Pascrell Announces $1.9M Federal Grant for Superstorm Sandy Recovery

Funding to help restore Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission property damaged during hurricane

PATERSON, NJ – One week after announcing a $1.1 million Sandy recovery grant for the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC), U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) announced today the awarding of a $1,969,914.57 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to New Jersey which will be used to restore even more PVSC properties damaged by the 2012 hurricane. The funding, made available under the Robert T. Stafford Act, will provide for the repair of facilities still not at full capacity since the superstorm.

“I have said it before and I will say it again: Wastewater treatment facilities like PVSC are pivotal in the preservation of our environment here in northern New Jersey and throughout the country. Their recovery must continue to remain a priority,” said Rep. Pascrell.  “Until PVSC fully recovers from the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy, I will not stop fighting for federal support like this.”

Since 2012, Rep. Pascrell has fought continuously for federal support to aid in New Jersey’s recovery from Hurricane Sandy. Last fall, he introduced disaster tax relief legislation to provide aid to those recovering in the aftermath of natural disasters. In the days following the storm, he wrote to FEMA Regional Administrator Lynn Canton urging the agency to provide resources to PVSC in order to assist in resuming operations.

Hurricane Sandy caused severe flooding to PVSC’s Wastewater Treatment Plant including the Grit and Screening Facility (Facility).  The Facility is located at the beginning of the sewage treatment process center and it serves to remove the large solids from the wastewater.  The Facility, built in 1976, is a one-story brick and masonry building structure with two basement levels and two sewage influent structures.  Damages occurred to the exterior of the building, the first floor and the upper and lower basement levels.

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