12th District Legislators Announce Funding for Branchport Creek Clean-up

Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande attended a press conference this afternoon at Monmouth Park Racetrack to announce that the Borough of Oceanport has been awarded a $22 million loan by the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust (NJEIT) for improvements at the racetrack.

“The pollution at Monmouth Park has been an issue for some time,” said O’Scanlon, “and it’s gratifying to see steps being taken to resolve it. This loan will go a long way in getting this much-needed work started. Senator Beck, Assemblywoman Casagrande and I have been working closely with Mayor Mahon and the council of Oceanport, the people at Monmouth Park and the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority to stop the pollution at Branchport Creek and come up with a plan to deal with the water run-off from Monmouth Park. This is the first step of the plan.”

Water run-off from Monmouth Park has been causing pollution in Branchport Creek. Over the course of the past two years, a plan has been developed to remediate this pollution. The agreement includes having Oceanport acting as a conduit to borrow the $22 million for upgrades from the NJEIT, from which Monmouth Park will draw funds for the improvements. Monmouth Park will repay the Borough of Oceanport, which will, in turn, repay the loan.

The upgrades will entail a retention basin and pumping station, which will allow Monmouth Park to control the flow rate to the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority, and prevent run-off to Branchport Creek.

The improvements are supposed to be completed over four years, ending in 2013, however, Beck, O’Scanlon and Casagrande would like to see the timetable moved up, since the residents of Oceanport have waited so long for these improvements already.

“I am so pleased that the funding for these projects is in place,” said Casagrande, “and that the signs warning of pollution in Branchport Creek will soon be removed. We will continue to work with all the players as this process moves forward, in the hopes of shortening the length of time it will take to have this work completed. It’s been a long road, but we can finally see the end in sight.”

“Monmouth Park is such an important institution in this area,” said Beck, “but any pollution it causes should and will be remediated. The people of Oceanport have been very patient throughout this process, and I hope that as this project moves forward, we will continue to work together to shorten the process. We know what we have to do, and now we have the funding in place to do it.”