<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=02F07G_1H51qfpA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=02F07G_1H51qfpA00" width="1280" height="960" ></figure>After 60 years of trying, Elizabethtown took a big step toward building a public sewer Thursday, as New York state officials delivered $24 million in funding to the seat of Essex County.Essex County is home to nearly a third of the residents of the Adirondack Park. Along with the county courthouse, Elizabethtown is home to a hospital, school, nursing home and 700 residents, all of whom have had to make do with individual septic systems, despite their proximity to multiple streams and rivers.“When you come to Elizabethtown you go over a river or you don’t get here,” said Supervisor Cathleen Reusser.Indeed, it was only when wastewater was proved to be entering the local watershed that the project gained urgency. “We were scientifically able to document the presence of E. coli and coliform in our waters,” Reusser said. “Red dye in toilets was found in the river an hour later. It’s not something you want to say you have, but it’s the thing you need to have to get your project funded.”The state funding was the product of hard work over the years at both the local and state level. “Folks may see this as the beginning, but it is really more like the middle point,” said Michael Hale, executive director of the state Environmental Facilities Corp.<h2>The project at hand</h2>The total project cost will be about $38 million, and Reusser said the town hopes to break ground in late 2028 or early 2029.The funding was announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul last month as part of a statewide $250 million clean water initiative, and for Elizabethtown includes $10 million in Water Quality Improvement Project grant funding from DEC and $14 million of Enhanced Water Infrastructure Improvement grant funding from EFC to construct a new municipal sewer and treatment plant.“It’s very exciting for me to see what can happen when local and state partners get together to protect our water quality and allow the community of Elizabethtown to thrive and protect the Boquet River and our Lake Champlain watershed,” said Kris Alberga, Department of Environmental Conservation Region 5 assistant regional director. To get the project on track, the town pieced together smaller funding sources, including a $500,000 grant from the Northern Borders Regional Commission, and local matching money for design work paid out of occupancy tax funds.Along with this year’s DEC grant, the town will be eligible to apply for another $10 million next year.A.J. Smith, DEC deputy commissioner for water resources, said he was optimistic more funding would be forthcoming. “We’re making huge strides towards being able to fund this really critical infrastructure,” he said. “We’ve got the current (statewide) commitment from the governor of $3.7 billion over five years, and $750 million this year alone. And it’s going to be continuing in the future, so we will be able to fund these kinds of programs.”</div></body>

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After 60 years of trying, Elizabethtown took a big step toward building a public sewer Thursday, as New York state officials delivered $24 million in funding to the seat of Essex County. Essex County is home to nearly a third of the residents of the Adirondack Park. Along with the...

State funds move Elizabethtown sewer project closer to reality

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After 60 years of trying, Elizabethtown took a big step toward building a public sewer Thursday, as New York state officials delivered $24 million in fundi

State funds move Elizabethtown sewer project closer to reality

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