Environment DEC
From the December 2006 issue
Governor Announces $8 Million for Adirondack Water Quality and Infrastructure Projects
Governor George E. Pataki recently announced more than $8 million for 12 North Country communities to implement critical water quality projects that will protect the Adirondacks and provide needed infrastructure improvements. The projects will help reduce the amount of phosphorus and other contaminants that enter Adirondack lakes and rivers, helping to improve ecosystems while also providing reliable sources of sewage collection, treatment and disposal.
Commitment to Adirondack Communities
Protecting the drinking water supply
in the Adirondacks is a major focus
of the water quality projects
"New York has made significant investments in projects that improve water quality statewide by creating new wastewater treatment facilities and upgrading existing ones," Governor Pataki said. "We continue that commitment by helping Adirondack communities implement key projects that will help protect our waterways and drinking water supplies from pollution and other harmful impacts to our natural resources."
A total of $8.075 million is being made available to the following municipalities: Essex, Elizabethtown, Moriah, and Ticonderoga in Essex County; St. Regis Falls and Tupper Lake in Franklin County; Wanakena and Newton Falls in St. Lawrence County; Dannemora in Clinton County; Northampton in Fulton County; Indian Lake in Hamilton County, and Putnam in Washington County. The funding will be administered by DEC as part of the New York State Technology and Development Program. The assistance to these smaller communities will target the protection of Adirondack lakes and rivers by fully or partially funding improvements to the municipalities' sewage treatment, collection and delivery systems.
Lake Champlain to Benefit
Among the funding announced is $1 million for the Town of Elizabethtown, Essex County, to help construct a wastewater treatment plant and collection system. The community is located on the Boquet River, a tributary to Lake Champlain. Small lot size and shallow groundwater make individual on-site septic systems an ineffective means of wastewater treatment and the town is pursuing the construction of a new treatment facility expected to cost about $8.1 million. The plant will be instrumental in reducing the amount of phosphorus and helping to prevent the discharge of harmful pollutants into Lake Champlain.
DEC Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan said, "Positive changes in our water quality can be witnessed throughout New York State as a result of the commitment Governor Pataki has made to provide municipalities with the tools and support to fund needed infrastructure projects. This funding will help continue the progress we are making in improving the health of Adirondack water bodies and improving the quality of life for North Country communities."
