News Releases from Region 02

EPA Provides New York $222.5 Million for Water Infrastructure Improvements

(New York, N.Y.) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it has awarded over $222.5 million to New York to help finance water infrastructure projects that are essential to protecting public health and the environment. The funds will primarily be used to upgrade wastewater and drinking water infrastructure systems throughout the state.

“Working with our state and local partners to ensure our communities have affordable access to clean drinking water remains a critical priority for EPA, said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “We are pleased to provide significant funding as part of our overall efforts to help New York meet its critical water infrastructure needs.”

EPA awarded $177,159,000 to the New York Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program, administrated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (NYSEFC). This award, plus a 20% state match and repayments from prior CWSRF loans, combined with interest earnings and bond issuances, will enable the financing of up to approximately $900 million of clean water infrastructure projects in New York.

EPA awarded $45,363,000 to the New York Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program, administrated by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the NYSEFC. This award, plus a 20% state match and repayments from prior DWSRF loans, combined with interest earnings and bond issuances, will enable the financing of up to approximately $392 million of drinking water infrastructure projects in New York.

Based on estimates from the U.S. Water Alliance, New York’s CWSRF and DWSRF programs have the potential to create approximately 20,000 jobs.

The CWSRF program provides low-interest loans and principal forgiveness for the construction of water quality protection infrastructure projects to make improvements to wastewater treatment systems and control pollution from stormwater runoff, which will protect New York’s lakes, rivers and the Atlantic Ocean. 

Examples of the types of projects on the State’s CWSRF Intended Use Plan are:

• $7,675,000 to the Town of Ballston for planning, design, and construction of a new sewer district to serve businesses and residences and maintain water quality in Ballston Lake;
• $100,000,000 to Binghamton/Johnson City for design and construction of a project to rebuild components of the sewage treatment plant to improve water quality in the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers; 
• $21,700,000 to New York City for construction and construction management of the Bronx and Manhattan grit chambers that provide primary screening to Wards Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, resulting in improved water quality in the East River.

New York City’s East River. Photo courtesy NYC.gov.

The DWSRF program provides low-interest loans and principal forgiveness for the construction of drinking water infrastructure projects and for the administration of small system technical assistance, source water protection, capacity development, and operator certification. The DWSRF program will protect people’s health by reducing exposure to contaminants in drinking water.

Examples of the types of projects on the State’s DWSRF Intended Use Plan are:

• $1,000,000 to Deferiet Village for improvements to drinking water distribution and storage;
• $12,033,104 to the Town of Ticonderoga for upgrades to its water treatment plant, a new groundwater source, new storage, and distribution system upgrades;
• $6,405,114 to the Village of Keeseville to upgrade its water treatment plant, storage capabilities and drinking water distribution system.

Since 1990, the EPA has awarded $6.5 billion to these two programs, which, along with the other program funds, has enabled New York to finance $21.7 billion in projects.

For more information on the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program, visit https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf

 For information on the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program visit https://epa.gov/drinkingwatersrf

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