New York homeowners can get $25,000 septic system rebates

Septic rebate eligibility expanded to 100+ priority Adirondack rivers and lakes

By Zachary Matson

State officials earlier this week cheered a $30 million boost to the state’s septic system replacement fund as Gov. Kathy Hochul also signed legislation increasing reimbursement rates for homeowners who upgrade their systems.

The new law, which Hochul signed on Wednesday, would enable homeowners to be reimbursed for 75% of the cost of installing an advanced septic system designed to reduce phosphorus, nitrogen and other pollution to nearby waterways. The reimbursements are capped at $25,000.

$30 million increase addresses regional needs

Separately, Hochul announced a $30 million increase to the existing replacement fund, which also provides reimbursements up to $10,000 per homeowner for 50% of the cost of a conventional septic system.

“Access to clean water is a basic right, and communities from Montauk to Buffalo deserve safe, reliable water infrastructure,” Hochul said during a signing event on Long Island. Up to  $20 million of the new investments are targeted for Long Island, where failing septic systems pose a major threat to that region’s sole source aquifer.

Failing septics are also a major issue for Adirondack waters and one that park advocates have pressed state officials to address with more investment and more robust reimbursement rates for homeowners taking on the costly upgrades. Pollutants leaching out of old septic systems exacerbate harmful algal blooms and threaten drinking water supplies. 

“Failing septic systems are widespread throughout the park,” David Miller, clean water advocate at the Adirondack Council, said during a presentation to Adirondack lake association members last month.

Program expansion and eligibility

To qualify for the septic reimbursement funds, property owners must live near an eligible waterbody. Counties are distributed a chunk of the reimbursement funds and administer the program at a local level. Last summer the state dramatically increased the number of eligible waterbodies, but demand for the funding still outpaces the supply, and water quality advocates say the need to overhaul old systems is widespread.

The water quality program last year expanded from around a dozen eligible Adirondack lakes and rivers the prior year, focused in the Lake Champlain and Lake George watersheds, to over 100 parkwide.

The Department of Environmental Conservation last year changed eligibility to include drinking water sources and unclassified water bodies within the forest preserve, significantly boosting the number of areas in the park that qualified. Counties have the flexibility to set varied reimbursement rates within those levels to maximize program participation or meet pollution targets. Counties had not yet been notified about their specific funding levels, according to the DEC.

Photo at top: Brant Lake on May 16, 2020. Brant Lake was one of dozens around the park that were included in the septic replacement program last year.
Photo by Gwendolyn Craig