Last modified on December 7th, 2022 at 9:44 am

August 31, 2022

In consultation with NJ Office of Emergency Management, NJ Governor’s Disaster Recovery Office, the Borough of Manville, and other local partners, Blue Acres has submitted an application to FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance program to fund buyouts for 31 homes in the Borough of Manville in Somerset County. The Borough of Manville sustained extensive flooding from the Raritan River and Millstone River, as remnants of Hurricane Ida came through New Jersey in September of 2021. 

Blue Acres’ application requests the full $10M allocation made available to New Jersey through the FMA grant program’s Swift Current Initiative which was designed to make flood mitigation assistance available to homeowners in a timelier fashion than is feasible under traditional disaster recovery funding cycles and opportunities. 

The 31 properties included in the application all meet the Swift Current Initiative’s funding eligibility requirements, as actively insured by FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program and designated as Severe Repetitive Loss, Repetitive Loss, or Substantially Damaged as a result of Hurricane Ida. Additionally, all 31 properties are located within a FEMA flood zone, and several are located within areas of relatively high social vulnerability according to prevailing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

The owners of the 31 properties have been notified about the application submission and they will be updated with information regarding the award as soon as FEMA completes its review and announces a decision. All Blue Acres acquisitions must be from willing sellers, and homeowners can express their voluntary interest to sell by completing and submitting an offer application online or via post mail.       

Blue Acres prepares and submits buyout funding applications, in an ongoing basis, to various federal sources with differing requirements for property eligibility. Currently, Blue Acres anticipates that its next application will be submitted to FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for $40M, a portion dedicated for acquisitions by the Murphy Administration from emergency aid made available to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by the coronavirus pandemic.