EPA highlights milestone with New York partners at a water infrastructure groundbreaking and Clean Water Act 50th anniversary celebration in Buffalo, New York
October 19, 2022
NEW YORK – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced New York has received nearly $207 million in clean water funding awarded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for water infrastructure improvements. This is the first installment of a total of nearly $427 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding going to New York for water infrastructure, with an additional $220 million expected to be awarded later this fall.
EPA Office of Water Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox highlighted the funding award at an event in Buffalo, New York where she joined Congressman Brian Higgins and Mayor Byron Brown to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Clean Water Act and to break ground on a Bird Island Treatment Facility rehabilitation and upgrades project, funded partly by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia and New York Environmental Facilities Corporation President and CEO Maureen Coleman also attended the celebration.
“The upgrades to the Bird Island Treatment Facility will not only improve water quality for residents of Buffalo, they will also help downstream communities and Lake Ontario for generations to come,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “I want to congratulate the city of Buffalo and the State of New York on this project, which is one of the first water infrastructure projects to receive Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. We look forward to many more water projects as New York invests $427 million—the first of five years of funding through this historic law.”
“Improving water quality remains a top priority in New York as we continue to modernize our infrastructure to provide safe and reliable water systems statewide,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. “This significant investment, awarded through the groundbreaking Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will allow us to do even more to protect our natural resources, promote sustainable and resilient communities in the face of climate change, and ensure each and every New Yorker has access to clean water for generations to come.”
“As the administrator of the State Revolving Funds, EFC celebrates with EPA today the historic level of federal funding awarded to New York from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These federal funds when added to the nation-leading capital investment in clean water infrastructure at the state level will help New York build on the incredible progress we’ve made on our water infrastructure under the leadership of Governor Hochul,” said NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation President and CEO Maureen A. Coleman. “For eligible municipalities, the coupling of state grants with federal grants available to disadvantaged communities will mean the difference between a community with antiquated or failing facilities and one being able to move forward with constructing new resilient infrastructure.”
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocates more than $50 billion to EPA toward repairing the nation’s essential water infrastructure, which helps communities access clean, safe and reliable drinking water, increase resilience, collect and treat wastewater to protect public health, clean up pollution, and safeguard vital waterways.
EPA has awarded New York nearly $207 million in capitalization grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through its Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. These grants supplement nearly $128 million in regular funding to New York’s Clean Water SRF program in fiscal year (FY) 2022. EPA expects to award New York an additional $220 million in FY 2022 capitalization grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through the Drinking Water SRF, which will supplement nearly $29 million in regular funding to New York’s Drinking Water SRF program in FY 2022.
Planned projects in New York that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will fund include projects like the secondary treatment system rehabilitation and upgrades project at the Bird Island Treatment Facility where officials gathered to celebrate the project’s groundbreaking.
EPA’s SRFs are part of President Biden’s Justice40 initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40% of the benefits from certain federal programs to underserved communities. Furthermore, nearly half the funding available through the SRFs thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law must be grants or principal forgiveness loans that remove barriers to investing in essential water infrastructure in underserved communities across rural America and in urban centers.
New York has submitted and obtained EPA’s approval of its plans for the use of the FY 2022 funding announced today. Capitalization grants will continue to be awarded, on a rolling, state-by-state basis, as more states receive approval throughout FY 2023; states will also receive awards over the course of the next four years. Once grants are awarded, state programs will begin to deliver the funds as grants and loans to communities across their state.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law presents the largest-ever funding opportunity for investing in water infrastructure. Find out more about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law programs and other programs that help communities manage their water resources on EPA’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law page.
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