Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) announced that New York State will release $17.6 million in federal Recovery Act funds for a Buffalo Sewer Authority, Erie County project that will provide sewer overflow abatement work.  The funding will be used to support planning, design and construction of the Hamburg Drain Control Facility, which collects and processes input from twenty sewer regulators within the Hamburg drain system. This project is also an essential component of Buffalo’s Inner Harbor redevelopment.

“Western New York has an extremely old water system that will benefit significantly from this Recovery Act investment,” said Congressman Higgins.  “This is a good first step toward upgrading our underground water delivery network and protecting our local natural water resources.”

This news came as the Governor announced $170 million in projects included in the first round of statewide water infrastructure work funded with federal Recovery Act money.  New York will receive a total of $435 million in federal funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.  According to the State’s lists, $104,155,000 in Clean Water State Revolving Fund projects in Congressman Higgins’ district would be eligible for funding. 

The Recovery Act provides $19 billion for clean water, flood control, and environmental restoration investments expected to support over 2,000 water infrastructure projects and create 300,000 jobs nationwide.