February 27, 2025

On January 30^th, 2025, Governor Phil Murphy signed Assembly bill 5121/ Senate bill 3943, appropriating a record-breaking $24.7 million in funding for the Blue Acres program from revenue generated through the state’s Corporate Business Tax (CBT). The appropriations made available under this bill have been and the board of the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT), and they will support the voluntary acquisition of flood-prone properties across New Jersey for flood storage, conservation and recreational use.

This marks the largest single-year funding increase in Blue Acres history. Historic allocations to the program were smaller, typically $3-$4 million but following Ida funding rose to $10.5 million, and this year’s $24.7 million allocation, showing New Jersey’s growing commitment to the program, state led flood mitigation efforts and the importance of nature-based climate resilience solutions.

Stay tuned, there will be additional buyout funding opportunities for homeowners. Blue Acres staff will reach out directly to engage eligible applicants. If you have already applied to Blue Acres, you do not need to reapply. These funds will not affect the approval status of buyout applicants or participants in federal grants.

How CBT Funds Are Used

Blue Acres uses CBT funds to:

1. Pay upfront expenses for federal grant-funded projects. Many federal buyout programs require project costs such as property appraisals and purchase prices to be fronted by state or local funds and then reimbursed by federal grant funds. CBT funding helps bridge this gap, ensuring projects move forward efficiently and that homeowner timelines can progress quickly once federal awards are attained. Blue Acres state funds safeguards homeowners and local government partners from having to deal with fits and starts or the delays associated with requesting and awaiting federal reimbursements at each step of the buyout process.
2. Pay local cost shares required as part of federal grant agreements. For example, the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Protection Program (NRCS-EWPP) covers 75% of buyout program costs, leaving the remaining 25% to be funded locally, a cost that will be covered entirely by CBT funds.
3. Carry out 100% state-funded buyouts. Fully state funded buyouts are implemented quicker and they require no external approvals or oversight which allow homeowners to transition to safer areas more efficiently.

The Blue Acres program remains committed to working with willing sellers of flood-prone homes to provide the option of a voluntary buyout with the goal of enhancing community climate resilience. With this historic CBT funding allocation, the program aims to implement state-funded buyouts in communities that continue to recover from Hurricane Ida (September 2021) and more recent storms in December 2023 and January 2024 which resulted in severe flooding for several New Jersey communities.

February 21, 2025

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved a fourth batch of Blue Acres buyout funding for 4 specific properties, following the first batch approval for 14 properties in January 2024, second batch approval for 37 properties in April 2024, and third batch approval for 42 properties in May 2024. These batch approvals are part of the $50 million Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) allocation for voluntary buyouts in New Jersey following Hurricane Ida’s impact in September 2021. This fourth batch approval brings the cumulative total of obligated post-Ida HMGP buyout funds to $44.6 million.

Homeowners awaiting buyout funding opportunities, such as HUD-funded buyouts, can be assured that Blue Acres will provide timely updates on their cases as new information becomes available.

Blue Acres staff notified the owners of these 4 properties approved immediately via phone calls, emails, and certified mail. Blue Acres also assigned case managers to begin guiding the homeowners through the steps to receive a formal buyout offer. The recently approved properties are across three municipalities: the Borough of Manville, Township of Montgomery, and the Borough of New Milford. Blue Acres staff looks forward to providing buyout offers to the Batch 4 homeowners, as well as those still awaiting approval.

The fourth batch approval brings the total number of approved properties to 97 under HMGP. All properties proposed for HMGP buyout funding meet State and FEMA criteria for reducing flood hazard risks to life and property.

Among the priority categories represented by the 4 homes in batch 4:

• All 4 homes are in a FEMA-mapped flood zone, specifically the 100-year Special Flood Hazard Area, with a greater than 1% chance annually of flood inundation.
• 2 homes were declared substantially damaged (SD), meaning calculated damages equated to at least 50% of the structure’s value;
• 3 homes are designated as “repetitive loss” or “severe repetitive loss,” based on the number of flood insurance payouts they have received over time from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program;
• 3 homes are in state-identified Overburdened Communities (OBC).

There are 17 properties that are waiting for approval and currently remain under federal review. As FEMA approves additional batches of properties, Blue Acres will continue to notify homeowners and local governments.

The goal of FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program is to reduce or mitigate losses from future disasters. The Blue Acres program works to achieve this goal in two ways – by removing homes from high flood-risk areas (thereby enabling those residents to relocate to safer locations) and by increasing flood storage by returning the land to open space. This reduces the number of structures at risk of damage from flooding during storms and provides additional buffers and storage for floodwaters, which protects the remaining homes in these areas. Overall, this process makes families and communities more resilient to climate change.

Blue Acres is a voluntary buyout program that only works with willing sellers. The buyout process remains fully voluntary from the initial expression of interest in a buyout to the date of closing. As part of NJDEP’s Office of Climate Resilience, Blue Acres plays an integral part of advancing the State of New Jersey’s Climate Change Resilience Strategy.