New Jersey getting $55.4M grant for superstorm cleanup work

TRENTON — A federal lawmaker from New Jersey says the state is getting a $55.4 million grant to help pay for cleanup work related to Superstorm Sandy.

Rep. Frank Pallone says the money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the state for the removal of sand and silt debris that impacted state maintained navigable waterways.

The Democratic lawmaker made the announcement Monday night.

The October 2012 storm, spawned when Hurricane Sandy merged with two other weather systems, killed people in several states but hit New York and New Jersey the hardest and is New Jersey's worst natural disaster. It devastated the oceanfront coastline and caused catastrophic flooding in New York and cities in New Jersey, including Hoboken and Jersey City, causing tens of billions of dollars in damage.