A plan to build a village-run sewer system in Cambridge won $10.9 million in grant funding — the highest available — and $16.1 million in a low interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture last month. It was an approval ballyhooed by the village, the USDA and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in February.
However, on Wednesday March 1, village residents rejected the project and the funding, and the project was tabled. It had been under consideration since at least 2015.
"Ultimately they don't want us to move forward with it,” village Mayor Carman Bogle said of the public who showed up to stop the process. “It’s unfortunate that the public didn't speak up prior."
She said residents had plenty of opportunity to speak up in previous public hearings. The village had pursued grants over the years and many applications required public hearings.
Although the village trustees held no public vote on Monday, she said that the board is representative of the people’s wishes and the people clearly said they did not want the sewer system. The project included wastewater collection and processing.
According to the mayor, the board said, “We're not going to force this."
A major reason was still the cost.
Although the village was given the grant and the low-interest loan, the yearly payment for the average homeowner would have been about $1,005 to cover loan service debt and maintenance costs, the mayor said.
During the interview, she expressed disappointment but not anger.
She did however worry about problems that will persist and troubles that homeowners may face. An entire block at the west end of town has been in violation of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation rules for three years, she said.
Local homes use septic tanks and leach fields.
"Our yards are small,” she said, and as the tanks and fields require updates, the new construction requires adherence to the current regulations. Homeowners might not have space to make the proper changes.
The village has been studying wastewater issues since at least the 1970s, their website says.
According to a history of the project posted on the website, in the fall of 2021, “The village board proposed the installation of a municipal wastewater collection and treatment system, which would serve residents and businesses within the Village boundary.”
About a month later, the village approved a bond resolution for the full $27 million estimated price of the project. They then pursued Community Development Block Grants and others, including a grant application in 2022 through the USDA Rural Development Water & Environmental Programs, the website says.
On Feb. 28, 2023, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) announced that the Village of Cambridge will receive $27 million in federal funding to build a new sewer collection system and treatment plant.
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“The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program. The project will serve over 1,800 residents and allow for future connection of developable lands within village limits,” the announcement says.
“This is a smart and much-needed investment that will bring modern, reliable wastewater infrastructure to the Village of Cambridge,” the senator said in a statement.
The USDA Rural Development Water & Environmental Program funds a number of infrastructure initiatives and serves households and businesses in eligible rural areas with populations of 10,000 or less.
Although the mayor had planned to step down at the end of her term, she quickly gathered signatures after the decision was made to get back on the ballot. She said she is not planning to bring the sewer issue back, but is hoping to offer some consistency.
“We’re going to let it go,” she said, “But I’m sure it will surface again.”
The village recently was awarded a NY Forward economic development grant.
Bogle said she plans to work in the coming months with state planners on how the $2.25 milliion will be spent.
Requests for comment to Gillibrand’s office and the press office of Gov. Kathy Hochul were not returned.