GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES NY WORKS PROJECTS TO RESTORE AND REPAIR FLOOD CONTROL SYSTEMS AND DAMS IN THE HUDSON VALLEY

$5,690,200 Investment for 15 Flood Control and Dam Repair Projects

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a $5,690,200 investment for NY Works projects that will allow for 15 flood control system and dam repair projects in the Hudson Valley.

NY Works is designed to reinvent state economic development with innovative new strategy that will put New Yorkers back to work rebuilding the state’s infrastructure. The Task Force will help create tens of thousands of jobs by coordinating comprehensive capital plans, overseeing investment in infrastructure projects, and accelerating hundreds of critical projects across the state.

“For the second year in a row, New York State has passed a transformative and balanced budget,” Governor Cuomo said. “The centerpiece of this budget is the New York Works program, which will help rebuild our aging infrastructure, including our dams and flood control systems, to protect people and property throughout our state.”

Senator Bill Larkin said, “The storms of last year showed the necessity of having New York’s flood control infrastructure operating at peak performance. These grants will ensure our dams and flood control projects are the safest and most efficient they can be to prevent further catastrophic damage similar to what we witnessed last year.”

The Budget continues the Governor’s commitment to fiscal responsibility while creating jobs and strengthening communities across the state. It closes a multi-billion dollar deficit with no new taxes, fees or gimmicks, limits spending growth to two percent or below for the second year in a row, and launches the NY Works Task Force .

NY Works Task Force 

The NY Works Task Force will coordinate capital plans across 45 agencies and authorities, oversee investment in projects and access to funding, and facilitate the creation of tens of thousands of jobs. Prior to the task force, there was no plan for the  $16 billion in annual capital expenditures by 45 state agencies and authorities.

The 15 member task force will  develop a coordinated capital infrastructure plan among agencies and authorities, and include financial, labor, planning, and transportation leaders.

Nine of the members will be appointed by the Governor and six by the Legislature. All major state agencies and authorities will participate in an implementation council to coordinate capital planning.

Repairing New York’s Dams and Flood Control Infrastructure 

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) maintains 106 flood control projects, of which 91 have been rated “minimally acceptable” or “unacceptable” by the Army Corps of Engineers. Additionally, DEC owns 577 dams statewide. Of the DEC-owned dams, DEC engineers classify at least 24 dams as “high” and “intermediate” hazard structures, where failure poses serious threat to human life or significant property damage. The New York Works Funds will designate $102 million, leveraging more than $100 million in matching funds, to repair aged and otherwise failing structures. The $102 million will include $18.5 million to repair state-owned dams, $56 million to perform maintenance of flood control facilities such as levees, and $27 million to implement coastal erosion and inlet navigation maintenance projects, plus over $100 million in matching funds.

The NY Works dam and flood control projects in the Hudson Valley are as follows:

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