County pursues ESD partnership funds for wastewater projects; officials discuss septage handling and a possible commercial solution

Warren County staff told the committee on Tuesday that the county will pursue Empire State Development (ESD) county partnership funds to support wastewater infrastructure and is coordinating with municipal partners on several related grant efforts.

Ethan said the full board of supervisors previously endorsed the department’s request to pursue ESD county partnership funds and that the county will submit a $1 million request next week for wastewater treatment plant support. He added the Lake Champlain Lake George Regional Planning Board is also pursuing additional funds for related infrastructure projects.

County staff said they are working with the town and village of Lake George to support infrastructure tied to a proposed 400-unit planned-unit development (PUD); the county’s endorsement of infrastructure does not supersede local approvals or site-plan review. Staff said pro-housing certification by the municipalities makes them eligible for certain infrastructure grants.

Committee members discussed septage-handling capacity as a countywide constraint. Ethan said Lake George Village completed an engineering study that identified roughly a $4 million project to increase septage handling capacity; he said the village’s previous application for funding was not successful in 2024 and that the state budget still includes clean-water funding for 2025.

The committee discussed broader regulatory and operational questions, including whether septage pumping and movement would be considered a water withdrawal under interstate basin rules; staff said legal and regulatory clarity is lacking. To address capacity gaps, staff described a proposal in the county’s “reverse marketplace” project to identify a commercial operator that could treat septage on a commercial basis and accept direct economic development funding, potentially creating alternatives to municipal-only infrastructure solutions.

Supervisor questions also addressed the geographic limits of any Lake George facility: staff noted a North Country service area and that septage-handling located in Lake George would not necessarily serve the entire watershed if regulatory limits apply.

Staff said they will continue to work with municipal officials, Empire State Development, the regional planning board and potential commercial partners to pursue funding and options for both municipal and commercial approaches to septage handling and wastewater upgrades.

Notes: County staff reported plans to submit a $1 million ESD county-partnership request; staff emphasized that municipal land-use approvals remain separate from county infrastructure endorsements.