Federal funding approved for Wesley Lake cleanup
$486,000 slated for post-Sandy debris removal
Federal funding in the amount of $486,000 for the removal of sediment from Wesley Lake [shown above], along with other funds for the cleanup of several Monmouth and Middlesex county waterways, was announced Monday by Congressman Frank Pallone’s office.
The money, which comes through the U. S. Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Protection [EWP] program, will fund 90 percent of the cleanup and restoration efforts from damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. The EWP program is designed to respond to watershed impairments caused by natural disasters, including removal of debris from lakes and streams, repair of undermined stream banks and damaged water control infrastructure, according to a news release from Pallone’s office.
Pallone was joined by Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider at Lake Takanassee for the announcement. More than $197,000 will be allocated to clean up Lake Takanassee for work to remove pieces of buildings, bulkheads, sediment and brush that were deposited into the lake as a result of the hurricane, the release stated.
“It is critical for New Jersey’s lakes and streams to be cleaned up and preserved after the damage wrought by Sandy,” said Pallone in the release.
Other Monmouth County projects approved for federal funds include $72,150 for stream bank stabilization and the removal of storm-downed trees and debris from Big Brook, Colts Brook and Milford Brook in Marlboro, and $50,000 for the clearing of downed trees and removal of sediment and debris from ditches, creeks and brooks in Union Beach, West Keansburg, Keansburg, Port Monmouth, Leonardo and Atlantic Highlands, the release stated.
In Middlesex County, $35,100 was approved for the removal of downed trees and debris from South Branch Rahway River in the vicinity of Gills Lane and Barbara Court in Woodbridge and $150,150 was approved for stabilization of eroded hillside and the removal of storm downed trees and debris from the vicinity of Water Street in Perth Amboy, the release stated.
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