Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and County Legislator Nick Caracappa have announced a historic $20 million award from the County's Water Infrastructure Fund to advance three separate sewer projects in Central Brookhaven.
The projects will spur economic development and water quality protection, advancing the recommendations in the following locally-adopted, community-based, land-use plans: Middle Country Sustainable Community Plan (2008), Farmingville Plan (2010), and the Coram Land Use Plan (2006).
"Investing in planning and design to get sewer projects shovel ready makes it much more likely that the County will be successful in our efforts to leverage the federal and state funding we need to build these important projects, and right now, the timing couldn't be better," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. "With significant funding from both the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the New York State Environmental and Green Jobs Bond Act available, now is the time to do the work we need to access these major funding sources."
Legislator Nick Caracappa said: “Today we introduced a $20 million dollar commitment to water quality to the residents of Suffolk County, but more specifically we introduced a commitment to the residents of the Selden, Centereach, Farmingville and Coram communities. This $20 million dollar investment in water quality preservation is not only protecting our sole source of drinking water, which is our Lloyd Aquifer that’s sits right below our very feet, it is also a critical advancement to these communities by ways of economic development, business opportunities, beautification and job creation.”
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “I am proud to have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars of covid relief to our counties that are now being used to build-out and upgrade Suffolk County’s wastewater infrastructure systems. I applaud County Executive Steve Bellone for committing $20 million in American Rescue Plan aid – funding that I fought hard to get to Long Island – to moving forward transformational sewer projects in Centereach, Selden, Coram, and Farmingville. These projects will help revitalize commercial corridors in central Brookhaven town, provide more economic development opportunities, and protect public health and the environment by stemming the tide of toxic nitrogen into our groundwater and waterways. These investments will help Suffolk County build back stronger post-pandemic and I will continue fighting each and every day to bring federal funds back to Long Island.”
Assemblyman Ed Flood said: "I am incredibly grateful and pleased to see such a well-deserved commitment to local infrastructure secured by County Executive Steve Bellone. The surrounding town’s sewer connectivity project will restore it to a much-improved condition to help ensure a longer lifespan for the community's wastewater infrastructure. On behalf of local residents, thank you Suffolk County Legislator’s Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) and Leslie Kennedy (R-Hauppauge) for helping to secure the funds in partnership with all involved from the County Executive’s office, the Legislature, Economic Development & Planning and the Deputy County Executive for recognizing the priorities of our communities.”
The award of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding will complete engineering designs to make sewer projects along commercial corridors in Centereach-Selden, Coram and Farmingville "shovel ready" as part of a strategy to obtain additional federal and state funding to complete construction of the projects.
The County’s Wastewater Infrastructure fund was created as part of the 2022 Operating Budget. The Wastewater Infrastructure Fund includes $125 million in new funding to significantly advance the County’s historic Reclaim Our Water Initiative, advance the County's response to environmental hazards, and invest in projects to improve our coastal resiliency.