EPA to Give Over Half Billion in Funding to Improve NY and NJ Facilities Ravaged by Hurricane Sandy
US Navy pumping overflow sewage in New York Harbor post-Hurricane Sandy (Courtesy of U.S. Navy/Flickr)
Hurricane Sandy caused substantial damage to wastewater and drinking water treatment systems across the tri-state area. Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to provide a total of $569 million to New York and New Jersey to make wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities more resilient to withstand the effects of future storms. As Michael Shapiro, EPA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, pointed out in a media call, “Sewage treatment plants are on the waterfront so are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.” The funding will be provided through grants to states that will then be distributed primarily to local communities as low or no interest loans.
“Going forward we’re encouraging local governments to submit proposals for green infrastructure and that rely on natural features to prevent flooding,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck in an announcement.
The agency also anticipates that this funding will result in 6,000 short-term construction jobs.
President Obama is expected to announce Gina McCarthy (above, right) as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency and Ernest Moniz (above, left) as the Secretary of Energy. McCarthy now serves as an assistant administrator at the EPA where she oversees regulating air pollution, including helping to double fuel-efficiency standards for cars, according to NPR. Moniz is currently a nuclear physicist at MIT, where he directs the university’s Energy Initiative, according to the Washington Post. He has been a proponent of alternative energy sources, but some environmentalists are wary of his support for natural gas and “fracking.” (Photo: Courtesy MIT / EPA)
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