Tompkins County Legislature Meeting: 03/05/19 05:30 PM

Governor Daniel D. Tompkins Building Department: Planning, Energy, and Environmental Quality Committee
Ithaca, NY 14850 Category: Environmental
Functional Category:
SCHEDULED

RESOLUTION NO. e DOC ID: 8435

1 Urging New York State to Increase Funding for Clean Water

2 Infrastructure
3 WHEREAS, up-to-date water and sewer infrastructure is essential to preserving clean water resources and
4 maintaining public health and thriving communities in New York State, and
5
6 WHEREAS, many communities around New York State have aging and inadequate drinking water and
7 wastewater infrastructure that endanger public health and the economy, and
8
9 WHEREAS, investing in water and sewer infrastructure creates well-paying jobs and a solid foundation for
10 businesses, and
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12 WHEREAS, water and sewer infrastructure improvements are exceptionally expensive, and often unaffordable
13 for smaller Upstate communities, and
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15 WHEREAS, Governor Andrew Cuomo and key members of both the Senate and Assembly have recognized
16 that local governments need financial support for these improvements, and passed the Clean Water Infrastructure Act
17 of 2017, and
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19 WHEREAS, under the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, New York State has awarded over $500 million in
20 water infrastructure grants to protect clean water resources across the State, and
21
22 WHEREAS, Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget for 2019-2020 includes $2.5 billion in water and sewer
23 infrastructure grant funding over the next five years, or $500 million in grant funding per year, and
24
25 WHEREAS, only a fraction of eligible projects have been or will be able to receive grant funding for eligible
26 water and sewer infrastructure improvements at the rate of $500 million per year, and
27
28 WHEREAS, as an example of the prohibitive cost of local water and sewer infrastructure improvements, one
29 of several wastewater treatment plants in Tompkins County currently needs an estimated $11.5 million in repairs and
30 upgrades just to accommodate current demand without exceeding the Department of Environmental Conservation’s
31 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) limit, and
32
33 WHEREAS, the estimated cost of those repairs and upgrades does not include the cost of upgrading the related
34 sewer lines, which is also a critical need and, which contribute to exceedances due to high levels of inflow and
35 infiltration, and
36
37 WHEREAS, the problems of inflow and infiltration and TMDL exceedances will only get worse as climate
38 change causes more frequent and extreme precipitation events in New York State, and
39
40 WHEREAS, inadequate sewer infrastructure has resulted in limitations placed on sewer hookups in certain
41 municipalities in Tompkins County, and in moratoria on sewer hookups in certain municipalities in neighboring
42 Seneca County, and
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 Resolution (ID # 8435) Meeting of March 5, 2019

1 WHEREAS, limitations and moratoria on sewer hookups inhibit economic growth and the development of
2 housing, which is badly needed in Tompkins County, now therefore be it
3
4 RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Planning, Energy, and Environmental Quality Committee, That the
5 Tompkins County Legislature urges the New York State Assembly and Senate, and Governor Cuomo, to increase State
6 funding to incorporate an appropriate level meeting fiscal needs to municipalities throughout the state with similar
7 infrastructure upgrade requirements to Tompkins County for water and sewer infrastructure in the 2019-2020 budget,
8
9
10 RESOLVED further, That a copy of this resolution be sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senators Andrea
11 Stewart-Cousins, Thomas O’Mara, Pamela Helming, and James Seward, Assemblypersons Carl Heastie, Crystal
12 Peoples-Stokes, and Barbara Lifton, and to the New York State Association of Counties.
13 SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-26

Updated: 2/26/2019 2:19 PM by Katrina McCloy Page 2

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