State oversteps bounds on bridge funding
Talk about gall.
An obscure but mighty powerful state board has decided it's OK for New York to borrow from a federally funded program supposed to be used for water-quality improvement projects, such financing upgrades to local sewer systems.
Trouble is, the $255.7 million loan in question is going to go to state Thruway Authority to pay for the massive Tappan Zee Bridge project.
It's a total misuse of these funds – one that reprehensibly was made with no public hearings or public input. Just as bad, it could prove shortsighted and come back to haunt the state.
No wonder environmental groups were outraged by the decision, but, more to the point, the federal Environmental Protection Agency frowned upon the state taking this action without far more consideration. Whether the EPA moves to take back the funds remains to be seen.
"A raid is a raid, and a quarter billion dollars in public money should not be bandied about behind closed doors without proper public scrutiny and oversight," said Peter Iwanowicz, Environmental Advocates of New York. "Gov. Cuomo knows the federal government can and will very likely claw back any portion of this raid that does not meet the strict standards of their intended purposes." Indeed, this bears watching. In fact, the area's most powerful EPA official has questioned why the state didn't do more to engage federal regulators before authorizing the loan and says the agency is performing a "very careful review" to determine if the move complies with federal law.
Yes, the state Public Authorities Control Board did mitigate its decision. It was originally asked to authorize a $511 million loan for the estimated $3.9 billion Tappan Zee Bridge project. It opted to go only halfway, saying the money would be used for environmental concerns, such as dredging the Hudson River near the construction site and disposing the dredged material.
But one of the board members, Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, has said the state Thruway Authority should provide a full financing plan for the bridge project – and so far one has not materialized. This too is highly problematic.
The Cuomo administration has been adamant that a new span across the Hudson River is needed.
The federal government has deemed the bridge "functionally obsolete" and soon to be "structurally deficient." The bridge provides a vital link for those using the state Thruway and connecting to other parts of the interstate system
But the state's decision to borrow money from the environmental fund is a bad precedent and one that New York may regret making in the long run.