BLOOMFIELD, N.J. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (N.J.-11) today joined Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia to launch a bold, proactive effort to protect local residents from lead-contaminated drinking water using federal funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Part of Bloomfield was impacted in 2019 by high lead levels in drinking water coming from the Newark water system. While those affected lines were replaced, Bloomfield will now use some of the $26,071,493.11 in direct, flexible state and local funding it is receiving to replace all remaining lead service lines in the town to hundreds of homes within five years—at no cost to the homeowner—serving as a model for other communities across New Jersey and the Northeast challenged by aging water infrastructure.
The $360 billion in direct, flexible assistance for state and local governments contained in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was modeled after Sen. Menendez’s bipartisan SMART Act, which was sponsored in the House by Rep. Sherrill, to help cover pandemic-related expenses and revenue losses caused by the economic downturn to help them maintain critical services and avoid layoffs of essential workers. In crafting the final language, Senate Democrats added a provision to allow state and local governments to also use these funds to invest in water and sewer infrastructure—of which New Jersey has among the nation’s oldest—such as replacing lead pipes and modernizing treatment plants.
“Bloomfield’s latest effort to replace aging lead water lines is just one example of how communities can use the state and local funding I secured in the American Rescue Plan to build back better,” said Sen. Menendez. “President Biden has been adamant that our goal as a country cannot just be to end this pandemic and then return to business as usual. We must build an economy that is more prosperous, more competitive and more equitable for all Americans. Upgrading water infrastructure and protecting our children from lead exposure is a matter of public health, of environmental safety, and of racial and economic justice. Ultimately, the American Rescue Plan is just a down payment on what must be an even bolder effort in the weeks and months ahead to bring our country’s woefully outdated infrastructure into the 21st century.”
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“We fought particularly hard to make sure direct state and local aid was included in the American Rescue Plan and this is exactly the reason why,” said Rep. Sherrill. “Our communities have borne the brunt of the impacts of this pandemic. This aid is helping them keep first responders on the job, ensuring they can provide essential services, and gives them the ability to pursue crucial projects for their residents that were put on hold. Here, Bloomfield is providing a perfect example of how the American Rescue Plan will ensure that we’re able to come out of this crisis and lay the groundwork for the future as we recover. We’ve been working with Mayor Venezia on this issue since our field hearing in 2019 and, now, thanks to the passage of the American Rescue Plan, we’re delivering the resources to make water infrastructure upgrades like this possible.”
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Mayor Venezia said he plans to use $2 million in ARP state and local funding to kick-start the five-year project. At an estimated cost of $8,000 per line, the federal funding would allow the town to replace lead lines leading to approximately 250 homes, or nearly 20% of the total project. The announcement was made outside a local residence as Department of Public Works crews replaced a lead service line leading to the home.
"Over the last several years, our administration has made major investments in the future of Bloomfield by updating our infrastructure. This includes continuing the process of replacing all lead service lines in our township at no cost to homeowners, paving roads and renovating our parks,” said Mayor Venezia. “Like many local governments, our tax revenue suffered immensely as a result of COVID-19. The American Rescue Plan will provide key funding for Bloomfield that will allow us to replace lead service lines, ramp up vaccinations and ensure that we do not have to lay off any of our first responders."
In its 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates it will cost $8.6 billion to address New Jersey’s drinking water infrastructure needs.
"Communities can take on drinking water and wastewater projects now at no cost to ratepayers, thanks to the American Rescue Plan," said Chris Sturm, managing director of policy and water at New Jersey Future. "Replacing lead service lines is a smart investment that protects children's health and improves property values, and Bloomfield Township is showing us how this can be done."
The Senate is expected to soon take up a bipartisan drinking water and wastewater infrastructure bill that would invest more than $35 billion in water resource development projects nationwide, reauthorize the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund at increased levels, and increase assistance to small and disadvantaged communities. It also invests $500 million over five years on efforts to reduce lead in drinking water, increases funding for lead testing in schools, and creates a new grant program for lead line replacement.
Last month, Sens. Menendez and Cory Booker released a full, county-by-county and town-by-town breakdown of the $10.2 billion in state and local funding for New Jersey in the American Rescue Plan to combat COVID-19, keep firefighters, police officers, teachers and other essential workers on the job, spur economic recovery, and make smart investments in broadband, water and sewer infrastructure. Essex County will receive $463.76 million, including $154.96 million for the county government and $308.8 million combined for its 22 municipalities. The federal funding is expected to be dispersed within 60-90 days of the law’s enactment in early March.
Mayor Venezia also announced that Bloomfield will use some of the state and local funding it’s receiving to plug millions in projected revenue losses, expand vaccinations, and avert layoffs to police and firefighters.
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