E'town one step closer to municipal wastewater treatment

ELIZABETHTOWN | Thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC), the town can continue investing in the design work needed to fund the proposed $38 million wastewater treatment project, which will provide centralized services to about 450 users. "With help from this grant, we will be able to advance design from 10%, which is where we were, to 30%, which is where we'll be when they've completed that aspect, and they're already working on it," said Town of Elizabethtown Supervisor Cathleen Reusser earlier this month about the current work of Suozzo, Doty & Associates. "We feel strongly that reaching that design level will make us more appealing to funding agents." Currently, Elizabethtown is the only county seat in New York State without a wastewater treatment plant, and properties within the proposed district have their own on-site septic systems. This includes not only private homes but also several major civic and business facilities, such as the Elizabethtown Community Hospital, Essex Center for Health Care Nursing, and Essex County complex. Some of those systems date back decades, while others sit very close to Branch Brook and Barton Brook, which join before flowing into the Boquet River. "Depending on how the homeowner is in terms of maintaining those septic systems, they operate at very different levels. Unfortunately, we've been able to document that the waters that are flowing into the Boquet River are contaminated," Reusser said, referring to the preliminary report issued a few years ago that engineers with Suozzo, Doty & Associates updated. "That's why this centralized system is essential for the town." Last May, town officials submitted their Intended Use Plan (IUP), which outlines the community's financial picture and provides scientific data on the need for critical infrastructure, for the proposed project to the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) — New York State's Water Infrastructure Bank, which has awarded almost $3 billion in water infrastructure grants to over 1,000 projects since 2015. Unfortunately, no monies were awarded that round. Despite not receiving that funding, the town is still moving forward to make the proposed multi-million-dollar project a reality, for example, by applying for additional grant funding over the summer. "It's important that we figure out a way to do this," Reusser stressed about the project that's been in the works for decades. "As I said, this isn't an optional project; this project has to happen." If funded, the proposed plant would be placed behind the Cobble Hill Golf Course, and two new buildings would serve as the collection and treatment plants. The effluent would be treated with ultraviolet (UV) light to kill any harmful bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens before it is piped back to the Boquet River. The exact location of discharge is still to be determined. Reusser expressed her gratitude to NBRC for awarding them a grant, which they received in April, and to the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board for assistance. For more information or updates, visit elizabethtown-ny.gov.

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E'town one step closer to municipal wastewater treatment

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