The New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the Environmental Facilities Corp. are planning to direct state monies away from new suburban developments and toward cities with aging sewer systems, according to the Albany Times-Union. The shift should help spur smart-growth development, while also helping to revitalize older downtowns.

Most of the state's aging sewers discharge polluting effluent into the environment.New York State distributes about five hundred million dollars per year to local governments for sewer projects through the 16 year-old Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, in the form of low-interest loans and grants.

The system for rewarding these funds will be reworked to prioritize existing infrastructure, high-density land use planning and energy-efficient technologies, according to DEC.

More than a third of the 22,000-plus miles of sewer pipe in the state are over 60 years old and about 400 of our 600 municipal sewage treatment plants lack budgets for long-term repairs. Many older towns and cities have systems that convey wastewater and storm water through a single pipeline. These systems are designed to overflow during periods of heavy precipitation, discharging directly into streams, rivers and lakes.