DEC Announces More Than $343,000 in Funding to Remove Barriers to Improve Aquatic Passage and Mitigate Flooding in the Towns of Stephentown and Philipstown

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar today announced $343,852 in grants for projects to restore aquatic connectivity, reduce local flood risks, and improve water quality in the towns of Stephentown, Rensselaer County and Philipstown, Putnam County. Funding for these projects is administered by NEIWPCC in partnership with DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program and supported by New York State's Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).

"Through Governor Hochul's leadership and investments, New York is advancing important efforts to mitigate localized flooding and improve water quality in Hudson River tributaries while protecting and improving the State's natural resources," Interim DEC Commissioner Sean Mahar said. "The more than $343,000 announced today will jumpstart the implementation of two projects to restore aquatic organism passage and habitat connectivity. We commend our partners at NEIWPCC and the towns of Stephentown and Philipstown for their partnerships in advancing these critical projects."

Susan Sullivan,NEIWPCC Executive Directorsaid, "NEIWPCC is pleased to help the communities of Stephentown and Philipstown remove barriers that block the natural flow of rivers and streams to improve aquatic passage for river herring and American eel."

Trout Unlimited was awarded $143,853 for a culvert removal and replacement project on Calvin Cole Road in Stephentown that will reconnect three and a-half miles of high-quality upstream habitat for aquatic organisms. In addition, the replacement project will mitigate chronic flooding issues for the town. The site was identified as a priority in the Town of Stephentown Road Stream Crossing Management Plan funded by the Hudson River Estuary Program in 2021.

The Walter Hoving Home, Inc.was awarded $200,000 for a culvert replacement project on Avery Road in the Town of Philipstown. The project will result in shovel-ready stamped engineering plans, permit materials, and construction documents to remove a culvert under Avery Road known to be a local flood hazard during heavy storm events on Philips Brook. Replacement of this structure will remove an additional constriction just downstream of a current Hudson River Estuary Program-funded dam removal project with observed eel presence.

New York State continues to advance resiliency initiatives and investments that are helping to protect communities. Governor Kathy Hochul's comprehensive resiliency plan includes $5.5 billion in water quality infrastructure funding since 2017, the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022, and another year of record funding of $400 million for the State's Environmental Protection Fund. They are just a few of the many actions underway to provide municipalities with resources needed to adapt to and mitigate climate change's impacts.

View DEC's video "Dams & Culverts: Reconnecting Our Waterways" demonstrating culvert right-sizing and dam removal.

The Hudson River Estuary Management Program helps communities conserve and protect the Hudson River and its valley. Created in 1987, the DEC program focuses on the tidal Hudson and its adjacent watershed from the dam at Troy to the Verrazano Narrows in New York City.