Don’t forget us, Manville Mayor Angelo Corradino writes to members of the state’s Congressional delegation.
In a Jan. 15 letter, Mayor Corradino reminds legislators pushing for federal aid to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy that Manville has for years suffered from natural disasters, and that promises to study solving some of the causes are still unfunded.
As the tri-state area works to receive nearly $50 billion in disaster aid assistance, the mayor wrote, Manville and surrounding communities still are looking for more than $3.8 million in funds to complete a study of flooding in the Raritan and Millstone rivers drainage area.
It will help that the Millstone-Raritan Flood Control Commission was designated as a possible recipient in the Sandy disaster declaration, he wrote.
Since 1996, flooding along the Millstone and Raritan Rivers has been severe enough for seven disaster declarations, he said. Following Hurricane Floyd in 1999, a report completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommended a larger, more detailed study be done on the flooding. The study was established in March 2002 as the Millstone River Basin Flood Damage Reduction & Ecosystem Restoration Study at a cost of $6.8 million, to be evenly split between the state and federal governments.
”To date, almost 11 years later, the study still has not been completed and requires $3,846,719 in funding to be finished,” he said.
”I believe that it is extremely important that this study be completed before other studies are funded with the Superstorm Sandy aid,” the mayor wrote. “It is not our intent to deny aid to those in need, but, rather, we seek to be included in any available funding since we experienced the same devastation as the shore towns, not once, but several times.
”The Raritan and Millstone Rivers Flood Control Commission has seven involved communities (soon to be eight with Raritan Borough) as well as the County of Somerset, who stand firmly behind the completion of the study that is now in its 11th year. How much longer can we wait?” he asked.
The letter was sent to U.S. senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez and congressmen Rush Holt, Leonard Lance and Rodney P. Frelinghuysen.
Copies were sent to local, county and state representatives. The letter is printed on Page 8.

