New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos, City of Amsterdam Mayor Michael Cinquanti, Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara, and other local officials today celebrated $10 million in State funding for clean water recently awarded to the city of Amsterdam. The funding is part of $166 million in water quality grants announced by Governor Kathy Hochul on February 15, 2024 and bolsters efforts in Amsterdam to improve crucial water infrastructure and the health of the Mohawk River.

"Governor Hochul and DEC are prioritizing the protection of New York's waters by providing direct grant assistance municipalities across the state," Commissioner Seggos said. "New York State continues to invest billions of dollars in projects to address water infrastructure challenges and protect source waters. The Mohawk River is an iconic natural resource and DEC is proud to work with the city of Amsterdam to support our sustained efforts to restore the river."

“The modernization of our city’s aging municipal wastewater facility was a critical project that needed to be addressed,” Mayor Michael Cinquanti said. “With the financial assistance from the State’s Water Quality Improvement Program, we can begin to move forward with critical improvements to modernize our operations and ensure the protection of the Mohawk River. We are grateful for the support from Governor Hochul, DEC and our state partners who provided this critical assistance to our city when we needed it most.” 

"As a civil engineer and dedicated representative for our community, I recognize the urgent need to modernize our city's aging municipal wastewater facility," Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara said. "Clean water is a vital resource that must always be protected. With $10 million from the state's Water Quality Improvement Program, the city of Amsterdam will be able to make needed improvements to its wastewater treatment facility, including necessary upgrades and expansions to its existing waste treatment infrastructure. These essential upgrades will revitalize its operations and safeguard the health of the Mohawk River."

The funding for the project highlighted today came from DEC's Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) Program, which focuses on improving water quality and aquatic habitat, protecting drinking water sources, and enhancing wastewater infrastructure. The grant will help the city of Amsterdam make critical improvements to its municipal wastewater treatment facility, including upgrades to existing filtration systems that remove solids and other harmful pollutants, expansion of the facility’s disinfection capacity, and replacement of older, inefficient aeration equipment. This project will ensure the facility is operating in compliance with DEC’s water quality regulations and will improve Mohawk River water quality.

In addition to the $10 million awarded to Amsterdam, the recent state WQIP grants include $10 million for wastewater treatment plant upgrades to help reduce sanitary sewer overflows in the city of Schenectady. Together, the two clean water projects will be instrumental in helping restore the Mohawk River habitat, protect drinking water, and support local economies.

WQIP is primarily supported by the state's Environmental Protection Fund and Clean Water Infrastructure Improvement Act. For more information and a full list of WQIP grant recipients, visit DEC’s WQIP website.

New York's Commitment to Clean Water

New York State continues to increase its nation-leading investments in water infrastructure, including $325 million in grant opportunities now open for applications at the State Environmental Facilities Corporation website. With Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget’s proposed $500 million over two years, New York will have invested a total of $5.5 billion in water infrastructure since 2017. This funding complements Governor Hochul’s State of the State initiative to increase water infrastructure grants for small rural communities from 25 to 50 percent of net eligible project costs to help support smaller communities. To leverage these investments and ensure ongoing coordination with local governments, the Governor expanded EFC’s Community Assistance Teams to help small, rural, and disadvantaged communities leverage this funding and address their clean water infrastructure needs. Any community that needs help with their water infrastructure needs is encouraged to contact EFC at https://efc.ny.gov/CAT.

The funding is in addition to other substantial water quality investments, including the voter-approved $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 which is advancing historic levels of funding to update aging water infrastructure and protect water quality, strengthen communities' ability to withstand severe storms and flooding, reduce air pollution and lower climate-altering emissions, restore habitats, and preserve outdoor spaces and local farms. The first round of funding under the Environmental Bond Act was awarded through the WIIA/IMG programs in December, when Governor Hochul announced $479 million in grants to 156 projects across New York State. Disadvantaged Communities will receive at least 35 percent of the benefits of Bond Act funding, with a goal of 40 percent.