State to feds: Fund Bay Park outfall pipe

The proposed outfall pipe would release the plant’s effluent into the Atlantic Ocean instead of Reynolds Channel, the site of the existing pipe, pictured above, pumps nitrogen into the water.

herald file photo

As part of New York state’s application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s National Disaster Resilience Competition, officials are requesting $150 million to help fund the construction of a 5.3-mile outfall pipe from the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant to a discharge point in the Atlantic Ocean. The estimated cost of the project is $450 million.

The NDRC is a yearlong program in which communities compete for nearly $1 billion in grant money to fund innovative resiliency projects. The outfall pipe is one of six proposals by the state to address the needs of communities that were severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy and Tropical Storms Irene and Lee.

“The state is committed to aggressively pursuing multiple strategies to fund the construction of the Bay Park outfall pipe,” said Lisa Bova-Hiatt, interim executive director of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery. “The NDRC is a promising opportunity to secure additional funding for this transformative project, and to further ensure that the region is built back better than before.”

Basil Seggos, deputy secretary for the environment and incoming acting commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, added, “Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, New York state and Nassau County are poised to drastically reduce nitrogen pollution in the Western Bays, which is essential to improving the health of this incredible and vibrant ecosystem. Federal support for this proposal is vital to strengthen the resiliency of the area’s marshes and wetlands that are the first line of defense in protecting coastal communities from storms and sea level rise fueled by climate change.”

The $150 million in HUD funding would supplement a $104 million capital commitment from Nassau County and $45.4 million in New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. grants and loans obtained by the county. The state has also submitted the governor’s previous proposal to use $150 million of the state’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program allocation for Hurricane Sandy to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is currently under review.

About the pipe