FEMA approves funding for Bay Park Wastewater Treatment Plant

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved $730m in funding to repair the Bay Park Wastewater Treatment Plant in New York, US that was severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy.

The funding is the largest Sandy infrastructure award and will also provide protection against future extreme weather for the plant.

Of the total funding, FEMA has committed at least $657m, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has committed to use at least $73m in federal community development block grant funds to cover the remainder.

Cuomo said that this is a major victory for the more than 550,000 residents of Nassau County who depend on this critical piece of infrastructure every day.

"The Bay Park Plant project has been a priority in our rebuilding process, and the state remains committed to helping Long Island reach its full recovery and to build back more resilient than before," Cuomo added.

The plant is the largest wastewater treatment facility in Nassau County with a treatment capacity of 58 million gallons a day. It serves more than 550,000 residents, representing 40% of the county’s population.

In October Governor Cuomo announced that the state would provide $455m that would be repaid from various federal sources in order to ensure that Nassau County would be able to move forward with urgent repairs to the Plant.