A motorist drives through flooding along 1st Street in Hoboken during heavy rains from remnants of Hurricane Ida on Sept. 1, 2021. Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media
New Jersey municipalities will share $39.35 million in federal funds to protect against flooding under two programs designed to combat climate change.
The funding is part of $1 billion allocated Monday from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities and Flood Mitigation Assistance programs, and both got a boost from President Joe Biden’s administration and his $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law.
“Communities across our nation are experiencing first-hand the devastating impacts of climate change and the related extreme weather events that follow — more energized hurricanes with deadlier storm surges, increased flooding, and a wildfire season that has become a year-long threat,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Criswell, who made the announcement in Miami with Vice President Kamala Harris, said the funding would “help to ensure that our most vulnerable communities are not left behind, with hundreds of millions of dollars ultimately going directly to the communities that need it most.”
Here are the New Jersey projects receiving allocations:
Atlantic City — $5.12 million to improve the Baltic Avenue Canal, making it capable of handling stormwater runoff and decreasing flooding in a city ravaged during Hurricane Sandy.
Bayonne — $2.21 million for new catch basins, a new stormwater storage system underneath the Oil Cottage Street Park, and increased combined sewer pipes.
In addition, there is $4.46 million to provide a backup power source to the 63rd Street Pumping Station, which suffers from power losses and therefore cannot prevent flooding.
Cranford — $3.67 million, to raise buildings along Rahway River in flood-prone areas, including 14 properties that have been damaged several times.
Newark — $10.58 million to set up a central community center at the Ann Street School to provide information for residents of the Ironbound neighborhood in case of flooding or other natural disasters. The Ironbound Resiliency Hub also would include an emergency safe room and shelter in case residents need to flee their homes. To keep the power on, the school will have a solar array and microgrid.
Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal — $2 million to elevate the electrical and mechanical equipment in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Building 111, the primary pump station for water and fire suppression systems at the Marine Terminal. Building 111 is a single open space housing all of the pumps, with separate control, electrical equipment, generator, and fuel tanks in the northeast corner of the building. The building is located in an area at risk for flooding.
Rutherford — $4.56 million to protect the existing Bergen County Utilities Authority Joint Meeting Pump Station, which is located in both 100- and 500-year flood zones. The money will erect a new 5-foot-high, 294-foot long flood wall with a stormwater pump station to protect the existing facility, which suffered minor damage during Hurricane Sandy due to the loss of power and flooding from wastewater backup.
Somerset County — $6.75 million to buy 16 homes located in areas that often flood, including during Hurricane Ida. The owners volunteered to sell the properties, which will be torn down and the land remain undeveloped. Seven of the homes have substantial damage and 13 have had repeated damage from flooding.
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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant.
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