New York Pours $2.5 Billion Into Clean Water Programs.
New York is primed to pump $2.5 billion into its water infrastructure programs following the discovery of chemical contamination in drinking water throughout a number of sites across the state.
The Clean Water Infrastructure Act, which is included in a budget bill ( S. 5492) expected to be signed shortly by Gov.
“We’re ground zero for water contamination in New York state,” Michele Baker, a Hoosick Falls resident, told Bloomberg BNA Baker is the lead plaintiff in a class action against Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. and Honeywell International Inc. over drinking water contamination after perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were found in the drinking water.
She estimates $25 million is needed to clean the city’s drinking water supply.
New York’s water infrastructure measure also includes $130 million for the remediation of hazardous waste sites with water contamination and $100 million for municipal water supply infrastructure programs.
Funding Applauded Darren Suarez, director of government affairs for the Business Council of New York State, applauded the act.
Paul Gallay, president of Riverkeeper, also praised the funding.
The budget bill was approved by both houses of the Legislature April 3 as an emergency measure because lawmakers missed the deadline for the start of the state fiscal year on April 1.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gerald B. Silverman in Albany, N.Y., at GSilverman@bna.com To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Pearl at lpearl@bna.com Copyright © 2017 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.