January 25, 2005

 

TWELVE WESTCHESTER WATERSHED MUNICIPALITIES GET MAJOR INFUSION OF FUNDS FOR PROJECTS TO PROTECT CROTON AND KENSICO RESERVOIRS

--- Northern Westchester towns and municipalities finally get financial help they need to undertake local water quality improvement projects---

Westchester’s Board of Legislators enthusiastically and unanimously approved legislation last night authorizing the transfer of $7.5 million from the East of Hudson Water Quality Improvement Fund (EOH) for water quality improvement projects in the Croton and Kensico watershed.

The EOH fund was created in 1997 when New York City provided $38 million to Westchester County to be used for water quality investments in the East of Hudson watersheds of the NYC drinking water supply system. The fund, which has grown to about $54 million, has sat largely untapped until today.

County Legislator Ursula LaMotte (R-Bedford) said she was pleased that after two years of hard work, the funds finally will be forthcoming. “I have worked hard to get these funds flowing to the individual watershed municipalities on the front lines of protecting the watershed. Local municipalities are in the best position to implement and oversee a water quality project within their borders but local budgets can’t handle the magnitude of this kind of investment. We allocated $312,500 to each of the watershed towns last night to make it financially feasible for the towns to undertake meaningful watershed projects. This is just the beginning. We will start working on the next phase of funding right away to keep the momentum going.”

The twelve municipalities eligible for the funding include the Towns of Bedford, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, North Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Somers, Cortlandt, Harrison, New Castle and Yorktown. Each municipality must execute an intermunicipal agreement with the County within the next 18 months in order to access their $312,500 allocation.

The County’s Planning Department devised a list of suggested water quality projects consistent with the stated goals of the original agreement with NYC for the municipalities to consider. These include measures such as developing sewer infrastructure to eliminate failing septic systems; implementing stormwater runoff controls; and, employing environmental enforcement personnel to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
The remaining $3.75 million authorized last night would be used for more regional, watershed wide projects that would benefit multiple watershed communities. Examples include identifying and implementing stormwater best management practices; developing regional water quality education programs for critical target audiences such as highway employees, developers, municipal staff, etc.; and, purchasing conservation easements within the NYC watershed area of the municipality.