New York board to mull Tappan Zee Bridge funding plan

ALBANY -- A New York state board is set to consider Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to use $511 million in loans from a clean water fund to help finance the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

The state's Environmental Facilities Corp. is scheduled to take up the proposal at a meeting Thursday.

The Democratic governor's plan has come under fire from environmental groups who say it's wrong to use funds for drinking water, sewage and other water projects for the $3.9 billion bridge project. The Environmental Protection Agency has called the proposed use of the funds "unconventional."

Cuomo says the loans will fund measures associated with the new bridge to protect the Hudson River and marine life.