Rep. Watson Coleman Announces $496 Million in Infrastructure Spending to Complete Green Brook Sub Basin Flood Control Project
Project that has languished for decades due to insufficient federal funding will now see a significant increase following pressure from Watson Coleman
Today, the Biden Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) announced $496 million in disaster supplemental funding to complete the Green Brook Sub Basin Flood Control Project. This new funding is in addition to $261 million previously allocated.
In October 2021, following devastating flooding from Hurricane Ida and a visit to the region by President Biden, Congresswoman Watson Coleman wrote a letter to President Biden; Lieutenant General Scott Spellmon, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young requesting greater funding be allocated to accelerate completion of the Green Brook Sub Basin Army Corps Project. Completion of the project, which started in 1973 following deadly flooding, has been delayed for decades by insufficient federal funding.
The letter emphasized the importance of “not only repairing the damage sustained by existing flood protection projects, but also accelerating unfinished or new projects to ensure that our communities can withstand these worsening natural disasters.”
Completion of the project has been a priority of Rep. Watson Coleman, a member of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations.
“While it is of utmost importance to fight the causes of climate change, it is also necessary to mitigate the impacts of climate change that are already occurring,” said Watson Coleman. “The deadly floods in Central Jersey last summer show how climate change can devastate communities that were already at risk. I’m grateful that President Biden, the Army Corps of Engineers and the OMB have taken the step to provide the funds necessary to complete this project and help prevent future damage and loss of life.”
“As New Jersey continues to experience increased rainfall, extreme weather events, and flooding, we must do everything possible to plan and prepare for the impacts of climate change, including through continued investments in major infrastructure projects that will help protect lives and property,” said Shawn M. LaTourette, New Jersey’s Commissioner of Environmental Protection. “The DEP is grateful to our federal partners at the United States Army Corp of Engineers and for the advocacy of Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, which will accelerate the completion of the critically needed Green Brook Flood Control Project, and enhancing the resilience for communities in three counties and 13 municipalities that continually experience severe and even catastrophic flood damage.”
The funds for the project came the 2022 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. Approximately $14 Billion will be invested in projects around the country to strengthen port and waterway supply chains and to bolster climate resilience.