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County announces $25M in state-directed funds for two sewer separation projects
Summary
Sewer District Executive Director Kevin Gorman told the Public Works Committee that Empire State Development is routing $25 million through the county as grants to fund the FE‑1A (Fort Edward) and HF‑1A (Hudson Falls) sewer separation projects; HF‑1A is expected to take about two years and FE‑1A about three.
Kevin Gorman, Executive Director of the Washington County Sewer District, told the Public Works Committee on July 28 that Empire State Development has committed $25 million to support two major sewer separation projects.
"Huge thank you to Supervisor O’Brien, liaison for the county, for spearheading the county’s efforts in helping to secure $25M for two sewer district projects," Gorman said. He described FE‑1A in Fort Edward and HF‑1A in Hudson Falls as large sewer‑separation efforts that will remove storm and rain flow from sanitary lines and free capacity for new residential or commercial connections. Gorman estimated HF‑1A will take about two years and FE‑1A about three to complete, with extensive engineering and staged construction scheduled to begin within roughly a year for Hudson Falls and later for Fort Edward.
Gorman said ESD will route the funds through the county as grant dollars rather than direct upfront payments to the district, and the district will be reimbursed as work is invoiced. He said that, because ESD typically reimburses at the end of the project, the district is negotiating a schedule of interim reimbursements and may need to borrow approximately $5 million to cover early invoices. Gorman also said the district plans to apply for water‑quality grants for both projects to supplement available funds.
Why it matters: The projects aim to reduce extraneous flow to the wastewater system, improving treatment efficiency and creating capacity for development while addressing longstanding infrastructure constraints — including a sewer line that runs through an industrial property in Fort Edward that has previously restricted expansion.
