Governor Hochul Awards More Than $225 Million to Water Quality Protection Projects Across the State

$197 Million Awarded to Projects Benefiting Environmental Justice Communities

Funding to Update Aging Water Infrastructure, Address Phosphorus and Reduce the Frequency of Harmful Algal Blooms, Protect Drinking Water, and Prevent Potential Contamination

Governor Kathy Hochul announced more than $225 million awarded to 165 projects to significantly improve water quality across the state. The grants support projects that will help protect drinking water, update aging water infrastructure, reduce contributors to harmful algal blooms, and improve aquatic habitat in communities statewide. More than $197 million of the funding will support water quality improvements for environmental justice communities that may be disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution.

“Every person deserves access to clean water—which is why New York is implementing a comprehensive strategy to fund infrastructure upgrades and replacement and other generational investments that ensure the long-term protection of water bodies,” Governor Hochul said.  “Focusing on environmental justice communities that have long borne the brunt of environmental pollution helps further support historically overlooked communities as we help safeguard their health for generations to come.”

Through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) grant program, these projects will directly improve water quality or aquatic habitat, promote flood risk reduction, restoration, and enhanced flood and climate resiliency, or protect a drinking water source. Additional projects through the Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source Planning and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Mapping Grant (NPG) support the initial planning of non-agricultural nonpoint source water quality improvement projects, such as undersized culvert replacements and green infrastructure technologies, and State permit-required storm sewer mapping in urban areas. These projects will reduce the amount of polluted stormwater runoff entering lakes, rivers, and streams, and improve resiliency against the impacts of climate change.

The WQIP and NPG funding is part of Round XIV of the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. The REDC process continues to support and empower regional stakeholders in developing strategic plans and funding priorities that meet local economic needs. Applicants utilized the New York’s Consolidated Funding Application, the State’s single application for state resources, which includes programs for numerous agencies. It is designed to provide expedited and streamlined access to a combined pool of grant funds and tax credits from dozens of existing programs.

This round of WQIP awards were supported by the State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), the Clean Water Infrastructure Act (CWIA), the Clean Water, Clean Air, Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 (Bond Act), and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

WQIP projects include municipal wastewater treatment upgrades, non-agricultural nonpoint source abatement and control, land acquisition projects for source water protection, salt storage construction, vacuum trucks for MS4 areas, dam safety repair, rehabilitation and dam removal, aquatic connectivity restoration, marine habitat restoration, and fish and wildlife habitat restoration and enhancement. New York State continues to prioritize funding for projects that may reduce the frequency of harmful algal blooms (HABs).

Nearly half of the WQIP and NPG awarded grants, totaling approximately $102 million, will support projects in watersheds known to have experienced HABs in the past five years or help implement a project identified in a DEC HABs Action Plan. A total of $15 million will implement proper salt storage and road salt reduction best management practices.

As recommended by the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force, DEC and the State Department of Transportation (DOT) collaborated to include activities that reduce road salt applications to help protect public health and the environment, including brine-making equipment and brine storage tanks and retrofitting snowplows with live edge or segmented flow blades, plow guards, truck mounted brine spreading equipment, and GPS sensors.

Project Highlights

The full list of WQIP awardees can be found online. Selected highlights of the 127 WQIP projects and 38 NPG projects include:

Long Island

• Town of Shelter Island - $260,000 for In-Waterbody Control of Nutrients
  The town will install in-waterbody controls in Fresh Pond, a kettle pond replenished by groundwater and stormwater. The project will improve water quality from within by removing phosphorus from pond sediment using hypolimnetic withdrawal and will return treated water back to the pond.
• 1653 Foundation, Inc. - $549,955 for Natural Habitat Restoration
  The 1653 Foundation will restore the degrading shoreline at Halesite Park on the eastern shore of Huntington Harbor. The project will remove a failing seawall to expand shallow water habitat, install an offshore rock sill and oyster reef, and expand salt marsh vegetation and upland plantings.

New York City

• New York City Department of Environmental Protection - $15 million for Combined Sewer Overflow Reduction
  The New York City Department of Environmental Protection will construct improvements to the Hunts Point sewer outfall to reduce combined sewer overflows and improve the water quality of the Bronx River.

Mid-Hudson

• Riverkeeper, Inc. - $2,500,000 for Dam Removal
  Riverkeeper will remove Crystal Lake Dam in the town of Highland. The removal will protect homes, roads, and the railroad downstream from potential flooding.
• Westchester Land Trust, Inc. - $1,610,846 for Croton Drinking Water Protection
  More than 200 acres will be acquired to protect New York City's drinking water sources. Westchester Land Trust will acquire parcels of undeveloped forested land in the town of Southeast to support source water protection.
• Town of New Castle- $325,000 for New Vacuum Truck
  New Castle will purchase a vacuum truck to clean catch basins more quickly than with current equipment. The new truck will have increased capacity and attachments to assist in cleaning basins, allowing the town to meet its MS4 permit obligations.

Capital Region

• Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District - $141,200 for Roadside Erosion and Sediment Control
  Warren County will implement a county-wide roadside erosion and sediment control program. The program will use hydromulching to stabilize an estimated 15 acres of bare soil road in ditches and capture eroded sediment and debris. This will reduce erosion and protect water quality in the Lake George and Upper Hudson watersheds.

North Country

• City of Rome - $1 million for Dam Restoration
  Rome will stabilize and repair Boyd Dam, which impounds the primary water supply for Rome and other communities. Repairs will include concrete work and improvements to the earthen dike.
• Town of St. Armand - $1 million for Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements
  The town will upgrade its wastewater treatment facility by adding a disinfection system, improving the water quality of Sumner Brook and the Saranac River.

Mohawk Valley

• Town of Stark - $500,000 for New Salt Storage Facility
  The town of Stark will construct a salt storage building to cover the currently exposed salt pile. The building will protect Otsquago Creek and the Mohawk River watershed.
• Town of Oneonta - $337,600 to Reconnect Fish Passage
  The town will replace two undersized and perched culverts on Oneonta Creek. These replacements will both increase flow capacity to promote flood resilience and restore aquatic organism passage in the headwaters of the Susquehanna River.

Central New York

• Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District - $400,000 for Shoreline Stabilization
  The Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District will complete a shoreline stabilization project to stabilize and protect 3,000 feet of shoreline in the towns of Springport and Aurelis. The project will reduce erosion and nutrient loading to Cayuga Lake.

Southern Tier

• Chemung County - $10 million for Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure Nutrient Reduction
  Chemung County will complete upgrades as part of the larger Chemung County Sewer District Consolidation project, which includes decommissioning the Lake Street Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and conveying flows to the Milton Street WWTP. The project will reduce the amount of nutrients entering the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay watershed.
• Village of Waverly - $75,000 for Dry Brook Stream Corridor Assessment
  The village of Waverly will perform a comprehensive stream corridor assessment of Dry Brook after eroding streambanks and retaining walls have put homes and public infrastructure at risk. The assessment will inventory areas of streambank erosion to implement projects to reduce sediment loading and protect public safety.

Finger Lakes

• Ducks Unlimited, Inc. - $252,436 for Wetland Restoration
  Ducks Unlimited, Inc., will restore a wetland in the Owasco Flats Wildlife Management Area near the town of Moravia. The project will provide habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife, help mitigate flood impacts downstream, and improve water quality.
• Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District - $250,000 for Road Salt Reduction
  Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District will purchase live edge plow blades, salt application control devices, and weather monitoring equipment to reduce salt application. The project will protect water quality within the Finger Lakes watershed.

Western New York

• Town of Mina - $10 million for Wastewater Treatment Facility and Collection System
  The town will construct a new wastewater treatment facility and sanitary sewer collection system to remove properties from failing onsite systems. The project will reduce the amount of phosphorus entering Findley Lake.
• Erie County – $400,000 for Western New York Stormwater Coalition Intermediate Mapping
  Erie County will facilitate the mapping of the Western New York Stormwater Coalition MS4 areas. This project will focus on completing the mapping of intermediate elements in MS4 areas across Erie and Niagara counties.

Sources of Funding

This round of WQIP awards were primarily supported by the Bond Act, the EPF, and the CWIA; NPG is supported by the EPF. Governor Hochul's 2024-25 Enacted Budget sustains the EPF at a historic $400 million. The EPF provides funding for critical environmental programs such as land acquisition, farmland protection, the reduction of HABs, invasive species prevention and eradication, enhanced recreational access, water quality improvement, and an aggressive environmental justice agenda. The Long Island Sound Study provided Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding and the Lake Champlain Basin Program provided funding through the EPA also supported several projects in this package.

New York's Commitment to Clean Water

The voter-approved $4.2 billion Bond Act, which is advancing historic levels of funding to update aging water infrastructure and protect water quality, strengthen communities' ability to withstand severe storms and flooding, reduce air pollution and lower climate-altering emissions, restore habitats, and preserve outdoor spaces and local farms. To leverage these investments and ensure ongoing coordination with local governments, last year the Governor launched the Community Assistance Teams initiative to provide proactive outreach to small, rural, and disadvantaged communities to help them access financial assistance to address their clean water infrastructure needs. For more information, go to efc.ny.gov/CAT.