Officials seek money to offset wastewater treatment plant costs

KINGSTON, N.Y. » The city is seeking grant money to help offset the cost of $7.9 million in required improvements at the municipal wastewater treatment plant on East Strand.

The Common Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing the city to apply for up to $1.25 million for the work from a New York State Water Infrastructure Improvement Act grant.

City Engineer Ralph Swenson has said Kingston would apply for that state funding if it fails to win its application for 40 percent of the estimated $7.9 million cost of the project to be covered by the state Intermunicipal Grant Program. The council previously approved applying for that funding.

Swenson has said the treatment plant improvements are necessary due to a change in the city’s Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The city was notified of the change in late October. The new discharge parameters go into effect in approximately 3 ½ years, Swenson said in a letter to Common Council President James Noble.

Swenson said the state is requiring the city to treat for nitrogen above and beyond what it currently does, which will necessitate changes in some of the processes at the plant.

Swenson said he would return to the council at a later date to talk about selecting a consultant for the improvement project.

The city currently is involved in an approximately $3.3 million unrelated repair and upgrade project at the wastewater treatment plant. Much of the cost for that work is expected to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency because some of the repairs and upgrades were necessary due to flooding during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.