New federal infrastructure funding of $2.25 million will target outdated septic systems on Long Island, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Long Island Sound Study announced today.
The funding is the first installment in an anticipated $8 million from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law over five years to help support state and locally driven water quality improvements, according to the governor’s office.
“This federal funding will improve watersheds and septic systems in countless Long Island communities, furthering our commitment to ensure all New Yorkers have access to safe, clean water,” Hochul said in a press release this afternoon.
The funding will provide financial assistance to homeowners for the replacement of cesspools with advanced septic systems that remove nitrogen from household septic wastes. Excess nitrogen contributes to areas of dead zones or hypoxia in marine waters, potential fish kills, harmful algal blooms, and deterioration of storm-resilient marshlands.
The state will provide funds to Suffolk and Nassau counties to reimburse eligible property owners for a portion of the cost of replacing cesspools and inadequate septic systems and installing more environmentally effective systems.
Homeowners can receive funds from both the state and county programs, resulting in at least $20,000 in grant assistance.
New construction in unsewered areas of Suffolk County are required to have innovative nitrogen-reducing wastewater systems rather than traditional septic systems as of July 2021, under legislation signed into law by County Executive Steve Bellone in 2020.
Suffolk County has taken a series of actions in recent years to move away from the use of cesspools and septic systems that have been identified as a primary source of nitrogen pollution.
In 2016, Suffolk adopted Article 19 of the Suffolk County Sanitary Code, which sets forth a rigorous individual nitrogen-reducing septic systems testing and approval process.
In 2017, Suffolk County unveiled the septic improvement program, the first of its kind in New York State, which provides grants and low interest financing to make the replacement of cesspools and septic systems with new technologies affordable for homeowners who choose to upgrade their systems.
Also in 2017, Bellone signed a landmark cesspool ban into law. This legislation banned the installation of new cesspools in Suffolk County, closing a loophole that had existed in the sanitary code since 1973, and required “grandfathered” business properties to install nitrogen-reducing advanced systems.
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