Russ Zimmer

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New Jersey has won $15 million for disaster planning in a competitive federal grant program, but it was a pittance with $1 billion in aid on the line.

Perhaps more disconcerting is that New Jersey lost out to its counterparts in New York yet again, with projects in the Empire State gobbling up nearly all of the $181 million that had been set aside for the two states.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released the winners of the National Disaster Resilience Competition on Thursday afternoon. Included in the list of approved projects were two disaster planning proposals — one for $10 million, the other for $5 million — by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Meanwhile, other states and local governments received millions more for large-scale projects to protect against flooding, severe weather and wildfires.

Minot, N.D., a town of 46,000, is getting $74 million to fund a three-pronged strategy to reduce flood risk and improve water management.

"New Jersey submitted a weaker application on several measures," said Julian Castro, HUD secretary, during a conference call with reporters on Thursday afternoon.

How New Jersey's application was scored, along with all of the others, will be released in 30 days, but Castro said the state failed to identify any funding outside of the NDRC grant to help pay for the projects and that was a mark against them.

Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie, called the outcome "beyond disappointing" and suggested a Congressional investigation was in order.

"HUD’s decision to offer New Jersey such a limited sum is ludicrous given the substantial needs our residents still face," he said.

When asked for comment, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection released the following statement:

"This is disappointing news but since HUD did not give us advance notice of this decision, we would like to take some time to understand and evaluate the reasoning behind the determination before commenting further."

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The $1-billion grant pool was originally part of the federal superstorm Sandy aid package that was meant exclusively for the East Coast states most affected by the storm.

The 13 winners, according to HUD:

Of the $1 billion pie, a $181 million slice was carved out and only available for projects in New York and New Jersey, the two states where Sandy left her deepest marks.

New York City is to receive $176 million from the competition, while the state is receiving another $35.8 million to better protect low-income housing across New York. That means at least one of those entities was able to secure funding from the larger pool in addition to the $181 million that was set aside.

New Jersey has received about half as much federal assistance related to Sandy as has the state of New York (when including New York City in the state total).

The Asbury Park Press NJ Superstorm Sandy Recovery Section

Here's what New Jersey was asking for:

1. Meadowlands berm expansion, water pumping and wetlands restoration project

Proposal: Expands berm from Hackensack to East Rutherford, installs pumping stations and takes steps to improve storm water management. The project would provide greater protection to the homes and infrastructure near the Hackensack River, which swelled out of its banks during Sandy and devastated communities like Little Ferry and Moonachie.

Money requested: $236 million

Action: Denied

2. NJ Transit satellite bus garage

Proposal: Build a new bus garage at the Meadowlands service area in order to reduce traffic congestion and improve public transportation.

Money requested: $75 million

Action: Denied

3. Best practices toolkit

Proposal: Develop a list of best practices that communities facing flooding issues can follow.

Money requested: $5 million

Action: Approved

4. Regional planning fund

Proposal: Use NDRC money to help communities pay for collaborative planning efforts.

Money requested: $10 million

Action: Approved

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com

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