Tag: Public Information

Manville Borough’s Flood Risk Reduction Policy

Last modified on November 18th, 2024 at 3:36 pm

Update November 18, 2024

Manville Borough’s Flood Risk Reduction Policy is a state-led framework that prioritizes risk avoidance and resilience, guiding the use of post-Ida recovery investments to align with New Jersey’s hazard mitigation priorities: saving lives and protecting property.

Navigating Risk: Flooding and Mitigation in Manville NJ, is a tool for Manville homeowners and prospective Manville homeowners. This tool allows residents to easily check if their property is within a designated Disaster Risk Reduction Area (DRRA) using a built-in search function—simply enter an address to see its location on the map. The StoryMap also educates the public about Manville’s Flood Risk Reduction policy by exploring the borough’s history of flooding, the devastation caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida in September 2021, and the factors contributing to the designation of DRRAs.

 

August 7, 2023

A state-led, risk and resilience-centered decision framework has been established to drive the use of post-Ida recovery investments in Manville Borough to support the state’s hazard mitigation priorities of saving life first and protecting property.

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Under this framework, buyouts will be the only recovery option offered if:

  1. The property is in a disaster risk area (light purple area), which is defined as areas that experienced significant flood inundation in or around the structure during Ida (approx. 5.5’ ft or more of water) and/or the property is within the Lost Valley neighborhood which was deemed unsafe during storm and flood events due to access and egress limitations. See the map denoting these areas.
  2. The property is a residential home; and
  3. The property has not received buyout grant approval under an approved or pending federal grant application, and the property is not part of a state funded buyout already in progress.

Homeowners that meet these requirements will be prioritized to ensure that properties that have been formally declared Substantially Damaged because of Ida and households that meet the HUD CDBG-DR low to moderate income (LMI) prerequisite are offered buyout assistance.

Eligible homeowners meeting the defined criteria, who have applied for assistance through DCA’s HMGP and CDBG-DR funded elevation and repair programs will only be offered federal buyout funding and are encouraged to consider a voluntary Blue Acres buyout.

 

If a homeowner declines a state or federally funded buyout, funding for a state or federally funded elevation or repair assistance will not be offered as an alternative.

Inundation data and safety concerns
The decision support tools developed to inform this policy include: Ground-based LiDAR, an Ida depth grid and flood model. The State undertook an analysis of water depths and evacuation routes relative to the Ida flood event over time, including data on safe driving and walking flood depths. The final policy reflects the State’s desire to not increase risk to residents by making investments in protecting physical property (elevating and repairing structures). Waterborne rescues were heavily relied upon in 2021. Proactively assisting the population at risk through permanent mitigation is necessary to ensure the safety and wellness of the entire community.

The Lost Valley section of Manville is significantly constrained; it has only two evacuation points at Kyle Street and Bridge Street. Based on the Ida flood simulations developed by Rutgers University for NJOEM, the evacuation window in Lost Valley is hazardous given the population living in the area. Once flooding exceeds 2-3′ ft here, only waterborne rescues are possible.

Under this policy it is not the State’s intent to infringe on the property rights of any individual property owners. The buyouts-only policy was developed in response to the flood risk and geographic constraints of certain Manville locations, and it builds on existing Borough buyout plans. Safety is the State’s primary concern. Elevating structures in these risky areas may reduce property loss but it will not address health and safety concerns. Elevations will only incentivize people to remain in an inaccessible, flood-vulnerable area, increasing risk to themselves and to first responders coming to their aid.

Recent storm events demonstrate that fire suppression in flooded areas with limited access will remain an on-going challenge. Fire trucks can’t access areas besieged by a couple of feet of flood water which further compounds the public safety risk and the risks to first responders.

Concerns about the long-term affordability and accessibility of newly elevated homes in many parts of Manville Borough persist despite elevations. Under FEMA’s newly updated Risk Rating 2.0 raising homes doesn’t eliminate the need for flood insurance and premiums are calculated to reflect area-based risk.

Furthermore, elevations do not address the needs of senior populations who would be trapped by 5.5’ of floodwater or who will struggle to traverse flights of stairs to elevated first floor living space.

On December 1, 2022, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program approved $10 million for the voluntary buyout of 31 homes in flood-prone sections of Manville. 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 $34M HUD-funded Buyout Eligibility Application Opens for Authorized Homeowners

Last modified on November 16th, 2023 at 11:25 am

May 18, 2023

Flooding in New Jersey after Ida in September 2021. Photo Credit: Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Blue Acres is now accepting HUD Buyout Eligibility Applications from homeowners, in consultation with the NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation (DDRM) and the NJ Governor’s Disaster Recovery Office.

HUD buyout eligibility intake invitations were emailed out and the homeowner response window closes June 22, 2023. Blue Acres has $34M in HUD Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for buyouts post-Hurricane Ida.

Here is a fact sheet on Blue Acres buyouts funded by HUD.

More Details:

Homeowners were invited to complete the HUD Buyout Eligibility Application if they met the criteria below, which are guided by HUD’s spending requirements and national objectives:

  • The homeowner expressed interest in a buyout by submitting the Blue Acres Application for Acquisition before May 3, 2023, and provided an e-mail address in connection with the application.
  • The buyout property is in a county declared “Most Impacted and Distressed” after Ida in September 2021: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Passaic, Somerset, Union, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Warren.
  • The buyout property is in a Low-to-Moderate Income census block group, according to HUD data.

Approximately 150 homeowners who met the above requirements received the HUD Buyout Eligibility Application via email on May 8th, 2023. Blue Acres staff are available to directly assist homeowners with application questions and concerns. For technical issues with the HUD Buyout Eligibility Application online applications, please contact blueacres@njdepwptest.net and include screenshots of any error messages if applicable.

This intake round for HUD Buyout Eligibility Applications will close on June 22, 2023. When the intake round closes, Blue Acres will analyze all completed applications and develop a buyout plan, in partnership with DCA, to ensure full use of the $34M in HUD CDBG-DR funding. Blue Acres will open additional intake rounds as necessary; for example, if the first intake round does not yield enough eligible applicants to fully spend DEP’s post-Ida HUD buyout funding or if additional funding is made available.

Hurricane Ida Recovery Community Meeting in Manville on March 14, 2023.

The HUD Buyout Eligibility Application is designed to determine whether willing seller homeowners meet HUD’s income eligibility criteria established for a HUD-funded buyout. Not all homeowners who complete the HUD Buyout Eligibility Application are expected to be eligible for a HUD CDBG-DR buyout. Homeowners who are deemed eligible based on their completed HUD application will be notified and proposed for a Blue Acres buyout funded by HUD later this summer. All other homeowners interested in a Blue Acres buyout will be carried forward for future buyout planning and grant making opportunities.

To prepare for the launch of the HUD Buyout Eligibility Application, Blue Acres participated in community meetings in Ida-impacted counties, focused on promoting awareness of disaster recovery assistance available through programs funded by HUD CDBG-DR. These community meetings were hosted by partners including DCA and New Jersey Organizing Project. Learn more about additional Ida recovery programs that DCA is administering.

Blue Acres is administering these HUD CDBG-DR funds in partnership with the DCA, and in accordance with the Hurricane Ida Action Plan.

All state led buyouts via Blue Acres must be from willing sellers, and homeowners can express their voluntary interest to sell by completing and submitting a Blue Acres Application for Acquisition online or via post mail. More details about the Blue Acres program is available on the website.

Blue Acres prepares and submits buyout funding requests on an ongoing basis to various federal sources with differing homeowner eligibility requirements. Currently, Blue Acres anticipates that its next funding request will be submitted to FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program.