County Executive Rob Astorino and the Northern Westchester Watershed Committee announced [1] a major inter-municipal agreement with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection that will cut the time it takes to complete $10 million in clean water projects

Westchester and local officials announced the agreement on Tuesday.The new agreement [2] covers 10 northern Westchester towns and is expected to reduce project waits by streamlining approvals through a single management process. The ten towns that entered into the agreement are Bedford, Cortlandt, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, New Castle, North Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Somers and Yorktown.

"This agreement shows how different levels of government can and should work together to deliver services faster, better and cheaper; this is good government at work," Astorino said.

The towns are planning [3] watershed improvements to keep runoff and sediment from entering the waterways around the Croton Reservoir, but approvals from Westchester County no longer will be necessary for the work.

The projects, which include building swales, ponds, filters and other buffers to keep the reservoir system clean, will not have to go through the Westchester County Planning Department and the county's legislative process.