TRENTON, NJ, Feb. 24, 2014 -- The New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust (NJEIT), working in partnership with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), has closed on its first-ever disaster-emergency bridge loan -- a $2.95-million package that will pay for the replacement and relocation of a sewage pumping station at Monmouth County's Lake Como damaged by Superstorm Sandy, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin announced today.
The Christie Administration has developed the Statewide Assistance Infrastructure Loan (SAIL) Program to provide operators of water treatment and wastewater infrastructure with low-interest, short-term bridge loans in anticipation of federal disaster aid, allowing work on these critical projects to move forward. This is the first time, the state has created a program that provides money to local communities up front to expedite work prior to the release of federal government grant funds.
Teams from the DEP and the NJEIT, which is an independent state financing authority, are working in cooperation with personnel from the South Monmouth Regional Sewerage Authority (SMRSA) to replace and relocate the sewer pump station at Lake Como. "Sandy severely strained our water and sewer infrastructure, causing serious disruptions to these critical services across the state," Martin said. "The SAIL program gives operators of this infrastructure the financial tool they need to continue implementing recovery measures and to take steps to make these plants stronger and more resilient." The DEP is targeting other federal funding sources and leveraging state dollars to address the state's estimated $2.6 billion in unmet water and wastewater infrastructure needs. The state is also combining federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state dollars to create a $1-billion fund for water infrastructure loans and grants that will help rebuild and harden facilities, such as those run by the Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority and Middlesex County Utilities Authority, as well as other water supply and wastewater agencies affected by Sandy."NYC wastewater treatment plants receive significant repairs, improvements after Hurricane Sandy"
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