The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has awarded $2.2 million in grants to 16 counties and towns to clean up scrap tire piles and run tire collection programs.
"The grants will help local officials clean up tire piles to rid their towns of these unsightly hazards and improve public safety," said Acting Governor Richard J. Codey.
"Cleaning up these piles, which create prime mosquito breeding grounds, is one of our strongest defenses in combating West Nile virus," said DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell. "These grants will help clear tire piles across the state that present environmental and health hazards to communities."
DEP awarded the grants to counties and municipalities on a competitive basis for the proper cleanup of abandoned tire piles. In order to fund as many complete tire pile cleanup projects as possible, a cap of $300,000 per applicant was used.
The approved projects range from sites with more than 20,000 tires to sites with smaller piles. It also includes funding for some county and local tire drop-off programs. Tire pile cleanups conducted on property that has been or will be acquired by a public agency received a priority ranking since these lands must be used for open space preservation. Grant funds cannot be used to clean up tires on any land currently in commercial use.
A list of counties and towns that received funding appears below:
Bergen Co $40,000.00
Burlington Co $300,000.00
Cape May Co $65,000.00
East Amwell Twp $283,000.00
Essex Co $37,130.12
Franklin Twp $300,000.00
Gloucester Co $30,000.00
Hunterdon Co $25,000.00
Mercer Co $30,000.00
Middlesex Co $93,890.00
Millville City $25,979.88
Morris Co $30,000.00
Mullica Twp $300,000.00
Ocean Co $300,000.00
Salem Co $300,000.00
Warren Co $40,000.00
Total $2,200,000.00