By JIMMY LAWTON

North Country This Week

OGENSBURG -- Ogdensburg accepted a $1 million grant and a loan of up to $3,890,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture Monday.

The funding package provides more opportunity for the city to finance its wastewater treatment plant project which began in 2016.

It is unclear at this point how much of the loan the city will use, but City Manager Sarah Purdy says this grant allows the city to cover financing for the project.

The massive $35 million overhaul of the plant is bringing the WWTP up-to-date. Due to the high cost, the city had delayed investment at the plant for decades.

The Development Authority of the North Country is handling the engineering and oversight of the project on behalf of the city.

Equipment in the plant was 40 to 50 years old and had become costly to maintain and dangerous for staff and the city in general, according to consultants.

Part of the project will be installation of a mandated 800,000-gallon equalization tank required by the DEC. The tank will capture and store combined storm and sewer overflow during peak flow conditions, thereby improving water quality in the St. Lawrence River.

The multi-year project is expected to wrap up in 2020.