OSWEGO — The Northern Border Regional Development Commission (NBRC) has awarded the Port of Oswego Authority a grant of $192,000 to construct a rail spur and additional rail-car storage to help accommodate the demands of increased rail traffic.
U.S. Representative Dan Maffei (D–DeWitt) and U.S. Representative Richard Hanna (R–Barneveld) on Tuesday released a joint statement announcing the grant.
The NBRC is a regional economic-development partnership between federal, state, and local government, according to the website of the New York State Department of State Division of Local Government Services.
Established as part of the 2008 Farm Bill, the commission includes the governors of the four northern-border states and a federal co-chair, who is appointed by the president of the United States, the website says.
Maffei and Hanna in August toured the Port of Oswego and announced a new effort to pass a Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA).
The WRRDA would bring “critical” support and infrastructure improvements to Central New York ports and the Great Lakes region, the lawmakers said.
The same facility was part of other grant announcements in late August.
U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) on Aug. 23 announced $20,000 for the Port of Oswego through the Port Security Grant Program (PSGP).
The PSGP provides funding for port authorities, facility operators, and state and local-government agencies that are required to provide port-security services, according to their joint news release.
The senators then announced on Aug. 30 that the Port of Oswego would receive a $1.5 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The grant funding is intended to help the port to make upgrades to infrastructure and equipment so that it can meet future shipping demands and increase productivity, the lawmakers said in their statement.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com