State environmental groups are looking to block Gov. Andrew Cuomo”™s plan to borrow $511 million from a clean water fund to help fund the in-construction replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge.
The state Environmental Facilities Corp. is expected contribute up to $511.45 million in loans for the $3.9 billion, twin-span bridge, which is yet unnamed and went under construction in October.
Environmental Advocates of New York, an advocacy group, opposed the issuing of the loan in a joint letter to the EFC, which is scheduled to formalize the funding in a Thursday meeting. Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of the group, said the state”™s drinking water and sewage systems were in a state of deterioration that will cost $36 billion to repair.
“The state should be aggressively working with municipalities to make sure they got the money they need to undertake the projects, instead of unilaterally repurposing these funds without proper oversight and public involvement,” he said.
Paul Gallay, president of the environmental group Hudson Riverkeeper, was among those bashing the loan announcement. He said it was “bad public policy” to use federal funds intended for water infrastructure and anti-pollution efforts for construction of the bridge.
“Like it or not, the state should establish a funding plan for the Tappan Zee Bridge construction that relies on appropriate transportation funding sources, and is conducted with the most public transparency possible,” he said.
The state has received a $1.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation, but there remain a slew of unanswered questions about how the remainder of the construction will be financed. Commuters fear a majority of the cost will be funded through toll revenues, which could increase the price of a trip from $5 on the existing bridge to as much as $14 for the new bridge. Rockland County Executive Ed Day, a Republican, has said inflating the toll by that much could cripple commerce by discouraging shoppers from crossing the bridge, opting instead for destinations such as Ridge Hill on the Westchester County side of the river.
State and federal officials have not yet publicly disclosed any studies to estimate what the toll on the new bridge would be. The Journal News, a daily newspaper, reported it requested federal and state public records that likely would have shown toll estimates but its requests under freedom of information laws were rejected.
The Thruway Authority saw its bond rating reduced last year by Moody”™s Investors Service, which said the authority might not raise its tolls quickly enough to pay for the Tappan Zee”™s replacement.
Cuomo, in announcing the loan, said the funds would not prevent the EFC from issuing loans to finance other programs. The governor said $256 million in loans would be interest free, while the remaining $256 million would be low-interest.
“This $500 million low-cost loan will reduce the financial burden of these necessary environmental measures and enable the Thruway Authority to continue moving full-steam ahead on this important project,” he said.
Still, environmental groups such as the New York League of Conservation Voters say the demolition of the existing bridge, which is 60 years old, and related river dredging would actually adversely affect the waterway.
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