UNION BEACH — The Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority (BRSA) will receive nearly $2.5 million in additional funding to repair facilities damaged during superstorm Sandy.
The funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be allocated to repairs for the wastewater treatment plant’s blower buildings, according to Executive Director Robert Fischer.
“When we began to repair these buildings, we realized that it would probably make more sense to take all of the equipment out of the one building, put it into the second building and combine it, and protect just that one combined building,” Fischer said.
The other building would be used as much-needed storage and designed to allow floodwaters to enter without damaging the equipment stored inside, he added.
The cost of repairing and protecting both buildings from future storms would have amounted to about $4 million, Fischer said. Instead, the total cost of the repairs will be $2.5 million, and a storage facility will not have to be constructed in the future.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) announced the $2,473,024 in FEMA funds on April 20, stating that the repairs are vital to the plant’s operations.
“Sandy severely damaged critical components of infrastructure at BRSA, and this grant will help make necessary repairs still affecting the Bayshore’s sewerage system,” Pallone said in a statement. “I am pleased to see grant money continuing to come in to help BRSA with a full recovery from the storm, and I will continue to work to see that they receive the funds they need.”
The blower building repairs are part of a four-contract, $42.8 million restoration and mitigation project for 12 buildings damaged at the plant during superstorm Sandy, when the 14-acre facility on Oak Street in Union Beach was inundated with 3 feet of water from the Raritan Bay.
In addition to the blower building, the facility’s incinerator building and sludge pumps, as well as various authority buildings, are included in the project.
The $16.45 million incinerator project was awarded to Stone Hill Contracting in February. According to Fischer, the kick-off meeting for the construction on that building was held on April 22.
The $3.3 million pump station contract was awarded on April 20 to Northeast Remsco Construction. An additional contract for various authority buildings was awarded to Shorelands Construction for $1.1 million.
In addition, the plant has requested proposals for engineering plans to raise the electrical power distribution system, Fischer said.
“It doesn’t make sense to protect all these buildings and then leave your electric wide open,” he said. “So we’re going to elevate that equipment to protect it as well, and that is the final project.”
Despite the needed repairs and upgrades, the wastewater treatment facility is currently operating at full capacity, Fischer said.
More than two years after Sandy, seeing the projects come to life may be a relief, but the hard work isn’t behind the plant yet.
“We don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel yet, but it will feel good when we do,” Fischer said. “It’s been pretty busy, but the guys are working hard and things are moving along nicely.”
The BRSA will be reimbursed the $42.8 million total cost by FEMA when the projects are completed. The plant is financing the cost through the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust (NJEIT) Statewide Assistance Infrastructure Loan program, known as SAIL, which provides the loans at interest rates as low as 0.69 percent.
NJEIT, an independent financing agency partnered with the DEP, is working alongside entities that supply water and treat wastewater to identify and finance repairs and mitigation projects throughout the state.