How new funding for climate projects in New York could help the ... - WCAX

How new funding for climate projects in New York could help the North Country

KEESEVILLE, N.Y. (WCAX) - New York officials are on a listening tour of the state to see what projects could benefit from new funding available from the Environmental Bond Act. Our Alek LaShomb has a look at some of the North Country’s infrastructure needs.

Local leaders and organizations are looking forward to new funding from the Environmental Bond Act that would fund climate change general infrastructure and clean water projects.

“We see the bond act as a really exciting, once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a big impact on our natural resources here in the Adirondacks and on our communities,” said Sawyer Bailey, the executive director of AdkAction.

Bailey says New York’s $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act comes at a crucial time for towns across the North Country.

“Right now the Adirondacks are really seeing challenges to its drinking water, in particular for folks who cannot afford to remediate their systems. It is a big burden,” Bailey said.

John Sheehan from the Adirondack Council says almost $200 million worth of water and sewer projects in the Adirondack Park are waiting on funding.

“Protecting the rest of the state’s water quality is very important and it is something New York can help Adirondack communities do,” Sheehan said.

He says funding from the EBA would help complete some projects that would otherwise be without funding due to the economics of the region.

“There are only a couple of thousand people in most Adirondack towns but these are multimillion-dollar projects,” Sheehan said.

However, he says the cost of applying for a state grant is also an issue.

“A lot of the state financing is available through grants and loans and in some cases, the community can not take on any more debt,” Sheehan said.

An issue that could drown out the needs of the North Country.

“Our region has incredible assets but also incredible need and if we are using traditional metrics around how to define that need, sometimes rural places get left behind,” Sheehan said.

The solution, Sheehan says, is for the state to make a grant writer available to towns in the Adirondacks.

“Love to see a circuit writer appointed by the state, either department of state or the governor’s office, who would be essentially an assistant planner for any community that needs help getting these projects done,” he said.

In addition to a circuit writer, Bailey says she hopes the state prioritizes projects based on actual need.

“That need is here and I hope we will be able to see that in a way projects are prioritized,” Bailey said.

I also reached out to a handful of towns in the North Country to see if they plan on applying for EBA funds. So far, three localities, including Plattsburgh, say they plan on applying. Plattsburgh’s mayor says the city is reviewing the guidelines to figure out which projects would fit the criteria for funding.

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