Planned wastewater-pumping station to support two Cayuga County dairy-processing plants

AUBURN, N.Y. — The Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) will use a federal grant of more than $1 million to help construct a new wastewater-pumping station that will support the “ongoing growth and expansion” of the dairy-processing plants for Cayuga Milk Ingredients and Denkavit-Grober Nutrition.

The funding comes from the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Economic Adjustment Assistance program, the office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced Thursday.

The project is “supporting dozens of new jobs and generating nearly $107 million in private investment in Central New York,” Schumer’s office said.

Ray Lockwood, chairman of the Cayuga County IDA, said the agency is “grateful” that the federal government awarded the funding.

“These funds will be used to expand the capacity of the sewer line in the CCIDA Industrial Park, which will better support the existing tenants’ needs, as well as their anticipated needs for future expansions,” Lockwood said.  “CCIDA is thankful for the support of Senator Schumer and the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board, which helped make this grant application successful.”

Schumer explained that the Cayuga County Industrial Park’s existing wastewater infrastructure that serves the two dairy-processing plants is “insufficient” for their current needs, as dairy facilities require “significantly higher” capacity wastewater-conveyance systems than a typical manufacturing facility.

Inadequate wastewater infrastructure can inhibit future growth plans of the companies. But now, with the EDA investment, Cayuga County will construct a new pump station and upgrade the existing sewage infrastructure so that both companies can proceed with their current growth plans.

The funding will directly support the construction of a 50,000-square-foot expansion of Cayuga Milk, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2023, and an expansion by Denkavit, with the combined expansions expected to have an over $100 million economic impact on Cayuga County and support dozens of new jobs, per Schumer’s office.

“I am proud to have secured this $1.1 million to construct and upgrade essential wastewater infrastructure in Cayuga County to support the ongoing expansion of the Cayuga Milk and Denkavit dairy processing plants,” Schumer said. “When I crafted the American Rescue Plan and included an infusion of funds for the Economic Development Administration, it is long-overdue investments like this project in Cayuga County that I had in mind. This project will boost the economy and accelerate our economic recovery. With a new sewer line and wastewater pumping station on the way, these Cayuga County jobs can keep flowing and our local dairy industry can keep moo-ving on up!”

This project is funded through a $500 million set-aside in EDA’s Economic Adjustment Assistance program that Schumer secured as a part of the American Rescue Plan. It seeks to “accelerate” economic recovery from the pandemic and “help communities like those in Cayuga County to put people back to work through projects designed to strengthen the local economy and make the region more competitive for good-paying jobs and new business investment,” Schumer’s office said.