DEC ANNOUNCES $349,922 IN AWARDS TO REDUCE FLOODING, RESTORE AQUATIC HABITATS, AND IMPROVE CLIMATE RESILIENCY

 

Funding to Help Reduce Flood Risk and Protect Natural Resources in Columbia, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties

 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced more than $349,000 in awards for three projects to help communities improve climate resiliency, mitigate local flooding, and restore stream habitats. Funding for these projects is provided by the State's Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and is administered by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program in partnership with NEIWPCC. The announcement was made as New York State prepares to commemorate Climate Week 2021.

“The funding awards announced today will help Hudson River communities in Columbia, Dutchess, and Westchester counties bolster their climate resilience by enhancing the ability of natural systems to reduce flood risks,” said DEC Commissioner Seggos. “While Hudson Valley cities, towns, and villages continue to recover after devastating flooding in the wake of Tropical Depression Ida, New York is investing in our communities to preserve our natural resources and strengthen their ability to withstand flooding.” 

Two of the funded projects will create designs and conceptional engineering plans for climate resilient and connected waterfronts in the city of Hudson, and the village and town of Ossining. One project will develop municipal management plans for road-stream crossings and dams within the towns of Red Hook and Milan. Funded projects include:

Two Climate-Adaptive Design Phase II Projects Totaling $250,000.

Ossining Shoreline Revitalization and Community Connectivity Improvements: This $125,000 contract was awarded to Henningson, Durham and Richardson Architecture and Engineering, P.C. (HDR) for a living shoreline project at the Henry Gourdine and Louis Engel Waterfront Parks in Ossining. An inclusive stakeholder engagement process will be used to provide input on specific design elements and eco-friendly elements will be included in the shoreline stabilization to create fish habitat and promote recreational fishing opportunities. The project will result in an implementable preliminary design and an engineering report that includes a permitting strategy.

City of Hudson Climate-Adaptive Design: This $125,000 contract was awarded to Hudson Valley Collaborative for a project in the city of Hudson that will use a nature-based approach to protecting shoreline and tidal wetlands from sea-level rise, while maintaining active recreation and cultural activities. Hudson Valley Collaborative will engage a diverse group of stakeholders to seek community consensus on the design, which will prioritize ecological solutions that restore the intertidal marshland, as well as the access points for public boat docks and launches that give the Hudson waterfront its recreational vitality. The final preliminary design will provide the necessary design, engineering, and permitting documentation for the city to finalize and construct the design.

Restoration of Watershed Connectivity and Improved Road Infrastructure, $99,922.

T&B Engineering and Landscaping Architecture, P.C. was awarded $99,922 to develop municipal management plans for road-stream crossings and dams in the towns of Red Hook and Milan, Dutchess County. The project will improve water quality, reduce flood risks, and reconnect habitat for migratory and resident fish in the Hudson River Estuary. The plans will include all crossings in both towns, building on the 148 previously inventoried culverts, including the road-stream crossings located within the portions of the Roeliff Jansen Kill, Cold Spring Creek, Little Wappinger Creek, Landsman Kill, and Saw Kill watersheds in the town of Milan, and Stony Creek, Saw Kill, Landsman Kill, and Muddler Kill watersheds in the town of Red Hook. The project will include outreach and collaboration with each town and community to produce a municipal management plan, including a documented inventory, prioritization of the inventory, and conceptual designs for the top three priority crossings for each municipality.

Susan Sullivan, NEIWPCC Executive Director said, “NEIWPCC is pleased to assist Hudson River Valley communities use collaborative and innovative approaches to protect against the increasing risks resulting from climate change.”

DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program focuses on the tidal Hudson and its adjacent watershed from the federal dam at Troy to the Verrazano Narrows in New York City