Infrastructure will save money and boost development of ARE Industrial Park
by Sharon A Driscoll
A ribbon cutting ceremony held Aug. 5, 2016, marks the completion of a three-mile sewer line to convey leachate and solid waste from the County landfill to the City of Oneida’s Wastewater Treatment facility.
The new $2,839,697.44 sanitary sewer line will serve present and future businesses at the Agricultural and Renewable Energy (ARE) Park site located next to the County landfill in the Town of Lincoln.
The New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. (EFC) approved a $3.3 million, interest-free loan to Madison County for the construction of a three-mile sewer line.
“Under Governor Cuomo, New York State leads the nation with the largest annual investment in water-quality infrastructure. EFC is proud to have provided Madison County this zero-interest loan to allow for further development of the industrial park and improve operations at the County Landfill,” said Sabrina M. Ty, EFC President and CEO. “These projects not only protect the environment and improve public health; they provide the backbone of the State’s economic development efforts.”
The interest-free loan will save the county as much as $1.8 million when the county refinances this short-term loan with a 30-year, interest-free loan from EFC. The new sewer line will also save Madison County roughly $200,000 a year over the cost of trucking the leachate to the Oneida Waste Water Treatment Plan, according to James Zecca, director of the Madison County Department of Solid Waste and Sanitation.
“Being eligible for EFC’s interest-free hardship assistance will help us to provide sewer infrastructure to ensure our ability to attract businesses to our ARE Park project,” said, County Board of Supervisor Chairman John Becker.“Madison County is very grateful for this opportunity,” James Goldstein, chairman of the Madison County Solid Waste and Recycling Committee, said the sewer line project “makes the ARE Park that much more attractive to potential industries we hope to site there including a plastics-to- oil recycling facility and a construction and demolition debris processing facility. It is one more example of why we remain the most innovative municipal landfill in the country as we strive to seek businesses that recycle and are compatible with the goals of the County Solid Waste Management Plan.”
“Madison County is very grateful for this opportunity,” James Goldstein, chairman of the Madison County Solid Waste and Recycling Committee, said the sewer line project “makes the ARE Park that much more attractive to potential industries we hope to site there including a plastics-to- oil recycling facility and a construction and demolition debris processing facility. It is one more example of why we remain the most innovative municipal landfill in the country as we strive to seek businesses that recycle and are compatible with the goals of the County Solid Waste Management Plan.”
In March of 2015, Governor Cuomo also announced a $4 million grant in NY Works funding to extend municipal water service to the ARE Park, as well as residents of Lincoln. This investment will leverage as much as $4 million in county funding for the $15.7 million project, creating a shovel-ready site for potential businesses.
Along with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, EFC administers the nation’s largest revolving loan fund for wastewater treatment plants, collection systems and other infrastructure. EFC led the nation once again in 2014 with more than $2.3 billion in financings and refinancing for local governments.
EFC is a public benefit corporation dedicated to promoting environmental quality through a wide range of funding and technical assistance focused on protecting, improving and restoring New York’s precious natural resources. According to the federal government’s National Information Management System, EFC also provided more than $924 million to wastewater infrastructure projects between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014, which was the most of any state and more than twice as much as the second-leading state, California, with $400 million.