New York State has announced a historic $150 million investment and a precedent setting three-way partnership to address longstanding water infrastructure in the city of Mount Vernon.
Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcement at an event in Mount Vernon’s City Hall. The partnership ensures cooperation between Hochul’s administration, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, and Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
Hochul also announced the immediate launch of the $7 million Third Street Sewer Project, which aims to ensure reliable wastewater service for 500 nearby households. The households are currently served by temporary pumps and a makeshift system staged in the street.
"In too many communities of color like Mount Vernon, critical water infrastructure has been left to fall into disrepair, but today we are setting an example for the nation by advancing environmental justice, improving quality of life for residents, and addressing decades of disinvestment," Hochul said at the event. "When I met with Mayor Patterson-Howard and heard about the seriousness of this crisis in her city, I immediately directed my administration to coordinate with the city and the county and right this systemic wrong. I am so proud of our collective and collaborative efforts to deliver this transformative environmental justice victory."
"I want to thank Governor Kathy Hochul for her leadership in addressing this longstanding challenge that has plagued the City of Mount Vernon for decades,” Latimer said. “The significant investment in Mount Vernon's aging sewage and wastewater infrastructure is absolutely necessary, as thousands of homeowners are directly suffering from sewage backup problems and related health issues, and sewage flooding is inevitably making its way into the nearby Hutchinson and Bronx rivers. Mount Vernon's pipes are old, corroded and overburdened, and I am eager to begin this three-way partnership between the State, the County and the City to fix it."
"Rebuilding our infrastructure is critical to the economic, social and physical health of the community,” Patterson-Howard said. “Thank you to the Mount Vernon, Westchester and NYS teams that have worked tirelessly and collaboratively for the past few months to make this happen. This is what government working together for the people looks like and we're excited to be moving forward together on this monumental sewer project."
The innovative State-County-City partnership was memorialized in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to expedite priority projects and outline roles, responsibilities, and available funding for this city-wide effort. The memo formalizes the three-way partnership between the city of Mount Vernon, Westchester County, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), representing multiple state agencies, including the use of $7 million in Clean Water Infrastructure Act funds to immediately launch engineering, design, and construction of the Third Street Sewer Project. Work on projects across the city will take place in phases over five to seven years after a comprehensive assessment of the city's current infrastructure.
The State's Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) will provide $8 million to fund emergency repairs and jump start long-term planning for future projects, including lead pipe replacement. Funding includes a $5 million interest-free emergency loan and a $1 million grant to survey lead service lines in this community and to develop a replacement plan. EFC will also dedicate $2 million for engineering consultant services to accelerate work in this community.
Additionally, Mount Vernon, DEC, and EFC have committed to undertake an asset management program that will inventory, assess, and track the city's clean water infrastructure to help create a plan to fund and maintain Mount Vernon's water quality infrastructure over the long-term.
The Governor's Office of Storm Recovery will supplement the public infrastructure improvements with a $3 million pilot program to mitigate environmental hazards and make resiliency upgrades to private property. Participating homes will be eligible for rehabilitation of damaged pipes, replacement of lead service lines, and other needed environmental remediation.
In December, the Governor announced a $10 million Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) program grant award from DEC to Mount Vernon that will improve water quality in the Hutchinson River by upgrading one portion of the city's municipal wastewater outfalls to prevent the discharge of raw sewage. This grant advances work required by the Federal Consent Decree.
DEC also awarded a $75,000 Non-Point Planning Grant to support the mapping of Mount Vernon's municipal separate storm sewer systems to prevent polluted runoff from affecting local communities and the environment. In addition, EFC provided two Engineering Planning Grants totaling $200,000 in 2021. Additional State investments to help address Mount Vernon's wastewater infrastructure challenges include a $1.6 million WQIP grant awarded in 2016.
The Fiscal Year 2023 Enacted Budget builds upon New York State's commitments by including more than half a billion dollars in direct investment into clean water initiatives, including:
- $500 million in clean water infrastructure funding, bringing the State's total clean water investment to $4.5 billion since 2017;
- $400 million — a record level of funding — for the Environmental Protection Fund to support critical projects that work to mitigate the effects of climate change, improve agricultural resources, protect water sources, advance conservation efforts and provide recreational opportunities;
- $4.2 billion for the landmark Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. If approved by voters this fall, this historic initiative will provide the support New York State needs to protect and improve our water resources, restore critical environmental habitats, reduce flood risks, conserve additional lands and open spaces, and invest in climate change mitigation projects that will reduce pollution and lower carbon emissions; and
- Additional water quality protections with essential improvements to the State's wetlands protection program, safeguarding an estimated one million additional acres of unprotected wetlands habitat and helping New York adapt to increased flooding and severe storms fueled by climate change.
