EPA Awards $66.6M For Cedar Grove Reservoir, Parkway Water Mains

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A pair of Essex County agencies will get $66.6 million for important water infrastructure projects as part of a wave of funding in New Jersey from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPA recently announced that it will award nearly $84.5 million to New Jersey to help finance water infrastructure projects that are “essential to protecting public health and the environment.” The funds will primarily be used to upgrade wastewater and drinking water systems throughout the state.

Essex County awardees included:

• $62.7 million to the City of Newark to construct a protective cover for the Cedar Grove Reservoir
• $3.9 million to the East Orange Water Commission to replace 15 water mains on Garden State Parkway bridges

The EPA awarded $65,589,000 to the New Jersey Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program and $18,957,000 to the New Jersey Drinking Water Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program. These two programs are administrated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and its financing program, the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank.

Those awards, plus a 20% state match and repayments from prior CWSRF and DWSRF loans, combined with interest earnings and bond issuances, will enable the financing of up to approximately $450 million of clean water and drinking water infrastructure projects in New Jersey, the EPA stated.

Based on estimates from the U.S. Water Alliance, New Jersey’s CWSRF and DWSRF programs have the potential to create approximately 7,000 jobs, the EPA added.

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