FILES FOR DOWNLOAD
Environmental Assessment for Village of Millerton for Wastewater System Project and Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact, EPA No. N2025194

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Preliminary Finding of No Significant (FONSI) for public review and comment for 30 calendar days before making the decision on whether, and if so how, to proceed with a proposed action. The EA evaluated the issuance of a Community Grant award to the Village of Millerton for Wastewater System Project.

The project components would include construction of a new wastewater treatment plant associated infrastructure including installation of sewer mains, lateral connections, and a treated effluent discharge pipe into Webatuck creek. Congress appropriated $959,752 earmarked for the Village of Millerton under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 1187 – 122) to the Wastewater System Project.

EPA considered two alternatives for the Proposed Project: The Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative, which are analyzed in this EA pursuant to Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and EPA’s NEPA procedures under 40 CFR part 6. The EA did not identify significant effects to resources as a result of implementing either the Proposed Action or the No Action Alternative. However, EPA will consider public and agency comments prior to making its decision regarding implementation of the proposed project. After evaluating any comments received, EPA will make a final decision. The preliminary decision and finding will become final after the 30-day comment period expires if no new significant information is provided to alter this finding.

The Draft EA and Preliminary FONSI is available for download from EPA’s NEPA Compliance Database at https://cdxapps.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-II/public/action/nepa/details?nepaId=512842.

Questions and public comments may be sent to:
Mark Austin
Supervisor, Environmental Reviews and Strategic Programs Section
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2
290 Broadway, New York, NY 10007
Region2_EnvReviews@epa.gov
Comments must be received on or prior to July 18,2025

On December 19,  2024 when dark came to the Village of Millerton and the streetlights automatically illuminated, the light that came on was different. Instead of the eerie orange glow from the former high pressure sodium vapor lamps, this light came from LED diodes.  The project to convert all 138 light fixtures began a number of years ago and will result in lower electric bills for the Village, a higher quality of light for those in the Village and contribute to a significant drop in energy use. According to Mayor Jenn Najdek, “The Village is now paying Central Hudson about $600 per month for the streetlights instead of $2900.  That’s a savings of $27,000 for us per year.”

Volunteers Christine Bates, Laurie Kerr and Jennifer Dowley did extensive research on the viability of this project consulting government resources and several towns to find the most effective processes and vendors.  The Village of Millerton eventually contracted with Real Term Energy that finished the work in December. The new LED lights have an average lifespan of 25 years compared to  5 ½ years for the former high pressure sodium vapor ones.   Also, the quality of light from the new fixtures is significantly better – colors are bright and true.   They are also dark sky compliant because the lenses direct the light beam down where it’s needed rather than dispersing it into neighboring windows and the surrounding landscape. Controls on each fixture allow the lights to be monitored remotely for maintenance.

This project is a high impact Climate Smart action that will mean an estimated saving of 22,300 kWh of energy per year.  This is comparable to approximately 40,000 miles driven by a gas-powered car. Kathy Chow, Millerton’s Climate Smart Coordinator, stated: “This project is an important step in our community’s journey of reducing carbon emissions and building climate resiliency… beautifully.”

Millerton/North East Climate Smart Task Force
Contact:  Kathy Chow
845.233.1355

January 18, 2025

The NY SWIMS capital grant program awarded $6.385 million to the village to build a community pool, a bathhouse, community room and septic system at Eddie Collins Memorial Park.