Environmental groups are suing the state over its plan to borrow half a billion dollars from a clean water fund to pay for the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement.
The state had originally tagged $511 million in low- and no-interest loans out of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which has traditionally funded projects such as sewage infrastructure work and measures to protect drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency rejected $482 million of the funds in September, calling the planned use of the money ineligible, but Albany is appealing that decision.
“The surest way to protect this vital funding source for its intended purpose is to make sure the court has jurisdiction to enforce the Clean Water Act as necessary,” Paul Gallay, president of Riverkeeper, said.
Riverkeeper, along with Waterkeeper Alliance and Environmental Advocates of New York, filed the lawsuit in state Supreme Court on Monday, saying they wanted to block the proposal and avoid setting a precedent of the fund being used for construction projects.
Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates, said the future stability of the fund was at stake.
“This program has done tremendous work for decades, including helping communities right here in New York to upgrade and protect residents from outdated sewage systems and other infrastructure problems,” he said. “It is unfortunate we must fight to protect the Clean Water Act from executive overreach, but it is a critical effort given the national consequences.”
Daniel E. Estrin, supervising attorney of the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, which is representing the environmental groups, took issue with the state”™s approval process ”“ which did not include a public input phase.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, announced the loans this year and touted them as a low-cost option for funding the $3.9 billion, twin-span bridge. Clean water fund loans average 1.7 percent interest, well below the market average of 3.7 percent, according to the EPA website. The Tappan Zee loans would have saved $17 million over three years, Cuomo said.
Named as defendants in the suit are the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Thruway Authority, Public Authorities Control Board and Environmental Facilities Corp., the last of which votes to administer the clean water fund in New York.
Some business leaders had praised the loans because they hoped it would help keep the toll on the new bridge down. Only $1.6 billion of the total cost of the bridge has been funded, through a federal Department of Transportation loan, and many fear the construction costs and interest will have to be balanced on an increased toll (The current cash toll is $5 but estimates say the new toll could reach as high as $15).
Ross J. Pepe is the president of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley Inc. and the Building Contractors Association of Westchester and Mid-Hudson Inc., which represent 600 local firms combined. He said anyone opposed to the loans was “fooling themselves and short-changing the public.”
“Let”™s do the math,” he said in a statement after the loans were announced. “Higher environmental protection costs means higher tolls on the bridge. Lower loan financing costs means lower tolls on the bridge.”
Both major business advocacy groups in Westchester County, the Westchester County Association and The Business Council of Westchester, supported the loans and said the projects they funded would help protect the environment and mitigate impacts of construction.
Construction on the replacement bridge, which has yet to be officially named, began in October 2013 alongside the existing 60-year-old Tappan Zee. The state anticipates it will be completed and open to traffic in 2016.
Don’t worry… in a few years it will cost $15-$20 to cross the bridge.