Village receives UV system grant

Cooperstown Crier
January 9, 2003

The village is now flush with funds for a new ultraviolet light disinfection system for the sewage treatment plant thanks to a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. 

The $124,000 grant award was announced Tuesday in the village offices by Senator James Seward (R-Milford) and officials from the energy agency.

"It's a good day for the village; a good day for the environment and a good day for the state," Seward said during brief remarks. "It's a very good investment for New York."

Seward explained that because Cooperstown is at the head of the Susquehanna River the grant is of particular importance in maintaining the quality of the environment in the area and down-stream.

The ultraviolet light system will replace the current chlorine gas disinfection system and will mean chlorine will no longer be introduced into the river with effluent from the plant.

The village had been told by the Department of Environmental Conservation that it had to lower the chlorine level in the effluent leaving the plant. The sewer board and Lamont Engineering worked with the agency to reach an agreement that allowed the village to study the possibility of using ultraviolet light for disinfection.

The ultraviolet light disinfection system will be less costly to operate and should provide a savings to the village.

"Ultraviolet disinfection uses less energy and costs less than chlorine disinfection, and chlorine gas is hazardous to transport and store," the senator said.

Mayor Carol Waller thanked officials for the grant and said that she didn't think the village could have moved forward on the project without the grant.

Thomas Collins, NYSERDA's director of communication said Cooperstown’s plan “embodies the kind of things we’re trying to do across the state.”

Collins said there was stiff competition for the grant funds, but that “we found a winner here in Cooperstown.”

Dr. Theodore Peters, a village trustee and the long-time chair of the sewer board, also expressed his thanks and commented that the village had hoped they would be able to get rid of the chlorination system.

Greg Lampman, a NYSERDA project manager, was among those who congratulated the village's grantwriting team.

There were eight or ten other applications proposing to do the same thing, but Cooperstown's application was the only successful one.

Lampman explained that one aspect of the grant would require the village seek additional expertise in the design of the ultraviolet system.

There are few ultraviolet disinfection systems working at secondary treatment plants like the village's and the agency wants to be sure the design is feasible and will work as intended.

To receive those assurances, NYSERDA wants the village to have their proposal reviewed by an expert and will pay the cost of the consultation in addition to the $124,000 grant award.

The grant announced Tuesday is one of seven statewide chosen to receive more than $1.2 million in funding from its Municipal Water and Wastewater Technology Program.