER //
Funding for two Long Island drinking-water projects is included in a comprehensive water-infrastructure initiative flowing through the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp.
Combining short-term financing options and a slate of previously announced EFC grants, a $70 million funding package will advance critical infrastructure projects – with an eye on local water quality – in 11 statewide municipalities.
That includes Nassau County’s Village of Garden City, where a $3.6 million grant will help install Advanced Oxidation Process and Granular Activated Carbon technologies – both designed to treat emerging waterborne contaminants – in the village’s water-treatment facility.
Also on the list: A long-term, interest-free $451,504 loan for Suffolk County’s Village of Dering Harbor, which is constructing a 100,000-gallon storage tank and installing backup power supplies to keep village wells pumping during power outages.
The lion’s share of the $70 million package – roughly $40 million – is heading to upstate Oneida County, which is constructing a $352 million water-pollution control plant and several related pump stations.
Other clean-water winners receiving interest-free financing, over the short and long terms, include Green County’s Town of Catskill ($10.1 million for wastewater collection and conveyance), Onondaga County’s Village of Marcellus ($4.3 million for wastewater treatment plant upgrades) and Tompkins County’s Town of Dryden ($3 million for collection-system improvements).
Real treat: Oneida County’s water-management systems are undergoing some major upgrades.
United States Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who helped channel Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds to Albany’s clean-water war chest, applauded statewide projects “from critical upgrades to the water-pollution control plant in Oneida County to cleaner drinking water on Long Island,” while U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY 4) said safeguarding constituents’ drinking water “has been one of my top priorities during my time in Congress.”
“I am ecstatic to see that Garden City will receive more than $3.6 million to install state-of-the-art equipment to treat emerging contaminants in the village’s water-treatment facility,” Rice added.
With the EFC also approving numerous “financing conversions” designed to lower interest on outstanding loans for completed water-improvement projects – a significant debt-relief for numerous municipalities – Gov. Kathy Hochul trumpeted “a greener, healthier future for New York.”
“By investing in improving our state’s water infrastructure, we are laying the foundation for regional growth and prosperity while protecting our natural resources,” the governor added. “This funding helps ensure that cost will not be a barrier as communities across the state continue to modernize treatment systems with vital infrastructure upgrades.”
