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We sincerely hope that this newsletter finds you and the members of your community safe and healthy following the severe storms and flooding that occurred on July 14th and July 15th, 2023. We are releasing this emergency edition of our Floodplain Communicator newsletter to provide resources for the communities that were impacted.
The Bureau of Flood Engineering provides technical and compliance assistance for floodplain management and ordinance adoption to New Jersey National Flood Insurance Program participating communities.
For assistance or questions contact
the Bureau of Flood Engineering Technical Assistance:
George Ibrahim, george.ibrahim@dep.nj.gov
Ayah Sukkar, ayah.sukkar@dep.nj.gov
(609) 394-1500
The severe storm and flooding that occurred on July 14th and July 15th, 2023, has been declared a disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act. The federal government has designated Warren County as the designated area eligible for Public Assistance under this declaration. Impacted towns can now receive funding for building code and floodplain administration and enforcement, inspections for substantial damage, and ordinance adoption through FEMA Public Assistance under Section 1206 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018. The municipality will be responsible for any non-federal cost shares. Please be sure to visit the links below to ensure all costs will be reimbursable and compliant with 2 C.F.R. PART 200. More information on this will be available through the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.
Disaster Recovery Reform Act Section 1206 Frequently Asked Questions
Disaster Recovery Reform Act Section 1206 Informational Webinar
Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program requires the evaluation of damaged structures to see if the cost to restore the structure to the pre-damaged condition exceeds 50% of the structures value (or lower percentage depending on your ordinance). This damage can be from any source, and is not only applicable after floods. It is the responsibility of the Floodplain Administrator to assess structures in the flood hazard area to calculate if substantial damage has been triggered. If the structure is deemed to be substantially damaged, it will need to be brought into compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program regulations, including raising the structure above the local design flood elevation. In addition, in cases of a substantial damage determination, Increased Cost of Compliance funding may also become available to the property owner.
New Jersey has recently released a Substantial Damage Management Plan Template that has great resources that can help your community. In this document you will find guidance and tools to assist with Substantial Damage determinations and enforcement, along with sample letters and documents to aid your community during this process. If any Substantial Damage letters need to be issued, please remember to copy our office at the following address:
State of New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection
Climate and Flood Resilience
PO Box 420 Mail Code 44-03A
Trenton, NJ 08625-0420
Attn: Substantial Damage Letter
Unfortunately, climate science predicts that events such as Tropical Storm Ida may become more frequent in the future. The Bureau of Flood Engineering encourages towns to document high water marks using GIS technology as soon as possible after storm event recovery while evidence of flooding is still available. These high water marks can be correlated with LiDAR mapping to determine the depth of flooding. These GIS maps can be made available to first responders, residents, and prospective home buyers. It can also be used for infrastructure design and as documentation in future infrastructure grant applications. The Bureau of Flood Engineering also encourages towns to create permanent signage that documents areas where hazardous amounts of street flooding occur to prevent vehicles from entering flood waters. With the loss of life suffered by New Jerseyans and the number of rescues initiated during the storm, documenting high water marks could serve as the first step towards preventing these incidents from occurring in the next storm. More information on documenting high water marks is available on the USGS website.
Quick Resource Links
General Information on the NFIP
Filing your Claim
Recovering from a Flood
Information for Insurance Agents
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