Status of Stormwater Runoff Infrastructure Projects
May 4, 2011

The Department has completed the categorization and ranking of the stormwater runoff control projects whose sponsors submitted letters of intent for financing in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2012 through the Governor's Barnegat Bay Initiative by the March 7, 2011 deadline. Municipalities in Monmouth and Ocean County located in the Barnegat Bay Watershed, as well as Ocean County, submitted letters of intent and proposed ninety (90) projects totaling more than $44 million.

Four projects sponsored by municipalities located on the barrier islands qualify for equal shares of the $1M Set-aside for Equipment Purchases. Forty-eight projects were classified as Category 1 projects: the construction of new stormwater best management practices (BMPs ) (e.g., gravel wetlands, bioretention basins, constructed wetlands) or retrofits of existing BMPs that reduce existing nitrogen discharges into Barnegat Bay. Eighteen projects submitted proposals to purchase equipment (Category 2) such as street sweepers, vacuum trucks, etc. to reduce the pollution from stormwater runoff discharging into the Bay. Twelve projects were classified as Category 3 projects: the construction of new stormwater best management practices (BMPs ) or retrofits of existing BMPs that reduce existing pollutants (e.g., suspended solids) that discharge into Barnegat Bay (e.g., infiltration basins, extended detention, and manufactured treatment devices); and an additional eight projects submitted proposals to improve stormwater runoff controls that are eligible for the traditional financing program since they were outside the scope of the ranking criteria. A complete listing of projects and total ranking points can be found in Appendix 1.

In addition, the Department has chosen to increase the amount of money allocated to this Initiative in SFY2012 from $10M to $17M. By doing so, more stormwater improvement projects in Category 1 can be financed with 100% grant-like financing (through principal forgiveness loans (PFLs) and the financing terms for the Category 1 projects that are not within the 100% PFL fundable range are greatly improved. The Department is allocating the $17M as indicated below:

The complete list in Appendix 1 identifies the projects targeted for the $1M equipment set-aside, the projected fundable range using $11M for the 100% PFLs and allocates the remaining $5M to the other Category 1 projects based on a PFL for 25% of the estimated application amount.

The other thrity-eight projects classified as a Category 2 (equipment purchases), Category 3 (other stormwater BMPs) or is an unclassified project for Barnegat Bay PFL ranking purposes continue to be eligible for financing through the base DEP/Trust loan program in SFY 2012.

In conjunction with this announcement, the Department is extending the design document and loan application deadline from July 1, 2011 to September 1, 2011 for Barnegat Bay Watershed projects. The deadline for planning documentation continues to be July 1, 2011. Failure of the project sponsor to submit complete planning documents, design documents and applications within the time periods specified will result in the Department's bypassing of the project sponsor's project unless the Department, at its discretion, approves, for good cause, an extension to these periods. As a result of such an action, the project on the Project Priority List shall become ineligible to receive a financing in SFY2012. This may allow the next highest ranked project within the fundable range on the Project Priority List to receive 100% PFL financing.

Background
On January 28, 2011, the Department distributed a public notice that described the Barnegat Bay Stormwater Runoff Mitigation Financing Opportunities and announced other changes to the FFY2011 Priority System/Intended Use Plan proposal. The Program's proposal was posted at https://www.nj.gov/dep/dwq/cwpl.htm and http://www.njeit.org/ . In addition to the postings, the FFY2011 notice and proposal was distributed electronically and via mailing to the standard mailing list of potential project sponsors and other interested parties. The comment period for the proposal closed on March 7, 2011. All comments submitted in accordance with the deadline have been considered in the preparation of the Barnegat Bay Project Priority List and related policies herein.

Appendices

• Appendix 1 – SFY2012 Clean Water Barnegat Bay Watershed Project Priority List