Schumer Reveals: Hundreds Of Millions Of New Federal Dollars Now Available To Potentially Fund Bay Park Ocean Outfall Pipe; Resiliency Project Needed To Protect Communities Surrounding Reynolds Channel; Senator Led Fight To Secure Over A Billion In Federal Funds For Bay Park; Outfall Pipe Is Final Piece Of Puzzle

Press Release

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that there are hundreds of millions of dollars in new federal funding pots to help cover the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant's Ocean Outfall Pipe. The plant serves over 500,000 residents in Nassau County and was crippled in the wake of Sandy and was knocked offline for two days after nine feet of saltwater entered the facility. The Bay Park Outfall Pipe is needed to help build back Nassau Back Bay's natural, storm reducing wetlands to prevent future environmental disasters and ensure the plant meets new EPA clean water regulations.

Schumer has already secured $35M in federal funding to cover the design, engineering and permitting of an Ocean Outfall Pipe. Once completed, over $500 million will still be needed to cover construction of the Bay Park Outfall Pipe. Schumer today pointed to a number of federal sources that can be used to help cover the remaining costs of the Ocean Outfall Pipe. First, Schumer explained that FEMA recently approved an additional $210 million in FEMA HMGP funding available for New York, which can be used for outstanding projects like the Outfall Pipe. Second, Schumer explained that if this project is submitted to HUD's $1B National Resiliency Competition, it could be selected as a finalist and therefore, receive federal funding. Lastly, Schumer explained that the federal EPA revolving loan fund can be used to cover costs of the Outfall Pipe. This funding is offered in a combination of grants and low interest loans.

"The Bay Park Outfall Pipe is the last piece of the puzzle when it comes to rebuilding the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant from Sandy and making it more resilient against future storms; it is sorely needed to help prevent another environmental disaster from happening in Nassau County," said Schumer. "While we have secured over $1 billion in federal funding for the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant, over $500 million is still needed to pay for an outfall pipe. I'll continue to work with Nassau County officials to identify all federal, state, and local funding sources available to fund the remainder of this pipe."

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano stated, "These Hazard Mitigation are a potential game-changer and bring Nassau c County one step closer to making an Ocean Outfall Pipe a reality. I thank Senator Schumer for his partnership and leadership in working to secure funds to protect our bays, marine life, marshlands and local environment."

The Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant is one of the largest and most difficult undertakings in the efforts to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy. It is also one of the most critical, with tremendous impact on the public health of over 500,000 residents in Nassau County, making the necessary investments in reconstruction and mitigation measures a basic human necessity for this community.

During Sandy, the plant was knocked offline for two days after 9 feet of saltwater entered the facility. Thousands have had to endure the noxious after-effects of its destruction while the plant released some 65 million gallons a day of partially-treated sludge into Reynolds channel and back bays which often takes many weeks, if not months, until it is thoroughly flushed out into the Atlantic Ocean. In the 44 hours the Bay Park STP was out of service, it dumped 100 million gallons of untreated sewage into Hewlett Bay. In the 44 days it took to restore operations fully at the plant, another 2.2 billion gallons of partially-treated sewage flowed through the plant. The plant since then has continued to suffer setbacks, including electrical failures due to the lingering effects from saltwater corrosion.

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