U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today announced a House panel has approved $700,000 in funding for the preparation of the Great Falls Historic District to accommodate the coming of the falls’ National Historical Park.

“After more than a decade of work to win the Great Falls national park designation, we have seen a tremendous commitment from the federal government to this venture,” said Pascrell, a lifelong resident and former mayor of Paterson. The congressman sponsored the legislation signed by President Barack Obama last year will designate a portion of the Great Falls Historic District as a national park.

“This funding would continue the momentum we have established by improving the historic district, which will contain the park. I am very pleased that the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment supports funding for this purpose next year.”

The appropriation was made through a 1996 law that originally established the Great Falls Historic District and authorized federal cash to be spent on improvements, but which was never funded by Congress until today. With the help of this earmark, the U.S. National Park Service would enter into a cooperative agreement with the City of Paterson to prepare a development plan, provide technical assistance, and restore, preserve and interpret historic infrastructure, including restoring the historic raceway system, within the boundaries of the National Historical Park established by the legislation President Obama signed into law last year.

These improvements will help prepare the land in the historic district for future management by the National Park System.  Matching funds for this project have already been received from the N.J. Department of Transportation; N.J. Department of Environmental Protection – Green Acres Program, and the County of Passaic - Open Space and Recreation Program.

Federal law allows the funding to be used to pay for up to half of the cost of restoring, repairing, rehabilitating, and improving historic infrastructure with in the 115-acre historic district.

The Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2011 provides $32.24 billion for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Forest Service, the Indian Health Service and a host of smaller, but very important, environmental and cultural agencies. 

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