Federal program for watershed protection nearing approval

Village of New Paltz trustees cast their lot in with Scenic Hudson leaders by formally supporting the New York-New Jersey Watershed Protection Act. Signing this bill into law would result in $50 million a year in federal grant money specifically for the Hudson estuary, which does not have the same level of financial support as similar major watersheds around the country. Nonprofits like Scenic Hudson, as well as local municipal governments and colleges, could be awarded grant money for programs that would provide or improve access to bodies of water as well as clean drinking water.