{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=363073", "FEMA OK\u2019s $2 Million+ Grant for Water Pump Station Destroyed by Superstorm Sandy", "2013-11-27", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The South Monmouth Regional Sewage Authority (SMRSA) is slated to receive a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help pay for the replacement of the Lake Como Water Pump Station that was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.\u00a0 This new funding follows over $1 million previously received by SMRSA for damages to the Authority\u2019s Pitney Avenue Pump Station, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said today. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The grant will provide $2,083,016 in Federal funding to pay for 90 percent of the cost to replace the pump station, allowing it to be permanently relocated from 501 North Boulevard in Lake Como to a new site at 1800 Parkway in Lake Como. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThis pumping station has had a long history of flood damages,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThis funding will help move it to a location intended to avoid or minimize future impairments and service disruptions.\u201d The grant award follows a review by FEMA that evaluated potential environmental impacts. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSandy damaged critical infrastructure up-and-down the coast,\u201d said Smith, who toured damage throughout Monmouth and other counties in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. \u201cThis grant undoes a poor location decision made back in the 1970s.\u201d Superstorm Sandy submerged the pump station in five to six feet of water, shutting it down until a temporary bypass system was set up. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Smith earlier this year took a lead role in obtaining $60 billion in federal disaster relief funding for Superstorm Sandy victims. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At a June meeting in Smith\u2019s Washington Office, Smith personally appealed to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate to approve a 90 percent federal share for FEMA funding going to Jersey towns to pay for cleanup costs\u2014instead of the initially planned 75 percent. Fugate approved the 90 percent ratio several weeks later. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The higher cost ratio will provide the authority with an additional $347,000 for the project.\n  \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The South Monmouth Regional Sewerage Authority (SMRSA) provides sanitary sewer conveyance and treatment for Monmouth County\u2019s coastal towns of Belmar, Lake Como, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Sea Girt, Manasquan, Brielle, and Wall Township.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=363073"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9099829476326704, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}