October 15, 2026
FROM SENATOR SCHUMER’S OFFICE: U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced $1,400,000 through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for Chemung County’s Sewer Improvement for Economic Growth project. This federal investment will support the development of 4,500 linear feet of sewer main to expand system capacity, improve reliability, and support new industrial and commercial growth in the Village of Horseheads and Chemung County. “I’m proud to deliver $1.4 million from my Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law to improve wastewater infrastructure in Chemung County. This new investment builds on millions I’ve previously secured by helping develop thousands of feet of sewer main to expand system capacity and support new economic growth in Horseheads and the entire county,” said Senator Schumer. “I will never stop fighting to secure infrastructure investments, support business and economic growth, and keep Upstate New Yorkers safe and healthy.”
Schumer explained these federal funds will help complete critical wastewater infrastructure improvements at the Southern Tier Logistics Business Park in the Village of Horseheads, ensuring reliable, resilient, and environmentally compliant sewer service for current and future employers. The project includes constructing and rehabilitating sewer mains, installing new manholes, building a modern pump station, and restoring abandoned lines to support the site’s redevelopment from a former military depot into a competitive manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics hub. These enhancements will expand sewer capacity, strengthen business park readiness for advanced industry investment, and support economic growth throughout the Southern Tier. Construction is expected to take three years.
Schumer has a long history of supporting water system improvements in Chemung County. In 2024, he delivered an unprecedented $200 million in federal funding for water system improvements to modernize and expand the Milton Street Wastewater Treatment Plant and support the County’s ongoing efforts to install new equipment, increase treatment capacity to stop sewer overflows, and construct cost-effective wastewater improvements to ensure the facility’s compliance with federal and state requirements. In addition, Schumer delivered $1 million to consolidate two wastewater treatment plants, Milton Street and Lake Street, into a single, regional treatment facility in the fiscal year 2023 federal budget.
In 2021, Schumer negotiated and secured $1 billion for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Law, to be dispersed over five years, starting with $200 million in fiscal year 2022. This significant boost in funding has been used to support economic development, infrastructure, workforce, and other community development projects as well as programs intended to improve the quality of life, stimulate business growth, and create good-paying job opportunities in local communities like those in the Southern Tier and Western New York.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is an economic development partnership agency of the federal government and 13 state governments, focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community, capacity, and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia. New York State receives an allocation of resources from the ARC each year to fund area development in NYS’s 14-county Appalachian Region. The New York counties are represented by one of three Local Development Districts: Southern Tier West (STW) based in Salamanca, NY and comprised of Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties; Southern Tier Central (STC) based in Corning, NY and comprised of Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben counties; and Southern Tier 8 in Binghamton, NY and comprised of Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga, and Tompkins counties.
FROM REP. LANGWORTHY’S OFFICE: Congressman Nick Langworthy today announced that Chemung County has been awarded a $1.4 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to improve wastewater infrastructure at the Southern Tier Logistics Business Park in the Village of Horseheads. Combined with $1.4 million in state funding, the project represents a total investment of $2.8 million in critical infrastructure to support future business and industrial growth. The project will fund the construction and rehabilitation of approximately 4,500 linear feet of sewer main, installation of new manholes, construction of a modern pump station and restoration of abandoned sewer lines. These improvements will expand system capacity, improve reliability and ensure the business park can provide dependable, environmentally compliant wastewater service for current and future employers. The upgrades will help prepare the former military depot site for redevelopment as a manufacturing, warehousing and logistics hub, strengthening its ability to attract new investment and support economic growth throughout Chemung County and the Southern Tier. Construction is expected to take three years, after which the Chemung County Sewer District will own and maintain the upgraded system. “This significant $1.4 million investment will make critical sewer improvements that are necessary for the Southern Tier Logistics Business Park to continue the redevelopment of the former Holding Point military depot. We can’t expect to attract jobs and economic development if we don’t have the public infrastructure to support the growth and that’s why I’ve been so focused on securing federal dollars to help position projects like this one. By helping prepare this property for development, we are paving the way for new private investments in manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics to strengthen the Southern Tier’s long-term economic future.”
