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Jacobs secures $5.5 million to protect thousands of jobs in Tonawanda

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Wed, May 16th 2018 09:10 pm
Monies will support public/private partnership to construct new water supply for industries
New York State Sen. Chris Jacobs announced he has secured $5.5 million for the Town of Tonawanda for a project to construct a new water system to supply several major employers along River Road.
Jacobs said these funds will support the town and local industries efforts to create a new source to deliver lake water for cooling purposes. The companies involved, located in the River Road corridor, are PeroxyChem, Sumitomo (formerly Dunlop), DuPont and 3M. In total, these companies employ more than 3,000 workers.
The need for a new water source stems from the closing of the Huntley Power Plant two years ago.
For decades, these industries accessed cooling water from the Huntley water intake, but, due to the power plant's closure, that source is no longer able to guarantee a long-term commitment to these industries. A dependable and affordable water sources is essential to all these companies.
Jacobs said the project will cost approximately $30 million, with the industries contributing approximately 50 percent of the costs.
"This is a true public-private partnership," he said. "This project will provide a dependable water source to these companies so they can invest, grow and provide thousands of good-paying jobs for years to come."
Additionally, these businesses pay millions in taxes to the local school district, town and the county. Jacobs said losing any of these businesses would be "devastating in so many ways."
Jacobs said the Senate funding he secured will come from a $120 million Senate infrastructure fund created in this year's state budget.
"This funding was one of my main goals in this year's state budget," he said.
In addition to Jacobs' $5.5 million, the town is attempting to secure a similar commitment from the State Assembly and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

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