ONEIDA — The board of directors of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. (EFC) has approved a $3.3 million, interest-free loan for a sewer-line project in Madison County. The loan will help pay for the construction of a three-mile sewer line to carry leachate from the county landfill to the city of Oneida’s wastewater-treatment […]
ONEIDA — The board of directors of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. (EFC) has approved a $3.3 million, interest-free loan for a sewer-line project in Madison County.
The loan will help pay for the construction of a three-mile sewer line to carry leachate from the county landfill to the city of Oneida’s wastewater-treatment plant.
The new line will also serve present and future businesses at the agricultural and renewable energy (ARE) industrial site located next to the county landfill in the town of Lincoln.
The EFC announced the loan approval in a news release issued March 17.
The EFC’s short- and long-term financing will save Madison County about $7 million over the cost of borrowing on its own, the EFC said, citing county estimates.
The new sewer line will also save the county about $200,000 per year over the cost of trucking the leachate to the Oneida wastewater-treatment plant, the EFC added, again citing information from Madison County.
The EFC is “pleased” to help Madison County undertake a “money-saving” wastewater project that will help attract businesses to a new industrial park, Matthew
Driscoll, president and CEO of the EFC, said.
“These projects not only protect the environment and improve public health, they can also be the catalyst for new economic development,” said Driscoll.
Driscoll previously served as mayor of Syracuse.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo in February announced a $4 million grant in NY Works funding to extend municipal-water service to the ARE park and to residents in Lincoln. That 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, EFC said.
Besides the Madison County project, EFC also approved financing for projects in Saranac Lake and in Westchester County.
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 its news release.