SOURCE:
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/suffolk-water-quality-project-sfdrw54w
By Joe Werkmeister
Wastewater improvement projects from Oakdale to Huntington Station totaling $3.5 billion could be first in line for Suffolk County funding from its Water Quality Restoration Fund based on the newly formed board's rankings of 30 projects.
The board also recommended the county increase its grants for homeowners to upgrade to enhanced septic systems by $5,000.
The recommendations were part of an implementation plan approved this week by the 21-member Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Fund Board of Trustees, which is tasked with overseeing the fund and recommending projects for approval. The plan was initially set to be released in the spring, but experienced delays.
Suffolk County has collected $21.1 million toward the fund between March 1 and July 22 through an eighth of a percentage point bump in sales tax approved by voters last November, according to the county.
Officials say the fund, coupled with federal and state funding, will allow the county to reverse a decades-old trend of worsening water quality driven by nitrogen pollution. The 30 projects listed represent more than $3.5 billion in potential infrastructure investments.
The implementation plan now goes to County Executive Edward P. Romaine to review and must be adopted by the legislature.
Half of the fund's revenue is earmarked toward wastewater treatment facility projects while the other half will be available for homeowners to upgrade individual septic systems, according to county code. The plan recommends the county increase its grant funding from $15,000 to $20,000 and sets a target of installing 5,000 systems per year.
The increased funding, if approved, would be in addition to the boost in state money announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul last month that allows for reimbursement of up to 75%, or up to $25,000.
“They’re literally throwing money at people to say, ‘Can you please treat your sewage?’” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
Legis. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket), a member of the board appointed by Long Island Sound Estuary, said the increased funding coupled with the state grant “gives us the ability to really begin to incrementally make the investments that can reverse the progressive deterioration of our drinking water due to cesspools.”
The board released a draft of its implementation plan last month and made several revisions at the urging of environmentalists before voting unanimously on Monday to approve it.
The projects are ranked based on a scoring system "that takes into account environmental factors and project readiness, including design and funding," according to the county.
The highest scoring project with a score of 87 was the $43.9 million Oakdale Sewer Expansion Project, which would allow homes to connect to Suffolk County’s Bergen Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in West Babylon. The county was already slated to receive nearly $40 million from the federal government toward that project so it may not need to use the new fund. A referendum on the project, giving residents a chance to vote on it before it proceeds, is set for Dec. 8, according to Legis. Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville).
The implementation plan also calls for establishing a recurring maintenance fund program to assist property owners with future costs and ensure the systems continue to work properly.
Robert DeLuca, president of the pro-environment nonprofit Group for the East End, wrote a letter this month to the board’s chair, Deputy County Executive Jennifer Juengst, raising concerns about the scoring system prioritizing project readiness over environmental benefits.
In an interview Tuesday, he said those issues were adequately addressed in the approved report.
“We just wanted to make sure that when it goes to the legislature, it was very clear that the focus is going to be restoration of water quality, the treatment of existing groundwater pollution and essentially the most generous support for homeowners who are trying to do the right thing," he said.
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico, a board member appointed by the Suffolk County Supervisors Association, said ultimately it falls to county legislators to determine how to allocate money in the fund, which could lead to some “internal jostling.”
He said while the overarching goal is a cleaner environment that benefits all residents, "when it comes to redevelopment, when it comes to sewering environmentally sensitive areas, every legislator is going to want to deliver for their district."
