NEWARK -- Grants totaling $53 million will make possible 12 projects across northern New Jersey to improve public access to the Passaic River, public officials announced Wednesday in Newark's Riverside Park.

The state grant money, which comes from a 2014 settlement between the state and companies accused of polluting the urban waterway, will fund the initiatives to develop areas along the waterfront.

"Rivers like the Passaic are some of our greatest treasures," Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno said at the press conference. "I don't need to tell anyone who lives along a river that it's not just recreation. It's not just an economic factor. It's really a family and a community factor."

For years, the Passaic River running through some of the most industrial parts of New Jersey collected discharges from factories and sewage treatment centers. The river became one of the country's most polluted bodies of water, and clean-up is estimated to carry a $1.38 billion price tag.

An additional $14 million from the state's settlement eventually will fund restoration projects in and around the Newark Bay, state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said.

For now, the 12 projects receiving funding are:

Newark Community Economic Development Corporation

Bayonne

Carteret

Carteret

Passaic County and City of Passaic

Essex County

Hackensack

Garfield

Town of Harrison

Middlesex County

Town of Harrison

Bloomfield

"These communities have borne the burden of the environmental damage incurred along the Passaic River and the Newark Bay complex for decades," Martin said. "They're very proud that they're getting this money."

The funding for the 12 projects is an addition to the cost of the river's clean-up, which the alleged polluters will pay separately, Martin said.

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.