By Jake Palmateer
The village of Richfield Springs has been tagged for a $4 million federal stimulus grant to help revamp its 47-year-old sewer system.
The funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be applied to a $5.4 million project to replace sections of the village's sewer system and upgrade its wastewater treatment plant using energy efficient and "green" technologies.
The balance of the project, which is administered by the state Environmental Facilities Corporation, is coming from a $1.4 million no-interest loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
"On behalf of the residents of Richfield Springs, the village board wishes to thank the elected officials who helped us secure the money for this project: Gov. Paterson, Congressman Arcuri, Senator Seward and Assemblyman Magee," Richfield Springs Mayor Ronald Frohne said in a media release from the EFC. "The funding allows us to complete needed upgrades to our wastewater plant and collection systems that are both environmentally friendly and economically sound."
The village's sewer system serves 511 homes and 153 businesses.
The project is designed to improve energy efficiency and prevent groundwater infiltration.
In addition to saving village taxpayers an estimated $5 million in avoided interest and energy costs, the project will also reduce the treatment plant's carbon emissions and improve the water quality of Canadarago Lake, according to EFC.
Solar panels and high-efficiency pumps and blowers will be installed at the plant.
The village solicited bids for the project Oct. 15. Construction is expected to begin in January, with a tentative completion date of July 2011.
"I'm glad to see these federal stimulus dollars going to a worthy project in Otsego County," Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, said in a prepared statement.
"Our region's aging infrastructure is a major concern for cities, towns and municipalities across upstate New York. It is imperative that we devote grants to fixing these issues so that we can protect our natural resources and our way of life without saddling residents in our smallest communities with the entire burden of these multimillion-dollar projects. This funding for Richfield Springs does exactly that."
