(23/P051) TRENTON –To mark Climate Week, Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette today announced the launch of a project that will help 11 Burlington County municipalities assess climate change-related hazards and develop planning efforts that will make them more resilient to the impacts of flooding and severe storms. Climate Week provides an opportunity for the public to learn about climate change and actions that can be taken to become more resilient and mitigate its impacts.
The assistance is being offered through the DEP’s Office of Climate Resilience Resilient NJ: Municipal Assistance Program, which provides a team of consultants to evaluate vulnerability to current and future hazards including rising temperatures, flooding and sea-level rise, and hurricanes, among others.
“Strong, science-based local planning is critical to making New Jersey more resilient to sea-level rise and flooding that is increasing as a result of more frequent and severe rainfall,” said Commissioner LaTourette. “This project marks the first time the DEP is organizing a group of contiguous communities that are not directly along the Atlantic Coast and are being impacted primarily by riverine flooding in a joint regional climate change resilience planning effort.”
The DEP will engage the consultants on behalf of the communities, pay the consultants for all associated costs and provide guidance as needed. The New Jersey Coastal Management Program, through the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, is providing $760,000 for the project.
Municipalities selected for the Burlington County project are Beverly City, Burlington City, Burlington Township, Cinnaminson Township, Delran Township, Edgewater Park Township, Florence Township, Palmyra Borough, Riverside Township, Riverton Borough and Willingboro Township. These communities along the Delaware River and its tributaries, including the Rancocas, Assiscunk, and Pompeston creeks, are frequently impacted by severe flooding events.
Earlier this month, Commissioner LaTourette and DEP staff toured Beverly and Burlington cities, Delran and Riverside townships. They visited locations impacted by climate-change related hazards while speaking with local officials about resilience planning. The DEP created a video to highlight the tour.
“As we continue to see an increase in severe storms and extreme weather, it is critical our communities are prepared,” said Senator Troy Singleton. “This assistance will go a long way in improving Burlington County’s resilience and reducing the impact future storms have on our residents.”
“While many people see climate change as affecting only those at that shore, this is simply not true. Here in Burlington County, we are seeing the impacts of climate change firsthand with poor air quality from wildfires and the increased risks of flooding and storms,” Assemblywoman Carol Murphy said. “It is more important than ever for our towns to be collaborating like this to protect our residents from the dangers of climate change, especially as the likelihood of these disasters increase.”
“As the dangers of flooding, storm surges and other climate change-related hazards rise, we have to fortify our towns using the most accurate information available,” said Assemblyman Herb Conaway. “By assessing our vulnerabilities and making informed planning decisions, we can safeguard our communities against the effects of climate change. Evaluation of communities along the Delaware River today helps all of us plan for a resilient tomorrow.”
“By identifying and evaluating climate change-related hazards at both the local and regional level, our most vulnerable communities can reduce the risk they face from the increasing severity of storm events,” said NJDEP Chief Climate Resilience Officer Nick Angarone. “The DEP looks forward to partnering with Burlington County and its communities to ensure their resilience efforts align with the state’s climate goals.”
Through Resilient NJ, the DEP’s Office of Climate Resilience has been working for several years to assist municipalities in four coastal regions coordinate climate planning efforts. The regional efforts encompass the highly urbanized Northeast Region of the state, the Raritan River and Bay Communities Region, the Long Beach Island Region, and the Atlantic County Coastal Region.
The Resilient NJ Municipal Assistance Program provides technical assistance to municipalities working to comply with the state Municipal Land Use Law, which requires a climate change- related hazard vulnerability assessment when a community updates the Land Use element of its Master Plan. The 11 Burlington County communities selected for the Resilient NJ program are also participating in the State Plan Endorsement process, which incentivizes effective land use planning.
Nine of the Burlington County project municipalities meet the state’s criteria as overburdened communities. The DEP is committed to community engagement throughout the development of the process and to focus on advancing environmental justice in the communities. The consultant team selected on behalf of the region will have extensive community engagement experience that will be leveraged to hold public meetings and events and other engagement methods focused on the needs of overburdened communities.
In addition to the technical assistance provided to Burlington County, the Resilient NJ Municipal Assistance Program will be awarding $850,000 for resilience planning in riverine communities affected by Hurricane Ida. The municipalities of Harrison, Lambertville and Montclair will each work with a qualified consultant team to develop, and begin to implement, a municipal climate resilience action plan. These planning projects are funded by New Jersey Corporate Business Tax revenue and are expected to begin in early 2024.
“As a leader in regional planning, Burlington County is thrilled to partner with the New Jerey Department of Environmental Protection and our Route 130 municipalities to study ways to make our corridor communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change,” said Burlington County Commissioner Allison Eckel, the liaison to the Burlington County Department of Resource Conservation. “Climate change is a real threat to our county, especially as we continue to experience more frequent and powerful storms, floods and extreme weather events. By working together, we can better protect our communities and create a model for how states, counties and towns can prepare for these challenges.”
The City of Beverly is extremely grateful for the opportunity to participate in this important planning project. We know all too well how important every dollar is to our community and that is why every capital project must have a cost-benefit analysis and every project must have a sustainability component that addresses items on our long-range planning goals list,” said City of Beverly Mayor Randy H. Miller. “Having a climate change-related hazard vulnerability assessment as an overarching policy guide will greatly aid our community in future sustainability projects.”
“With over 80% of the City of Burlington designated as a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, I appreciate DEP Commissioner LaTourette’s leadership in addressing the impacts of climate change on our residents,” said City of Burlington Mayor Barry W. Conaway. We welcome the opportunity to be part of the Route 130 Corridor Communities in assessing how we can be more resilient in addressing the impacts of climate change, higher intensity storms, and abnormal flooding.”
“We are thrilled that the DEP has included Delran in this group of smaller communities in need of assistance with our resilience planning,” said Delran Township Mayor Gary Catrambone .
The DEP’s newly updated climate change website includes a more user-friendly homepage and a collection of interactive story maps titled Climate Change in New Jersey: Impacts and Effects, which provide up-to-date climate change research, build upon the findings of the 2020 NJ Scientific Report on Climate Change, and use a direct, easy-to-understand format that includes maps, photos, graphs, animations and more.
Follow Commissioner LaTourette on Twitter and Instagram @shawnlatur and follow the DEP on Twitter @NewJerseyDEP, Facebook @newjerseydep, Instagram @nj.dep and LinkedIn @newjerseydep
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DEP PHOTOS:
Top: DEP Commissioner LaTourette (left) and Chief Climate Resilience Officer Nick Angarone (center) speak with Delran Township Mayor Gary Catrambone (right) during a tour of Burlington County; Bottom: A view of the Delaware River
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Official Site of The State of New Jersey