Gloucester Township Officials Expect to Absorb Most of the Cost of Cleanup From June 23 Storm

Gloucester Township residents continue the cleanup of their properties following the June 23 storm that devastated Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties.

“I’ve been here for 26 years and I consider that to be the worst natural disaster we’ve ever faced,” Gloucester Township Business Administrator Tom Cardiss said during Monday night’s council meeting. “People are continuing to bring the brush out of their backyards. What we took in the first round was mostly stuff out of the front yards, and it’s unbelievable the amount of brush people are picking up.”

Township officials said that although they don’t have a total expected cost for cleanup following the “downburst”, they do expect the township to absorb most of the cost.

In July, President Barack Obama approved federal aid to help South Jersey communities recover from the storm, saying “a major disaster exists in New Jersey.”

However, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allows communities to recover some of the cost, Cardiss said the township will absorb most of the financial damage.

Once the final amount is known, township officials will share that number with residents, Council President Glenn Bianchini said. A bid will also be submitted to FEMA.

Camden County has already estimated it suffered about $4 million in damages, with the four counties affected the most estimating the damage to be about $15 million.

Federal funds are available for state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storm that hit Atlantic, Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.

Funding is also available for statewide hazard mitigation.

All funding is available on a cost-sharing basis.

Additional funds may become available if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessment.