USDA announces water infrastructure projects, including $9.5 million development in Massena

MASSENA — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) New York State Director for Rural Development Brian Murray recently announced that the USDA is investing more than $82 million in 10 water and wastewater-infrastructure projects throughout rural New York state. The USDA is financing projects through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program to help state and local governments, private nonprofits, and federally recognized tribes build and improve rural wastewater systems. The funding enables rural communities to expand access to clean and reliable drinking water, sanitary waste disposal, and stormwater drainage. Projects in New York include the construction of a new water district in the town of Massena, located in St. Lawrence County. This project will benefit town residents by providing access to public water and will improve the health, welfare, and safety of the residents, the USDA said in a Feb. 21 release. Project costs total $9.5 million, with $5 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law General Supplemental (BIL-GS) funding, $3 million in Rural Development direct-loan funding, and $1.5 million in Rural Development grant funding. No other funding sources have been identified for this project, the release stated. Other USDA wastewater-infrastructure projects in the Empire State include those in the village of Greene in Chenango County, town of Lima in Livingston County, town of Pomfret in Chautauqua County, and village of Woodridge in Sullivan County, the department said. The USDA’s New York Rural Development State Office is located at 441 South Salina St. in Syracuse.