New York taxpayers stand to gain at least $2.2 billion from the bad behavior of French bank BNP Paribas.

BNP Paribas admitted in state court that it had hidden billions of dollars in transfers to New York banks from entities in Sudan, Cuba and Iran – in effect allowing the bank and its customers to get around U.S. trade sanctions with those countries. New York will receive a quarter of the bank’s $8.9 billion settlement.

How, then, should that money be used?

It shouldn’t be used for any recurring costs like school aid or tax cuts. The state Legislature has enough of a problem handling the structural budget issues that already exist in its budget. Using the BNP Paribas settlement for more one-shot fixes to the state’s budget issues only creates problems for the future. Besides, there are needs in New York other than lowering taxes.

We would suggest using the money on infrastructure projects. Municipalities throughout the state are barely keeping up with infrastructure work that has to be done and falling behind on actually improving infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the state needs $27 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs and $29.7 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs over the next two decades while 12.5 percent of the state’s 17,420 bridges are considered structurally obsolete. Another 27.1 percent of the state’s bridges are considered functionally obsolete. The fact that 60 percent of the state’s roads are graded in poor or mediocre condition costs New York drivers $4.551 billion a year – or an average of $403 for each motorist.

Chautauqua County, too, has serious infrastructure needs. Chautauqua Lake would benefit immensely from a unified sewer district that runs all the way around the lake. Residents in the north county have serious water needs that could be helped by a north county water treatment system – but that will come at a hefty cost. Smaller towns and villages like Forestville, Cherry Creek, Busti and Ellicott have undergone water projects in recent years, and we all remember the role the lack of infrastructure played in Saturn Petcare pulling out of a planned project in Ashville.

State legislators should find a way to use this unexpected windfall from BNP Paribas to begin fixing this infrastructure disaster. And, they should do it in such a way that the money is dispersed somewhat evenly throughout the state.