ALBANY — The state recently announced over $29.4 million in grants to support water quality and climate resiliency projects in the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Region 5, which includes Essex and Franklin counties.

The awards are part of more than $265 million in investments recently announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul to help protect drinking water, improve climate resilience, update aging water infrastructure, reduce contributors to harmful algal blooms and secure statewide access to clean water.

“With more than $265 million from multiple programs, including $185 million supporting improvements in environmental justice communities, the awarded projects will help our municipal partners achieve meaningful reductions in flood risk, protect drinking water, improve aquatic habitat and safeguard residents from increasingly severe weather events,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said in a press release.

The funding complements the historic environmental investments announced earlier this week in the 2026 State of the State, building upon the record support for the state’s premier grant programs that fund critical water infrastructure, protect drinking water and safeguard communities.

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Essex County

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¯ Boquet River Association Inc.: $1.52 million through WQIP for an aquatic connectivity project with local partners to remove an undersized culvert on Cold Brook in the Town of Willsboro. A new single span bridge structure will enhance flood resilience and improve spawning fish habitats in the Boquet River watershed.

¯ Boquet River Association Inc.: $492,680 through WQIP for a fish and wildlife habitat restoration and enhancement project on riparian habitats at two sites on Beaver Brook and Burpee Brook. The project will improve the habitat for species of greatest conservation need, such as landlocked Atlantic salmon, and reduce sedimentation in the Boquet River watershed.

¯ Essex County: $1.27 million through WQIP for the Essex County Department of Public Works to replace an undersized culvert on Spruce Mill Brook with a 50-foot bridge, opening five miles of stream habitat for native brook trout and landlocked Atlantic Salmon within the Boquet River watershed.

¯ Essex County Soil and Water Conservation District: $388,000 through WQIP for a rock salt reduction project to purchase live-edge plows, weather monitoring systems and cameras to monitor road surface conditions. These practices will reduce excess rock salt application county-wide and improve water quality in the Lake Champlain, Upper Hudson and St. Lawrence River watersheds.

¯ Town of Jay: $50,000 through NPG for development of a winter road maintenance plan to address road salt runoff in the Ausable River watershed. The study will assess current road salt application practices and develop a comprehensive plan to reduce usage through best management practices, such as brine application, live-edge plow technology, GPS monitoring and other operational strategies.

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Franklin County

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¯ Town of Tupper Lake: $600,000 through WQIP for construction of a salt storage facility next to the Highway Department Garage. The new structure will protect the water quality of Tupper Lake and groundwater.

¯ Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District: $131,100 through WQIP for an aquatic connectivity project to replace an undersized culvert on Collins Brook in the Town of Chateaugay. Replacing this culvert will improve aquatic habitats, stream connectivity and reduce downstream erosion.

More than $208 million was awarded to 131 projects statewide through DEC’s WQIP grant program. WQIP grants fund projects that directly improve water quality or habitat; promote flood risk reduction, restoration and enhanced flood and climate resiliency; or protect a drinking water source. A full list of grant awards can be found at dec.ny.gov/get-involved/grant-applications/wqip-program.

A total of $2.9 million was awarded to 44 projects through DEC’s NPG program to fund the initial planning of WQIPs, such as replacing undersized culverts, implementing green infrastructure and completing state permit-required storm sewer mapping in urban areas. NPG projects reduce the amount of polluted stormwater runoff entering lakes, rivers and streams, and improve resiliency against the impacts of climate change. A full list of grant awards can be found at dec.ny.gov/get-involved/grant-applications/non-agricultural-nonpoint-source-planning-ms4-mapping-grant.

In addition, $55 million in new grant funding was awarded to 24 climate resiliency projects in 15 communities statewide. EFC, in coordination with DEC, administers the RWG program funded through the Environmental Bond Act. RWG projects were selected to reflect the diverse, statewide issues that New Yorkers are facing and include stream and floodplain restoration; removal of dams, culverts and other barriers; culvert replacements; and property buyouts. The RWG program builds on the success of DEC’s Resilient NY, which delivers state-of-the-art studies of flood-prone, high-risk watersheds across the state. All awarded projects were recommended actions by Resilient NY studies or a comparable flood study. A full list of grant awards can be found at dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/water/water-quantity/resilient-ny.