Senators Schumer and Clinton Announce Final Congressional Passage of Millions in Funding for Central New York

Projects Include Onondaga Communication System, Northeast Air Defense Sector in Rome and Auburn Regional Bioenergy Enterprise

December 20, 2007 -- Washington, DC—Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton announced final Congressional approval of the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which includes funding for projects in Central New York such as the Onondaga County Interoperable Communication System, the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) in Rome, and the Auburn Regional Bioenergy Enterprise. The omnibus bill, having passed both houses of Congress will now go to the President to be signed into law.

“These projects are crucial to fueling economic growth across Central New York and for giving local residents top-notch services in education, law enforcement and health care,” said Senator Schumer. “By investing in these vital projects, we ensure that Central New York continues to lure new businesses and tourists to the region, while ensuring families have the first-class services they need.”

“These are important investments for the future of Central New York. Our environment, public safety and health care will all benefit from these funds,” said Senator Clinton. “I especially welcome funding for interoperable communications in Onondaga County. These improvements are critical for the safety and effectiveness of law enforcement and first responders in Central New York. I also welcome support for the Auburn Regional Bioenergy Enterprise, which will keep Central New York on the cutting edge of the alternative energy revolution, and funding for the Northeast Air Defense Sector in Rome, which is indispensable to our national security.”

Onondaga County will use the federal funds to improve the Interoperable Communications System for first responders in Syracuse and the surrounding areas. Funds will be used to replace incompatible 800MHz radio equipment to the proposed City-County UHF Trunked Land Mobile Radio Interoperable Communication System. Infrastructure equipment currently used to support two-way radio communications will not be consistent with equipment planned for the new first responder system that supports operations in the City of Syracuse and County of Onondaga. Onondaga County is in the process of building and planning to implement a trunked radio UHF Land Mobile Radio System. This system when implemented will embrace all first responders in the City of Syracuse and County of Onondaga. This project will consolidate all voice communications into one operational system.
The Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) requires a new Support facility to replace aging facilities, which are currently not co-located, and to improve force protection of assigned resources. This is a two-phase construction project with Phase I having been approved and supported with $3 million in FY 2006 military construction funding. The NEADS is located on the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome. Unit personnel are housed in three different locations. Relocating the Headquarters building inside the Sector Operations Control Center (SOCC) Compound and moving personnel from Depot 1 to this building will improve protection of NEADS personnel and facilities.

The Auburn Regional Bioenergy Enterprise will use federal funds to develop a new power source for the city of Auburn’s Waste Water Treatment Plant. The Engineering Feasibility study recommended that the city transition from sludge incineration which is Natural Gas dependent to a methane digester utilizing the technology of Europe to dispose of the wastewater treatment plant sludge, utilize existing landfill methane gas and converting this into electricity to operate the city’s wastewater treatment plant saving approximately $1.5 M operating costs per year and provide economic development power to industrial users at Technology Park.

The omnibus bill includes federal funds for the Revitalization and Redevelopment project of the Hamlet of Brewerton in the Town of Cicero. These funds will be the impetus for taking the long neglected area of the Brewerton waterfront and changing it to a thriving and bustling area. By doing so, significant new jobs would be created, property values would be greatly increased, and people in the northern suburbs of Onondaga County and southern suburbs of Oswego County would be able to enjoy a vibrant waterfront community.

Federal funds were also approved for the United Auto Workers Region 9 Training Initiative. This initiative will fund New Process Gear’s Competitive Employment Training Assistance program, which will train and educate existing employees in technologies to support the recently awarded Ford F150 transfer case and hypoid gear manufacturing. Employee training is vital for keeping and expanding jobs at this Syracuse, NY facility. Magna employs over 3,000 workers at this upstate NY facility.

The Omnibus Appropriations bill includes funding for the following projects for Central New York:

* Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) Facility, Rome - Construct NEADS Support Facility - $6.6 million
* Onondaga County, NY communications project - $1,410,000
* Onondaga County, Onondaga County, NY, for a County-City Interoperable Communications System - $446,500
* Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Syracuse – Upgrade Base Facilities - $5.1 million
* Syracuse VA Medical Center, Syracuse – Construction of Spinal Cord Injury Center - $23.8 million
* Regional Climate Centers, cooperative agreement with the National Climatic Data Center: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY - $3,572,000
* Utica College, NY Sex Offender Authentication Research Project - $705,000
* National Textile Center and Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation - $4,700,000
* Town of Cicero, NY, Hamlet of Brewerton, Downtown Revitalization - $764,400
* To address pollution in Onondaga Lake - $984,000
* Upper Delaware River Watershed for flood reduction - $688,800
* State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry – Northeastern State Research Cooperative - $639,860
* United Auto Workers Region 9 Training -- $286,898

Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

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