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New York
New York Commissioner Wants Loan Applications to Include Smart Growth Score
With a 2008 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) estimate of statewide sewage-treatment infrastructure repair and upgrade costs at $36.2 billion over 20 years, DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis moved to modify the scoring of community applications for low-interest loans from the 1987 EPA-led Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF), to spend more on upgrades of aged city sewers rather than their extensions into the countryside and let the money work for smart growth instead of suburban sprawl.
“The current scoring system has served us well for years and now needs to be updated to reflect our current policies of encouraging energy efficiency and smart growth principles,” Commissioner Grannis said, announcing the new loan assistance policy, set in consultation with the state’s Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC), established in 1970, and the public-private Clean Water Collaborative, created by Democratic Governor David A. Paterson last year. While current SRF scoring focuses on a range of public health and water quality factors, the new system will include points for smart growth and sound land use planning, timely sewer maintenance, and the use of leading-edge energy-efficiency technologies.
EFC Acting President Matthew Millea told Albany Times Union writer Brian Nearing that municipal applications for loans to repair sewers can now include piggybacked requests for aid with planned extensions, but under new rules plans for new sewers will only be accepted separately and considered after the present systems are financed, when it’s unlikely any funds will be left because of pent-up and imminent repair and upgrade needs. More than a third of the state’s 22,000 miles of sewer pipes are more than 60 years old, the writer notes, and almost two-thirds of the 600 municipal treatment plants lack budgets for long-term repair and upgrades, with more than a quarter of them built more than 30 years ago and now near the end of their normal service expectancy.
New York Conference of Mayors Executive Director Bruce Munn voiced strong support for a new SRF prioritizing system. “By adjusting the funding formula, and keeping pace with water quality needs, municipalities that have been diligent with capital improvement programs and sustainable water quality management practices will have a greater opportunity to be recognized financially,” he pointed out. “At the same time, the program will continue on its foundation to assist those communities that have compelling needs.”
Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazques stressed the wider public advantages of integrating low-interest loans for repairs of municipal sewers with the state’s sustainability goals. “Water quality and smart growth go hand-in-hand,” she said. “This new scoring system that aligns state fiscal resources with smart growth principles will benefit all New Yorkers. 11/2/2009
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