The Town of Richmondville was awarded just about the last piece for its Warnerville wastewater project Thursday, a whopping $7.05 million in Enhanced Water Infrastructure Improvement funding.
Statewide, $435 million was awarded to 102 projects, 32 of them to small, rural communities like Richmondville.
Richmondville Supervisor Jeff Haslun was ecstatic over the news–especially since he hadn’t known it was coming.
“It’s just wonderful. Wonderful,” he said.
The total cost of the project, which would link the hamlet of Warnerville to the Village of Richmondville’s sewer plant is “just shy of $13 million,” Mr. Haslun said.
They’re already received $5.6 million for the work from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and have applied for federal FY25 funding that, if awarded, would essentially pay for the rest.
“If we’re successful with the FY25 money, we could possibly come in without debt service,” Mr. Halsun said. “Between these three…[grants]…knock wood.”
What makes the $7.05 million Enhanced WII award especially significant is that the town had rolled the dice and returned a $2.7 million WIIA grant for the project awarded in 2022; they couldn’t apply for the Enhanced WIAA without doing that, Mr. Haslun said.
“You hate to give back you’ve already, but Brendon Becker [the town’s consultant from Lamont Engineers] told us it was in the cards for us.”
Mr. Haslun began looking for funding for the badly-needed wastewater project a month after he took office four years ago when the state was giving out unprecedented funding, arguing there was no time like then to try to tap into it.
Not only will the expanded wastewater system be a boon to Warnerville, allowing development of I-88 Exit 21, Mr. Haslun said, but it will benefit all of Schoharie County through economic development and increased revenue.
As proposed, the Warnerville Sewer Project would run from Mineral Springs Road in Warnerville to the Village of Richmondville’s sewer plant, replacing failing septic systems that were leading to E. coli in ditches and streams.
In 2022, the Health Department called the problem one of the worst in the county, pointing out that not only were the failing systems keeping businesses from coming in or expanding, they were making it hard for others to keep their doors open.
In Otsego County, the Village of Richfield Springs also received a $9.1 million Enhanced WIAA grant for sewer plant improvements and upgrades.