The budget expected to be adopted by state lawmakers today contains $5 million in funding for upgrading the sewage treatment plant at the Calverton Enterprise Park, State Sen. Ken Lavalle announced today.
“I literally was in the right place at the right time — Friday night at 10 o’clock or so,” LaValle said in a phone interview this afternoon. “It was on my list in the one-house budget. Something fell off the table [during budget negotiations] and I was being a little bit of a problem on something else,” LaValle said. “I said, ‘I could use some help,’ and the secretary of the finance committee said, ‘It’s yours.’ I became a much better conversant after someone said $5 million was available,” the senator said.
“The funding is a result of a herculean effort by Sen. Lavalle on behalf of the residents of the Town of Riverhead,” said Town Supervisor Sean Walter.
The new funding brings to $6.3 million the total Riverhead has obtained toward the upgrade of the aging plant — a project town and state officials agree is key to the development of the enterprise park. The state Economic Development Council previously awarded the town a $1.3 million grant to upgrade the plant.
The technology of the plant must be improved to remove nitrogen from the effluent before discharge, Walter said. Also, the plant’s discharge site must be relocated to the north of the groundwater divide, to protect the Peconic River estuary system.
“This is huge news for the environment and for economic development at EPCAL,” Walter said. “We’re very grateful to the senator for making this happen.”
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