OFFICIAL SITE OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DEP INVITES PUBLIC TO OPEN HOUSE ON STORM-RESILIENCE PLAN FOR THE
TWO RIVERS REGION OF MONMOUTH COUNTY

(19/P054) TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and officials in the Two Rivers region of northeastern Monmouth County are inviting residents and stakeholders to learn more about and provide input on a regional resilience plan for their communities during an open house on Wednesday, July 10.

The open house for the “Two Rivers, One Future” campaign is part of the New Jersey Fostering Regional Adaptation through Municipal Economic Scenarios project, also known as NJ FRAMES. It will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the gallery of the Middletown Arts Center,  36 Church Street, Middletown.

“This effort is an important component of the state’s overall strategy for making the coast more resilient to the impacts of sea-level rise and climate change,” said DEP Chief Resilience Officer  and Assistant Commissioner David Rosenblatt. “An important goal of the Two Rivers effort, as in other parts of the state, is making sure residents are fully engaged in planning for the future of their communities.”

The goal of the “Two Rivers, One Future” campaign is to help communities in the Two Rivers region prepare for and respond to coastal hazards and the risk of flooding by integrating state-of-the-art science on sea-level rise and coastal storm risk into local and regional resiliency plans.

During the open house, residents and stakeholders of the 15 municipalities in the Two Rivers region will be updated on the regional resilience planning process and be given a chance to provide feedback on adaption options for their region.

The region is made up of municipalities around the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers: Eatontown, Fair Haven, Highlands, Little Silver, Long Branch, Middletown, Monmouth Beach, Ocean Township, Oceanport, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright, Shrewsbury Borough, Tinton Falls and West Long Branch.

Participants can come at any point during the three-hour event window. Activities and programs will include:

• Background information on the scope and goals of the project, along with information about what is at risk locally with current and future flooding.
• Information stations on actions that can be taken for the Two Rivers region. These options will be presented within the framework of three different approaches: Living With Water, Moving Away from Water, and Protecting Our Community From Water.
• Opportunities for participants to provide feedback and comments on their resilience action preferences.
• A ‘Kids Corner’ featuring the DEP Education and Outreach team, who will engage children on the basics of ecology and resiliency of the region.

The Two Rivers, One Future project partners DEP’s Coastal Management Program through the Bureau of Climate Resilience Planning with the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Louis Berger Group (now WSP), the Rutgers Climate Institute and the Borough of Oceanport, which represents the Two Rivers Council of Mayors. The project is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NJ FRAMES is one of several resilience planning projects currently underway at DEP. In addition to NJ FRAMES, DEP has recently launched the Resilient NJ program that will provide funding and technical assistance to four multiple-municipality regions impacted by Superstorm Sandy to undertake a comprehensive planning process.

The DEP is also undertaking a Coastal Resilience Plan to reduce risk from flooding in the coastal zone; improve awareness and understanding of coastal hazards; create consistent guidance for resilience and adaptation; and make adaptation easier.

For information on NJ FRAMES and other DEP resiliency efforts, visit www.nj.gov/dep/climatechange/action.html or #TwoRiversOneFuture.

PHOTOS/Top: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Bottom: NJDEP

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