BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- LaBella Associates, D.P.C. will conduct an evaluation of the water treatment plan for a proposed hydrogen production facility in the town of Massena.

Village officials signed off on the deal during the board's Dec. 19 meeting, saying the green hydrogen production facility, which will be owned and operated by Air Products, will need to meet strict regulations.

The village was recently awarded an Empire State Development grant for $38,500 to help cover the cost of the $77,000 study.

Mayor Greg Paquin said the grant funding will be used to evaluate the village's water treatment facilities and water tower, which LaBella will assist with.

That process will help speed along development of the green hydrogen facility in the coming months, officials say.

The facility, which will inhabit over 84 acres on Pontoon Bridge Road, is in the planning stages currently, however land clearing has been underway for some time now with lumber being removed from the site.

Department of Public Works Superintendent Marty Miller said a verbal agreement will suffice in the meantime for the water treatment plant assessment.

Miller said he currently has to submit paperwork back to ESD but once they send the incentive proposal to Mayor Paquin for his signature, the agreement with LaBella can be signed.

"Because of time being of the essence with Air Products and their engineering firm, we’re hoping they can work together and expedite this with the piping from the intake to the plant,” Miller said.

The study moving forward is welcome news to Massena with Air Products saying the facility will create a few hundred jobs during the construction phase and 90 or so jobs when it becomes operational.

Construction is expected to begin this spring with interior work slated for winter 2024, according to Air Products officials.

If all goes according to plan, the facility should be online by the first quarter of 2027.

Village officials previously signed an agreement with Air Products to supply Air Products with some water that will net the village $300,000 per year.

The process to create green hydrogen will require 1 to 1.2 million gallons of water daily, according to officials.