Several area villages awarded state assistance for water quality projects

Elmira, N.Y.--State Senator Tom O'Mara (R,I,C-Big Flats), chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, today said that the villages of Watkins Glen and Montour Falls in Schuyler County, Bath in Steuben County, Trumansburg in Tompkins County, and Penn Yan in Yates County will be awarded state grants to undertake critical drinking water quality and water infrastructure improvement projects.

The local awards were announced in Albany this week as part of a round of $75 million in grants for 45 projects statewide  through the New York State Water Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2015 (WIIA) established as part of the 2015-2016 state budget.  In addition to the grants, the state Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) provides interest-free and low-interest loans to communities to further reduce the cost of infrastructure projects.

It was announced today that:

-- the villages of Watkins Glen and Montour Falls (Schuyler County) are being awarded a $5-million grant to assist the planning, design and construction of a Joint Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant to combine the villages’ sewer systems to improve the water quality in Seneca Lake;

-- the village of Bath (Steuben) is being awarded a $3.125-million grant for a Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvement Project to improve water quality in the Cohocton River and the Chesapeake Bay watershed;

-- the village of Trumansburg (Tompkins) is being awarded a $2-million grant to develop new groundwater sources and install a new transmission main to carry water from the new wells to the village; and

-- the village of Penn Yan (Yates) is being awarded a $315,000 grant for Waterfront Sanitary Sewer Upgrades to improve the water quality of the Keuka Lake Outlet.

O’Mara said, "It’s great news that these villages will receive this valuable assistance to undertake these critical projects. We're hopeful that ongoing state assistance will prove successful in helping localities undertake these critical projects, including sewer and pipeline repairs. We're also hopeful that it can represent a long-term model for how the state-local partnership can be strengthened for the good of local environments, local economies and local property taxpayers by helping municipalities meet critical infrastructure needs while remaining within the property tax cap."

The EFC invests more than $1 billion each year to fund water-quality improvements through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).

More information on how to apply for these loans are available at www.efc.ny.gov/CWSRF (for wastewater projects) and www.efc.ny.gov/DWSRF (for drinking water projects).

Read more in The Leader, "Bath sewer plant project gets state funding."