Belford/Raritan Bay Dredging Gets $8 Million In Federal Cash

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — This week, U.S. Senator from New Jersey Cory Booker announced in this press release all the projects in the state that will receive funding from the $1.5 trillion appropriations bill just passed by Congress.

And included is $8 million for dredging of Shoal Harbor in the Belford section of Middletown.

Every two years or so, dredging is done in Sandy Hook Bay off Belford. The routine dredging keeps the water deep and navigable for recreational boaters and this area's commercial fishermen, who operate out of the Belford seafood co-op.

"Dredging projects are extremely expensive, so $8 million really isn’t at all surprising," said Middletown town administrator Anthony Mercantante.

The dredging will specifically be done in the area of Compton’s Creek in Belford. He also said NY Waterways, which runs the ferries nearby, stands to benefit.

"The seafood co-op shares that channel with the New York Waterways ferries, which serve thousands of commuters each week. So their operation will also be a beneficiary (of the dredging)," Mercantante explained.

He also said Compton's Creek has been filling up with an "incredible" amount of material — even getting into the upper reaches of Compton's Creek — since superstorms Irene and Sandy.

And the problem is getting worse.

"If you look at the above photo, which I took (in March) of 2018 (the Belford co-op is in the background) you can see the large amount of sandy-looking material that is in the creek, clearly reducing the volume capacity of the creek itself," said Mercantante. "This condition exists in most if not all of the creeks extending into Raritan/Sandy Hook Bay. Less volume in the creeks means more localized flooding, particularly at high tide combined with rain events."

Mercantante said he was not sure if this fresh infusion of $8 million in federal cash will extend into the upper reaches of Compton's Creek. But —

"If not, then another program needs to be considered," he said. "Middletown Township put this issue on the Dept. of Environmental Protection's radar many years ago. It is not an easy or inexpensive problem to solve, but one that is important to residents and the fishermen. We're hopeful we can get some relief."

Here are all the projects in the Middletown area that will get funding from the March 15 $1.5 trillion appropriations bill (These projects were recommended for federal funding in Washington by this area's Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ 6)):

• $1.5 million to rehabilitate the Perth Amboy historic Public Library, which was originally built in 1903 and requires critical renovations and upgrades to meet the current needs of the community.
• $450,000 to help the borough of Keyport elevate the existing bulkhead at Fireman’s Park to mitigate flooding events in its downtown Business District.
• $480,000 to hire additional researchers at the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Lab at Sandy Hook who will study the impacts of environmental change on marine habitats and fisheries in New Jersey. Funding will also be used to create lab space to host underserved student populations at Sandy Hook.
• $8 million for maintenance dredging of Shoal Harbor near the Belford section of Middletown that will bring much needed relief to local boaters, businesses, and community members that depend on safe and navigable waterways.
• $760,000 to assist New Brunswick in accelerating the completion of an important sewer line replacement project that will greatly improve the city's wastewater system and have a positive environmental impact on the region’s waterways.
• $420,874 to establish a Financial Opportunity Center in Perth Amboy through the United Way of Central Jersey, which will provide an integrated set of core services for families in need such as employment services, financial education and coaching, and access to income supports.
• $300,200 to support the Agricultural and Aquacultural Workforce Training Program at the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools to develop the next generation of farmers and fishermen.
• $2 million for a Health Monitoring and Telecommunications Training Center in Long Branch that will be used to renovate buildings for the purposes of transferring the Long Branch Health Department and other important health services to more adequate facilities as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• $450,000 for research on coastal community resilience conducted by Monmouth University in conjunction with Naval Weapons Station Earle that will help improve our understanding of coastal resiliency to combat extreme flooding and bad weather events.

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