“This represents a major milestone,” said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin.
The state of New Jersey is cranking up funding for critical water infrastructure, much of it damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
Up to $1.94 billion in state financing will be available under a bill signed by Governor Christie this week.
Local governments and public and private utilities can apply for low-interest loans to fund nearly 280 projects across the state. A minimum of $600 million in loans is available this fiscal year. Senator Bob Smith, who co-sponsored the bill, says that’s around three times the usual amount.
“I think that part of that is due to the fact that about $250 million of it is federal money. So we’ve been able to up the amount of funding to improve water and sewage systems,” said Smith.
Some drinking water and waste water systems we use today date back to the 19th century. Lawmakers, Department of Environmental Protection officials and environmental groups say the hardware and technology are in desperate need of a reboot.
“You’ve got potential public health issues, but you’ve also got the cost of operating and maintaining it and when that breaks, a break typically cost you three times what it would cost to replace it because you’re doing 24/7 manual labor on it, you’re rushing projects, you’re rushing freight,” said the Executive Director for the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust David Zimmer.
And with 130 miles of coastline, New Jersey is vulnerable to storm surges.
This pump station is one of 100 water treatment plants in the state crippled by Hurricane Sandy. The storm damaged $2.6 billion worth of drinking and waste water infrastructure damage statewide.
Martin says the underground caverns of this pump station were flooded when he visited on November 5, 2010 with he visited withFEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. One question on their minds: How do we plan for the next Sandy?
“How do we lay out long-term plans to build flood walls around this place? How do we elevate the electrical components of this place? How do we replace the pumps, how do we protect for the future?” he said.
It’s one project that will benefit from the legislation — $185 million goes to the Middlesex County Utilities Authority to restore the Sayreville and Edison pump stations. Additionally, $72 million will go towards the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority in Union Beach, $33 million for a sea wall at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority treatment plant and $16 million to build wet weather pumping stations and and nearly twice that much for storm water projects in Hoboken.
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