Septic tank program comes to Copake water bodies | Columbia County

COPAKE – Copake receives a new septic tank reimbursement program.

Homes near Copake Lake and Robinson Pond with septic tanks may be eligible for reimbursement for future work on their system.

“The mission is to help replace wastewater treatment plants that are within 75 meters of target waters,” said Ed Coons, Columbia County DOH director of environmental health, Ed Coons, who leads the program in Columbia County. “Right now, DEC has identified both Copake Lake and Robinson Pond as those two funding targets.”

The program, funded by the state-run Environmental Facilities Corporation, allows eligible septic tank owners near certain bodies of water to reimburse 50% of the cost of repairing and replacing cesspools and septic tanks.

In April 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that $ 15 million in funding would be available through the state septic replacement program to support homeowners. The reimbursement money is the second round of a total of $ 75 million allocated to improve water quality and protect public health by replacing aging and substandard sewage treatment plants and removing cesspools.

“Good water quality is key to maintaining healthy communities,” said Joseph Rabito, president and CEO of Environmental Facilities Corporation. “Working with our state partners in counties and our colleagues at DEC and DOH on the Water Treatment Replacement Program is just one way the Environmental Facilities Corporation is helping local governments with critical water quality infrastructure projects.”

Of the reimbursement grant in this round, $ 170,000 will go to those eligible near Copake Lake and Robinson Pond. Coons said there is no limit to the number of people who can receive funding. He said the program will last until all of the grant money is paid out for reimbursement or until the end of 2026, whichever comes first.

“The whole idea is to keep phosphates and nitrates out of the aquatic environment,” Coons said. “It will help reduce algae growth and especially the harmful algal blooms that we get from blue-green algae.”

Blue-green algae form a poisonous bloom. Coons said that when ingested it can make people sick and it can kill pets.

“This is the first time we’ve received an award, we were selected in the second round,” said Coons. “DEC picks the waters in the county, we don’t.”

There were previously harmful algal blooms on Robinson Pond, Coons previously said.

The counties targeted in this funding round are geographic areas that contain groundwater supplies, surface water drinking water supplies, and other threatened or impaired surface waters where sewage treatment plants and cesspools are known or suspected to affect the body of water as set out in the program outline on the Environmental Facilities website Corporation.

A 2019-20 US Department of the Environment report said harmful algal blooms were confirmed on Copake Lake in 2014 and Robinson Pond in 2012 and 2016.

Copake Town Supervisor Jeanne Mettler said she found it interesting that the two Columbia County bodies of water eligible for the reimbursement program are both in Copake. She said she was grateful that Copake would benefit from the program.

The Environmental Facilities Corporation website lists the eligibility requirements for the State Septic System Replacement Fund Program. The system must be within 250 feet of any qualifying body of water, its condition must warrant repair, upgrade, or replacement, and a full application must be submitted to the Columbia County Department of Health. The Ministry of Health will then schedule a site visit and an engineer may be requested depending on the work to be done. After approval, work on the system can begin. Upon completion, a detailed invoice must be submitted to the health department for reimbursement. Columbia County will then reimburse 50% of eligible wastewater treatment expenses up to $ 10,000.

The cost of repairs and replacements for a septic system can vary widely, Coons said.

The average cost of a new treatment system in the US can range from $ 3,500 to $ 11,500, according to HomeAdvisor, depending on the type of treatment system installed and the materials it is made of.

There are 189 houses on Robinson Pond, Coons said.

Eligible septic expenses include items such as construction and installation costs, costs of a septic system, system components, and improved treatment technologies as specified in the fund program overview.

Non-refundable items include routine maintenance such as a pumping out or septic tank, improperly documented expenses, state permit fees, interest or late fees, fines and penalties, sales tax payments, and non-essential touches or interior plumbing changes.

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