Trustees received an update this afternoon from County Director of Planning, Frank Pace, and Department of Public Works Superintendent Thomas Compo, from the Village of Lowville, on the status of the infrastructure upgrades that will be needed in the village in order to accommodate the expansion that Kraft Heinz has planned. The village wastewater treatment facility will need an extensive upgrade. The current plant is permitted to handle 1.8 million gallons of sewage per day. Kraft Heinz is permitted to send 750,000 gallons per day through the system and, as of March 1st this will be increased to 800,000 gallons per day, The rest of the village sends on average 350,000 - 400,000 gallons through the system each day, taking the total to around 1.2 million gallons. Kraft Heinz has requested an increase to 1.2 million gallons per day by September and 3 million gallons per day in the long term after the expansion is completed. The Village of Lowville has been working on acquiring the funding needed to complete an upgrade on a system that dates back to the 1930s. The Five Streets Project that the village has presented as some of the oldest infrastructure on the system includes Park Avenue, Water Street, Shady Avenue, Trinity Avenue and Stowe Street. The estimated $17.7 million project would upgrade water and sewer lines and qualifies for 0% interest, 30 year loans from the state Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC). Up to $5 million of the cost can be awarded in a grant that has been applied for. A new treatment facility that would handle 4 million gallons of sewage per day is going to cost an additional $37 million. The new facility would use anaerobic digestion and would be able to increase capacity in the future by adding additional digesters. A digester could be added at the current facility in the interim to alleviate any capacity issues while the new facility is built, which would take about two years. The self contained, closed loop system would produce methane, which in turn would be turned into electricity to power the facility in the long term. Other interim options are being considered to obtain the most capacity on the current system until a new facility is online. No commitments have been secured for funding yet, but the view has shifted that the project is more regional and not just for the benefit of the village, which could help with additional sources. County officials have brought the urgency of the project to the attention of state officials recently. The Kraft Heinz plant in Lowville employs 343 people currently. Of that, 277 reside in Lewis County, with 106 of those residing in the Village of Lowville. Other employees reside in Jefferson, Oneida and St. Lawrence counties. The board was told that the new string cheese line Kraft Heinz has planned with their expansion will add 125 jobs over the next five years, with an additional 25 jobs expected with increased cream cheese production. These jobs would add an estimated $9.4 million in salaries to the region annually. The year long construction project at Kraft Heinz is expected to employ 139 workers. |
| Kraft Heinz Expansion Project Will Require Additional Infrastructure Upgrades in Lowville 02/09/16 08:45pm |
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Village of Lowville Wastewater Treatment Facility Plan With Four Digesters