June 21, 2013
Rep. Mary Mushinsky announced today that the legislature approved language in Section 64 of Public Act 13-239, the bond package, to increase municipal grants to 50% for the first three municipalities to pursue phosphorus removal.
Phosphorus is a nutrient that when present in abundance causes explosive algae growth in waterways, causing impaired water quality. The federal Clean Water Act requires states make improvements in water quality to stop the impairment.
Mushinsky said, "Towns that must remove phosphorus as a condition of their sewage treatment permit will now be eligible for a larger grant as a result of recent legislative action."
Mushinsky and a bipartisan coalition of area legislators had argued in the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee that the grant increase was appropriate because the new requirement was more difficult to meet for certain parts of the state. These areas contain heavily urbanized waterways and include the Quinnipiac River in South Central Connecticut and the Still River in the Danbury area.
"This increased grant can help Wallingford and other Quinnipiac River towns improve water quality with additional state funds. The enhanced grant funds are earmarked for the first three municipalities to pursue phosphorus removal on or before July 1, 2018," Mushinsky said.
The new grant increase for phosphorus at 50% matches the highest reimbursement rate for treatment plants allowed under the Clean Water Act. Previously only combined sewer overflows in major cities were eligible for 50% grants.
Excerpt from PA 13-239:
Sec. 64 (6) The first three construction contracts entered into by
municipalities on or before July 1, 2018, that are eligible for financing
as projects undertaken for phosphorus removal to at or below two tenths
milligrams per liter effluent discharge, shall receive (A) a project
grant of fifty per cent of the cost of the project associated with such
phosphorus removal, (B) except as provided in subdivision (3) of this
subsection, a twenty per cent grant for the balance of the cost of the
project, and (C) a loan for the remainder of the costs of the project, not
exceeding one hundred per cent of the eligible water quality project
costs. If more than three projects are eligible for the financing provided
under this subdivision, the commissioner shall give priority, first to
projects with the lowest permitted limit of phosphorus discharge as
contained in a valid discharge permit issued pursuant to section 22a-
430, and then to those that remove the greatest amount of phosphorus,
as measured in pounds per year.
State Rep. Mary Mushinsky is Co-Chair of the legislature's Program Review and Investigations Committee, and a member of the Environment and the Finance, Revenue and Bonding committees.