TROY, N.Y. — The City of Troy received $11.1 million in Lead Infrastructure Forgiveness and Transformation (LIFT) funding, which will go toward continuing to replace lead pipes in the Collar City.
The funding was announced as part of $130 million in state grants awarded to communities across New York State to identify and replace lead service lines, according to a press release from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
Lead Infrastructure Forgiveness and Transformation (LIFT) Grants help communities pay for projects that protect drinking water and safeguard the public health of New Yorkers without overburdening ratepayers, the release added.
Exposure to lead can lead to a variety of health issues, especially for young children, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lead service lines — pipes that connect homes to water mains — are typically the most significant source of lead in water.
Lead plumbing is likely to be found in older cities and homes built before 1986.
“Our communities shouldn’t have to choose between protecting their drinking water and taking on crushing debt,” Hochul said in the release. “Every family deserves clean, safe drinking water at a cost they can afford, and these grants will help us make that goal a reality.”
“Governor Hochul and the New York State Department of Health share the same goal of safeguarding drinking water for every New Yorker. These grants will help municipalities affordably replace lead service lines, protect the communities from lead exposure and ensure more New Yorkers have access to safe drinking water — the foundation to good health,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald added in the release.
Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello thanked Hochul for the funding, and said her administration continues to make lead pipe replacements an important priority. She said the city will keep moving forward until every lead pipe has been replaced.
“We have been aggressively identifying and replacing lead pipes in neighborhoods across our city, coordinating that work with our paving program so we can fix what is underground before we put down brand-new roads,” Mantello said in a statement. “This $11.1 million award will allow us to continue that momentum while protecting Troy taxpayers from having to shoulder the full cost of this critical work.”
“Clean, safe drinking water is not a luxury,” she added. “It is a basic responsibility of government, and we will continue using every state and federal resource available to remove lead pipes, modernize our water infrastructure, and protect Troy families for generations to come.”
In addition to Troy, the City of Watervliet also received $518,000 as part of the initiative.
“This is great news and will certainly help address the issues with lead lines here in the city,” Watervliet Mayor Charles Patricelli said in a Facebook post. “More details on the project will be forthcoming.”
Assemblymember John McDonald III, D-Cohoes, said both investments in Troy and Watervliet will make replacements easier for the municipalities and protect the overall health of residents.
“I am proud to have advocated for resources that allow our local governments to make these necessary improvements without placing the burden on local ratepayers,” he said in a Facebook post. “I thank Governor Hochul for recognizing the importance of these investments and for continuing to provide for our communities.”
The grants will help municipalities pay for lead service line inventory and replacement projects supported by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the release said. Under Congress, a portion of IIJA funding for lead service line projects is required to be provided as loans, it added.
“Taking on any debt to address lead service lines can be overly burdensome, especially for historically disadvantaged communities,” the release said. “Governor Hochul is minimizing these financial barriers by using state grants to repay the loan portion of these communities’ funding packages upon project completion.”
The awards prioritize communities that meet one or more of the following criteria:
*The community’s median household income is less than 80 percent of the regionally adjusted statewide median household income
*The community’s local poverty rate is higher than the statewide poverty rate
The Troy City Council also expressed gratitude for the funding. They added that in the last three years, the state has delivered over $33 million to help jumpstart Troy’s lead service line replacement program.
“Thousands of lead lines are pending replacement, with the status of thousands more still unknown,” they said. “We applaud Governor Hochul and Assemblymember McDonald for their commitment to protecting the health and well-being of Troy residents and families, and look forward to seeing more progress toward this critical effort.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex, File)