By EJ Conzola II
The Village of Whitehall will receive $2 million in federal funds to help pay for upgrades of its century-old sewer system, bringing the total the village has received recently for infrastructure improvements to nearly $6 million.
The money was part of a $460 billion package of spending bills approved by both houses of Congress. The appropriations bill was signed earlier this month by President Joe Biden as part of legislation intended to prevent a government shutdown.
“These funds will provide a significant boost to the village’s ongoing efforts to bring our significantly deteriorating sanitary sewer system in compliance,” said Mayor Julie Eagan, who lavished praise on U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik for her efforts on the village’s behalf. Stefanik had requested the inclusion of the funds in the House of Representative version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024.
The money, described in the act as a “congressionally directed spending item,” will come through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
In total, Stefanik secured about $30 million in federal funding for infrastructure projects throughout the sprawling 21st Congressional District.
The village had originally sought $5 million for the ongoing projects, which involve replacing large portions of the antiquated sewer system, as well as upgrades to the similarly ancient water system. Village officials had viewed the request as a longshot and were delighted when they learned earlier this year that Stefanik had included $2 million for the sewer project in her funding requests.
In just the past few months, the village has also received a $1.25 million Environmental Facility Corp. grant, a $460,000 federal Rural Development grant and a $776,000 state Department of Environmental Conservation Water Quality Improvement Grant. Officials are currently exploring an application for a $2 million federal Community Development Block Grant fund that would be used for the sewer upgrades and improvements to the water system.
