New York has awarded about $35 million for stormwater and water-quality projects and plans to open another $45 million flood-resilience grant round in October, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced. The $80 million package includes projects statewide, with awards and planning money for communities in the Finger Lakes.
The Environmental Facilities Corporation is administering three programs: Green Resiliency Grants, Green Innovation Grants and Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grants. The first two support construction and other improvements, while the planning awards pay for engineering work that can help local governments pursue later construction funding.
Flood and stormwater awards
The state awarded $15.1 million in Green Resiliency Grants to three projects: $6.7 million for flood-control and water-quality work at New York City Housing Authority properties, $6.1 million for porous pavement in Long Beach and $2.3 million for stormwater practices in the Village of Lowville in Lewis County. The projects include features designed to absorb or hold runoff before it overwhelms drainage systems.
The same program will accept applications in October for an additional $45 million, the governor's office said. The announcement did not give an opening day, closing deadline or eligibility details for that round. Municipalities interested in the money will need to watch for the application notice rather than assume the grants are available now.
Another $16.8 million was awarded through the Green Innovation Grant Program for eight projects. The list includes $2.7 million for Buffalo's sewer authority to build infiltration and tree-trench features; $3 million for riverfront work in Peekskill; and $3 million for flood-control and water-quality work in Rye Brook.
The City of Rochester will receive $450,000 to upgrade water meters, a project the state says should reduce demand on the Frank VanLare Sewage Treatment Plant and help protect Lake Ontario. Other Green Innovation awards include water-meter projects in Ogdensburg and Gouverneur, restoration along the Bronx River, and stormwater work in the Town of Schroeppel.
Planning money for local systems
The state is distributing $3.1 million in Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grants for 63 projects. In the Finger Lakes, the Village of Penn Yan, the Wayne County Water and Sewer Authority and the Livingston County Water and Sewer Authority each are listed for $50,000.
Those awards fund engineering reports, not construction itself. The reports can help communities define projects and seek larger grants or low-cost financing, according to the Environmental Facilities Corporation. The agency said it has awarded $32 million for 758 such reports since 2012, leading to water projects totaling about $2 billion statewide.
The Green Resiliency Grants draw on the state's $4.2 billion environmental bond act approved in 2022. Green Innovation and planning grants are supported through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The state said the revolving funds provide more than $1 billion a year in grants and low-cost financing to communities.
Hochul framed the awards as a way to reduce flooding and water pollution without placing the full cost on local ratepayers. The release did not provide completion dates for individual projects or say when communities awarded planning grants could apply for construction funding.
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