By THOMAS BARLAS, Staff Writer

More than $2.2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education went to The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

The sums are dizzying: Almost $800 billion in federal money is flowing through the country to stimulate a national economy in the worst shape since the Great Depression.

And more money is being considered by Washington, D.C., lawmakers as part of an enlarged federal stimulus package. But will we see any of that spending in this part of the state?

A significant portion of that money is already designated for New Jersey: The state has received slightly more than $2.1 billion in contracts, grants and loans as of July 20, according to an extensive review of public documents by ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit news organization that does investigative journalism.

In southern New Jersey, almost $170 million is paying for a variety of projects, including housing loans in Atlantic County, improvements to Ocean City's municipal airport, environmental cleanup in Cumberland County and loans to small businesses in Ocean County.

Atlantic Cape Community College, Ocean County College and The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey also received millions of dollars in educational grants.

The $78.8 million received by Cape May County outpaces the other three counties in the region, even though it has fewer residents than Atlantic, Cumberland and Ocean counties. The $823-per-person spent in stimulus funds also places Cape May County first in the state.

However, a Press review of ProPublica's findings shows that $70 million worth of Cape May County's awards is designated for work on the Route 52 causeway project between Ocean City and Somers Point.

Subtract the $70 million from Cape May County's total, and the county becomes the fourth-lowest recipient in the state, outpacing only Hunterdon, Salem and Sussex counties. The per-person spending drops dramatically to $92, ninth in the state.

Still, the $70 million in federal stimulus money will save the state $5 million in interest payments it will not have to make on the causeway project, according to state Department of Transportation spokesman Timothy Greeley.

The state planned to borrow $360 million in bonds for the project, he said. It will now borrow just $285 million, he said.

The savings will free up more borrowing power for projects in 2013, the year after the massive Ocean City causeway project is completed, Greeley said in an e-mail.

"The point here is that the $75 million in savings will allow us to fund projects that would have likely remained unfunded," he said.

Other findings show that Cumberland County is the only county in the region that has not yet received any stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Monmouth and Sussex counties were the only other counties in the state that didn't receive transportation funds.

However, according to ProPublica, Cumberland County was the only county in the region to receive money from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with $5.3 million to help fund the Vineland Chemical Co. Superfund site.

However, in April, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that Price's Landfill in Egg Harbor Township and Emmell's Septic Landfill in Galloway Township, both in Atlantic County, were receiving federal stimulus money for cleanup operations as well.

Overall, Camden County received the most federal stimulus funds, with slightly more than $169.6 million. Sussex County got $3 million, the least in the state.

Statewide, the biggest chunk of funding - more than $658.7 million - comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The U.S. Department of Justice is providing the smallest funding awards, totaling $78,125.

Staff writer Michael Miller contributed to this report.