Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11) today welcomed inclusion of $1 million in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2013 Budget for the Passaic River “Mainstem” project. 

“Because our area is all too familiar with damaging floods, mitigating these conditions remains a top priority of mine,” said Frelinghuysen.  “This funding is vitally important to our residents and businesses and I commend the President for responding to my request to make the Passaic River basin a ‘Presidential priority’. While the President’s budget overall is a non-starter, this is one of the provisions that is worthy of support,” he said.

This additional funding will be used to execute an agreement between the State of New Jersey and the Army Corps of Engineers to begin to evaluate options to lessen the impact of storm events.  In addition, the Army Corps of Engineers announced last week that it had included an additional $250,000 in its work plan for the Passaic Mainstem for the current fiscal year.

The re-elevation of the Passaic River Mainstem was just one of the fifteen recommendations of Governor Christie’s Passaic River Flood Advisory Commission. 

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