New Jersey Get $53M for Sandy Waterway Debris Costs

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and a shore community will receive more than $53 million in federal reimbursement for the cost of removing debris from waterways after Superstorm Sandy.

The DEP will get more than $51 million in public assistance grants, while the borough of Avon gets $2.3 million.

The state hired contractors to remove cars, vessels, buildings, docks, boardwalks, furniture and other debris from waterways stretching from Bergen County to Cape May, and in areas of the Delaware Bay. The state says 85 percent of the debris has been removed.

Avon’s money will be used to help pay the cost of rebuilding the boardwalk and seawall.