Murphy, Liffland, announce funding for wastewater infrastructure in Pawling

PAWLING, NY - The winners of the State's so-called "Hunger Games" competition for funding were revealed today, with several projects in Senator Terrence Murphy's 40th senate district qualifying for funding. Senator Murphy announced the village of Pawling would receive a $100,000 engineering planning grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

"In this year's state budget we cut taxes, provided record property tax relief but also made crucial investments in our drinking water and wastewater treatment infrastructure," Senator Murphy said. "We want the village of Pawling to move to the project stage to provide safe, clean drinking water, prevent flooding, and keep pollutants out of our groundwater. This begins with the planning process, and today's grant will set the table for future job-creating clean water projects."

The funding comes from the Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grants program coordinated by DEC, for engineering reports by municipalities that need to construct or improve their municipal wastewater system. With the $100,000 in funding, the village of Pawling will complete an engineering report to evaluate inflow and infiltration (I/I) within the Village's sanitary sewer system, and identify capital improvement projects to correct the I/I issues.

Pawling Village Mayor Robert Liffland said, "The Village of Pawling is a very special place. We are a village that has retained the best of its past, picturesque homes, quiet side streets, and a lively downtown. Through smart planning and investments in our infrastructure, we can keep it that way, and we thank Senator Murphy for his assistance in securing the funding we need to start planning for projects that will make the village of Pawling an even better place. God bless Senator Murphy."

While Senator Murphy has been a critic of the overall process, he fought to help projects submitted by the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council achieve success. "While I disagree with picking winners and losers and many worthwile projects in my district that missed out must be fully-funded next year, there is no question that the village of Pawling was the best possible choice for this funding."