Grants Awarded to 10 Local Governments to Help Hurricane Ida-Impacted Areas Become More Resilient to Natural Disasters

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today announced the award of $34.47 million in Resilient Communities Program grants to 10 local governmental entities to help them make public infrastructure more resilient to current and future natural disasters. The grants are administered by DCA’s Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation and are funded with federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) monies that the State received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Hurricane Ida recovery initiatives.

“With climate change making New Jersey more vulnerable to destructive storms and flooding events, my administration is taking steps to better protect lives, property, and infrastructure from natural disasters,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “We are confident that initiatives like the Resilient Communities Program will help local governments as they work to safeguard neighborhoods and families from harm.”

“Based on our work in the aftermath of natural disasters like Hurricane Ida and Superstorm Sandy, DCA recognizes that New Jersey communities must be proactive in preparing for future disasters by strengthening local infrastructure. Because infrastructure projects are expensive, the Resilient Communities grants will help ease the cost burden for communities participating in the program,” said DCA Acting Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez. “We are confident the grant awards announced today will result in more durable infrastructure so that communities can recover more quickly when disasters occur.”  

Municipalities, counties, special districts, and federally recognized tribal governments were eligible to apply for up to $5 million in grant funding if they are located within the counties that HUD and the State identified as most impacted and distressed by Hurricane Ida, including Bergen, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union, and Warren. Applications were due by December 20, 2023.

Examples of projects include structure elevation; construction or reconstruction of infrastructure; installation of public works and other facilities; structural retrofitting; infrastructure retrofits; property demolition; dry floodproofing; and property acquisition and relocation.

Applications were scored based on whether they incorporated such Resilient Communities Program priorities as:

• Mitigates flooding risk to public infrastructure, people, and property;
• Protects and benefits disadvantaged communities; 
• Is a cost-effective solution to natural hazard risk; 
• Promotes resiliency through ancillary or triple bottom line benefits (social, environmental, and economic benefits);
• Considers climate change and future conditions; 
• Leverages federal, state, and local partnerships;
• Is designed and scoped with public input and meaningful stakeholder engagement;
• Can be feasibly implemented and completed within the budget and timeframe required;
• Incorporates nature-based solutions; and 
• Is ready for construction to begin within a short time.   

The following are the Resilient Communities Program grant recipients:

Grant award determinations are provisional, pending the submission and approval of project-specific deliverables.

All projects must be completed within three years of execution of a grant agreement with DCA.

DCA’s Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation promotes the long-term resilience of New Jersey’s communities by supporting initiatives to fortify housing, businesses, and infrastructure against severe weather events and flooding damage. The Division is also the grant manager for the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund (SFRF) and the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, allocated to New Jersey through the American Rescue Plan Act.

In addition to disaster recovery and mitigation, DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, historic preservation, and information privacy.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: 

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