ALBANY—The Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors approved $51 million in funding that includes low-cost financing and previously announced grants that authorizes municipal access to the capital necessary to move critical water and sewer infrastructure projects forward. These include replacement of lead service connections, treatment processes to remove emerging contaminants from drinking water and modernizing aging systems.

The deadline for the current application period for future EFC-awarded grants is July 28.

The EFC Board also approved a $572,575,000 financing for the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority that will refinance short-term financings for 11 NYCMWFA wastewater and drinking water projects and refund prior EFC bonds that funded NYCMWFA projects. It is estimated that the refunding will save New York City ratepayers approximately $22 million over the next 10 years.

EFC President and CEO Maureen A. Coleman said, “The transaction will provide interest-rate relief to one of our biggest borrowers. This round of grant funding is provided, in part, by the Environmental Bond Act approved by the voters in November 2022.”

Drinking Water Project fundings approved in the Hudson Valley/New York City regions included:

City of Kingston, Ulster County—$16,420,000 short-term market-rate financing and $3,000,000 WIIA grant for the rehabilitation of the Cooper Lake Dam and Reservoir and the construction of a new intake structure and associated piping.

Village of Red Hook, Dutchess County—$720,000 short-term market-rate financing and $1,080,000 WIIA grant for the decommissioning of Well #4, replacement of approximately 2,400 linear feet of watermain, hydrants, and lead service connections on Graves and Cherry streets, rehabilitation of the interior of the 225,000-gallon water tower at the end of Tower Street, addition of a booster pump to the interconnection between the village and town water systems, and replacement of the control system at the water treatment plant.

New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority and New York City Department of Environmental Protection—$22,000,000 long-term leveraged financing for the design and construction of the Croton Water Filtration Plant and associated facilities.

New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority and New York City Department of Environmental Protection—$100,000,000 long-term leveraged financing for excavation and construction of Shafts 17B-1 and 18B-1, which are part of the City Tunnel No. 3, Stage 2 in Queens.

Clean Water Project funding approvals in New York City included: $80,225,467 for the New York Municipal Water Finance Authority and New York City Department of Environmental Protection – long-term leveraged financing related to the Wards Island Water Pollution Control Plant Final Settling Tank Reconstruction, Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant Power Distribution System Upgrades, Tallman Island Water Pollution Control Plant Phase I Biological Nutrient Removal Upgrades, Various Water Pollution Control Plants Phase II Biological Nutrient Removal Carbon Addition, Rockaway WWTP Level 1 Biological Nutrient Removal Upgrades, Inner Harbor Combined Sewer Overflow Gowanus Pump Station and Flushing Tunnel Reconstruction, Coney Island Pollution Control Plant Replacement of Main Sewage Pumps, North River Water Pollution Control Plant Cogeneration and Electrification Project and the Coney Island and North River Water Pollution Control Plants Total Chlorine Reduction