Emergency and Disaster Funding

In the event of a true water-related emergency, it may be possible to retain eligibility for funding through the NJ Water Bank if certain criteria are met.

1. The emergency must pose an immediate threat to public health, safety, and welfare, or have resulted in substantial pollution of the environment. Examples are a water main break that curtails delivery of drinking water for a minimum of 24 hours, or a collapse of a sewer main that releases untreated wastewater into a community.
2. The emergency must have been reported to the NJDEP hotline through 1-800-WARNDEP. A record of this contact with the NJDEP will be required to establish project eligibility.
3. Corrective measures must be in-kind and limited only to those actions necessary to avert the emergency. Anticipated failures (which have not yet occurred) can be submitted to the NJ Water Bank through the regular program.
   For wastewater or stormwater projects, contact the Assistant Director (or designee) of the Municipal Finance and Construction Element by phone or email, preferably prior to undertaking any corrective actions, or as soon as possible after construction has commenced. Include the project location, the nature of the emergency, and the anticipated extent of work to be performed.

For water supply projects, the Assistant Director of Water Supply Operations, Division of Water Supply (or designee) must be notified by the close of business the day that the emergency occurs or by 12:00 the following business day (12:00 Monday for weekend occurrences).
In either case, a determination of eligibility will be made based upon the information relayed and the project sponsor’s commitment to maintain conformance with the criteria of this section.

The Statewide Assistance Infrastructure Loan (SAIL) program is a disaster relief loan program designed for project sponsors that anticipate receiving FEMA or other federal disaster relief grants. The SAIL program’s goal is to provide timely and cost-effective funds, in advance of federal reimbursements, in order to expedite and support the impacted communities’ recovery and rebuilding of environmental infrastructure. SAIL finances projects within a declared disaster area to rebuild water systems directly impacted by a declared disaster as well as costs associated with improving the resiliency of Clean Water and Drinking Water systems, regardless of direct disaster impact.