PLATTSBURGH — Rural communities such as the Village of Tupper Lake and Town of Chazy, which have sparse population, face daunting financial pressure to upgrade water and sewer systems to comply with state Department of Environmental Conservation requirements, said state Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake).
And the Assemblyman is trying to do something about it.
Legislation
On Jan. 15, Jones introduced new legislation to establish a dedicated state capital fund to assist rural communities with the cost of DEC-mandated upgrades of water and sewer systems.
Jones said it is an issue with rural municipalities throughout the state, not just locally.
In a telephone interview on Thursday, Jones said he is now concentrating on lining up a Senate sponsor and Assembly co-sponsors of the legislation – now under consideration by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee – with a goal of incorporating the legislation into the new state budget.
“We’re working on that as we speak,” he said.
Rural communities face a unique challenge because they do not have a critical mass of customers to spread out the cost of improvements affordably for individual customers.
“It’s a substantial cost,” Jones said. “There’s simply not a lot of customers on them.”
Jones suggested the concept fits with Gov. Hochul’s theme for this legislative session.
“We’re talking about affordability in the state,” he said.
The proposed legislation calls for a fund of up to $200 million.
Rural municipalities do have access to grants and no-interest loans under existing state and federal water and sewer infrastructure programs.
Those programs, however, are extremely competitive and the application process is lengthy, Jones said.
Municipalities must gradually accumulate points until they qualify, he explained.
“You basically have to have a consent order to get help,” he said.
An consent order is a judge’s order which formalizes a voluntary settlement of enforcement action between the DEC and the municipality.
Budget Funds
Hochul, in her state budget plan released Jan. 21, proposed increasing annual state funding for water infrastructure improvements by $500 million.
At the federal level, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-Amsterdam), has introduced legislation for the federal government to spend $104 billion on improving water infrastructure over 10 years, including $49 billion in increased funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, which provides grants and low-interest rates through states for public water infrastructure improvements.
The proposed legislation would increase the percentage of the cost of improvement that the fund could provide in economically distressed communities from 35% to 40% of the cost of the project.
Another measure of Tonko’s legislation would make permanent and expand a temporary program which subsidizes water bills for low-income customers.
The program is modeled after the federal Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LI-HEAP), which subsidizes heating and air conditioning bills.
The program would, in essence, enable municipalities to improve infrastructure without drastically increasing out-of-pocket costs of low-income customers.
Beer Trail
In other legislation, Jones has reintroduced legislation – A2069 — to designate a portion of the state highway system in Clinton, Franklin and Essex counties as “The North Country Craft Beer Trail.”
The state, with permission of individual municipalities, would install directional signs to micro-breweries along the route, and local tourism agencies could promote the route to craft beer enthusiasts from outside the area.
The state has established similar craft beer trails in other sections of the state.
Jones first introduced the legislation in 2018.
“My expectation is to make it a priority (this session),” Jones said.
Medical Recruitment
Jones co-sponsored legislation – A2446 – which Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (D-Round Lake), introduced to establish a “Take a Look” medical and dental workforce recruitment program.
The proposed program would bring recent medical and dental school graduates to the North County and other regions that have provider shortages to learn about employment opportunities and the quality of life in the region.
Jones said he has recent personal experience with frustration people experience due to a shortage of providers.
“My dentist just retired. He was in business for 40 years, probably.”
Jones, Woerner and Assemblyman Matt Simpson (R-Lake George), have collaborated the past few years on various measures to address the shortage of health care providers in the region.
“We hope to make some serious progress with recruitment – with retention,” Jones said.