FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

LEWISTON—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has created a $19 million capital improvement fund for the Niagara Falls Water Board as part of a settlement agreement related to NYPA’s receipt of a new 50-year federal license for the Niagara Power Project. 

The Water Board will manage and administer the fund, which will be used for capital improvements to minimize groundwater flow into the Falls Street Tunnel. 

The improvements to the tunnel in the area of the NYPA conduits that carry water to the Niagara project will include construction shafts, sediment removal, repair to an existing seven-foot diameter concrete pipe, slip-lined rock-tunnel lining and other measures. The fund will also cover related maintenance and repair costs incurred by the Water Board over the term of the power plant license. 

The fund is part of more than $1 billion in financial support and other benefits that NYPA will provide in Western New York over the term of the Niagara project’s new license under various settlement agreements.

About NYPA:

■    NYPA uses no tax money or state credit.  It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity.  ■    NYPA is a leader in promoting energy-efficiency, new energy technologies and electric transportation initiatives.  ■    It is the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines.

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