Underground Infrastructure - November 2023 - 11

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facilities and the removal or enhancement of
septic tanks. The approval of projects should
be based upon established statewide priorities
and demonstrated needs, following the model
exhibited by the DOT Work Program.
The Florida Department of Environmental
Protection should work with the Florida
Legislature to pass legislation that incorporates
the provisions of Executive Order 23-06 into
Florida Statutes.
Where central sewer is not possible, the Florida
Legislature should require enhanced, nutrientreducing
technology for septic tanks within a
BMAP or in an area with a high-water table.
The Florida Legislature should authorize the
development and implementation of a septic
tank inspection and monitoring program, as
well as extend an existing financial assistance
program or create a new financial assistance
program to help economically challenged
property owners remediate septic tank issues.
The state should consider imposing a user fee
on utilities that can be bonded against to sustain
funding for septic conversions.
Thirty percent of Florida's population utilizes
septic systems to treat their residential waste.
That 30 percent represents 12 percent of the
United States's septic tank usage. With 76
percent of Floridians living in coastal zones,
septic tank effluent is too rarely mitigated, and
is a completely preventable recipe for disaster.
Septic tank effluent fuels harmful algal blooms;
feeds dangerous bacteria including Vibrio
vulnificus, the " flesh-eating bacteria; " and
contaminates ground and surface waters.
Governor Hochul secures
$234.5 million for New York
water infrastructure
Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the
Environmental Facilities Corporation Board
of Directors has approved $234.5 million in
financial assistance for water infrastructure
improvements across New York State.
The Board's approval authorizes municipal
access to over $226.8 million in lowcost
short-term financing and previously
announced grants to commence essential
water and sewer infrastructure work, including
flood mitigation measures safeguarding critical
clean water systems from high-water events.
The Board also acted to ensure the longterm
affordability of three existing projects,
authorizing long-term financing totaling over
$7.7 million to municipalities, providing debt
service savings for these initiatives.
Among the projects receiving funding
approval today, $148 million was allocated for a
clean water resiliency initiative that will aid the
city of Long Beach in its long-term recovery
from the devastation caused by Hurricane
Sandy in 2012. This critical project will protect
the city's wastewater treatment systems with
flood mitigation measures, convert the city's
water pollution control plant into a pump
station, and connect it with Nassau County's
South Shore Reclamation Facility.
In conjunction with the ongoing Bay Park
Conveyance Project, the city's efforts will
enhance the water quality of the Western Bays
and Reynolds Channel. EFC is prefinancing
the project to provide the city with the upfront
capital required for construction. These funds
will be reimbursed through federal disaster
grant programs. UI
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Underground Infrastructure - November 2023

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