OPPORTUNITIES FOR STATE AND REGIONAL ACTION TO ENHANCE RESILIENCE

1. OPPORTUNITIES FOR STATE AND REGIONAL ACTION TO ENHANCE RESILIENCE Mark N. Mauriello Director of Environmental Affairs and Planning Edgewood Properties

2. FACTS • RELATIVE SEA LEVEL IS RISING (MORE THAN ONE FOOT OVER THE PAST CENTURY) • SEDIMENT SUPPLIES ARE DIMINISHING • DEVELOPMENT AND IMPERVIOUS COVER ARE INCREASING • FLOOD HAZARD AREAS ARE EXPANDING • FLOOD HEIGHTS ARE INCREASING • EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS ARE OCCURRING MORE FREQUENTLY

3. MORE FACTS • HIGH DENSITY OF DEVELOPMENT PUTS MANY PEOPLE AND PROPERTIES AT RISK • TENDENCY TO UNDERESTIMATE HAZARDS AND VULNERABILITY…AND REGULATE ACCORDINGLY • MINIMUM REGULATORY STANDARDS ARE INSUFFICIENTLY PROTECTIVE • LACK OF COORDINATED PLANNING RESULTS IN MISSED OPPORTUNITIES (NOAA, FEMA, ACOE, NJDEP, NJDCA, NJDOT)

4. WARMING TREND (IPCC, 2007)

5. ESTIMATES OF RELATIVE SEA LEVEL RISE ALONG THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES(NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, 1987)

7. NEGATIVE SEDIMENT BUDGETS SEA ISLE CITY MONMOUTH BEACH

8. HOLGATE OVERWASHBARRIER ISLAND MIGRATION?

9. MINIMUM REGULATORY STANDARDS TOMS RIVER TOWNSHIP BRICK TOWNSHIP

10. MINIMUM REGULATORY STANDARDSSEA BRIGHT DRIFTWOOD CABANA CLUB SINGLE FAMILY HOME

11. BAYSIDE FLOODING/SURGESEASIDE PARK

12. URBAN AREA CHALLENGESHOBOKEN

13. DEBRIS MANAGEMENT6.2 MILLION CUBIC YARDS LONG BRANCH SEASIDE HEIGHTS

14. LESSONS LEARNED? Belmar to Spend $20 Million Rebuilding Wrecked Boardwalk (Source: Bergen Record, 12/4/12) BELMAR – One of New Jersey’s most popular beach towns is moving swiftly to rebuild its boardwalk that was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. Belmar is scheduled to vote Monday night on a $20 million spending plan to pay for a new boardwalk, as well as some of the cost of cleaning up the ruins of the old one. Mayor Doherty said the Federal Emergency Management Agency should pay for at least 75 percent of the cost of boardwalk repairs, and said New Jersey’s Congressional delegation is working to have the agency approve a 90 percent reimbursement rate. To help pay for the Borough’s share of the cost, Belmar will help pay for the work by increasing daily beach badge fees from $7 to $8, and seasonal fees from $50 to $55. The Monmouth County community is also considering building a sea wallto help protect against future storms.

15. BEYOND STAFFORD ACT ASSISTANCE:FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS TO NFIP • Katrina and other 2005 hurricanes left $18.75 billion in debt to the U.S. Treasury • Nationally: 5.53 million policies in force with an insured exposure of $1.27 trillion • NJ Policies in force: 235,654 • NJ Insurance in force: $54,386,729,100 • NJ Losses (1/78 - 9/12): 111,963 • NJ Payments (1/78 - 9/12): $1,617,544,537

16. Frequency – Recurrence Interval Natural Hazard Probabilities During Periods of Various Lengths (FEMA, 2001) (The percentages shown represent the probabilities of one or more occurrences of an event of a given magnitude or larger within the specified period. As the length of the period increases, so does the probability that floods of a given magnitude or greater will occur.)

17. WHAT IS OUR GOAL? DISASTER RESILIENCE! The capacity of a community that is exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing, in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure. Resilience is determined by the degree to which the community is capable of organizing itself to increase its capacity for learning from past disasters. Disaster resilience means that communities can withstand the impacts of floods and storms and readily recover, which in turn, contributes to long-term sustainabilityof communities for the enjoyment of all, both now and for future generations. (Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction, 2005)

18. DISASTER RESILIENCE THROUGH HAZARD MITIGATION • COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING • ACQUISITION/RELOCATION • HIGHER STANDARDS • REGULATIONS • LAND USE MANAGEMENT • NATURAL RESOURCE RESTORATION • FLOODPROOFING AND RETROFITTING • LEGISLATION

19. COMPREHENSIVE MULTI-HAZARDS PLANNING • IDENTIFY VULNERABILITY AND RANGE OF MITIGATION OPTIONS • PRE-STORM PLANNING FOR POST-STORM MITIGATION AND RESPONSE ACTIONS • ALIGN AGENCY PLANNING, PROGRAMS, PRIORITIES AND FUNDING TO MAXIMIZE BENEFITS • PROMOTE LONG-TERM COST-BENEFICIAL ACTIONS • PLAN AND IMPLEMENT REGIONAL SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT ACTIONS • EMPLOY A BROAD RANGE OF SOLUTIONS • COMMUNITY RATING SYSTEM (CRS)

20. ACQUISITION/RELOCATION • THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE LONG-TERM MITIGATION OPTION • REPRESENTS A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO PERSISTENT PROBLEMS • BREAKS THE CYCLE OF REPETITIVE DAMAGES • FACILITATES RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF PROTECTIVE NATURAL RESOURCES • TDR PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE MECHANISM TO SUPPORT RELOCATION

21. HIGHER STANDARDS • ELEVATE STRUCTURES ABOVE THE BASE FLOOD ELEVATION (BFE) AND INCLUDE FREEBOARD • USE ADVISORY BFEs • REQUIRE V ZONE (COASTAL HIGH HAZARD AREA) STANDARDS IN COASTAL A ZONES • CONSIDER V ZONE STANDARDS FOR SURGE-PRONE BAYFRONT AREAS • CONSIDER NEW REQUIREMENTS TO ADDRESS POTENTIAL FOUNDATION FAILURE IN A ZONES

22. REGULATIONS • RESCIND EXECUTIVE ORDER #2 • ADOPT REGULATIONS THAT EXCEED FEDERAL MINIMUM STANDARDS • APPLY A STRICT PROHIBITION OF DEVELOPMENT ON BEACHES, DUNES AND COASTAL WETLANDS • PROHIBIT ENLARGEMENT OF EXISTING STRUCTURES IN V ZONES AND EROSION HAZARD AREAS • APPLY COASTAL HIGH HAZARD AREA AND EROSION HAZARD AREA CZM RULES TO ALL DEVELOPMENT

23. LAND USE MANAGEMENT • INCORPORATE DEVELOPMENT SETBACKS FROM BEACHES, DUNES AND WETLANDS • DESIGNATE SETBACK AREAS FOR NATURAL RESOURCE RESTORATION • ADOPT CONSERVATION ZONING ALONG OCEAN AND BAY SHOREFRONTS • LIMIT DEVELOPMENT DENSITY IN V ZONES AND EROSION HAZARD AREAS • ELIMINATE NON-CONFORMING USES IN POST-STORM SCENARIO

24. NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTIONAND RESTORATION • REQUIRE DUNE CREATION AND ENHANCEMENT…EVERYWHERE! • CONDITION STATE & FEDERAL AID ACCORDINGLY • USE CZM STANDARD FOR OPTIMAL DUNE VOLUME • PROHIBIT LOWERING OF DUNES • PROVIDE INCREASED BUFFERS TO ALLOW FOR COASTAL WETLAND MIGRATION OVER TIME • CONSIDER SHALLOW WATER FILL FOR WETLANDS RESTORATION IN BAYS

25. FLOODPROOFING AND RETROFITTING • AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR HEAVILY DEVELOPED URBAN AREAS • ELEVATE STRUCTURES WHERE POSSIBLE • UPGRADE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS…INCLUDE BACKFLOW PREVENTION • FLOODPROOF DOORS AND WINDOWS • ELEVATE UTILITIES AND APPLIANCES • UTILIZE WATER RESISTANT BUILDING MATERIALS

26. LEGISLATION • CAFRA LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS: OVERSIGHT? • RE-EVALUATE CAFRA ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO REBUILD STRUCTURES DESTROYED BY STORMS • CONSIDER DEVELOPMENT PROHIBITION FOR STORM DAMAGED STRUCTURES IN V ZONES AND EROSION HAZARD AREAS • LINK DEVELOPMENT PROHIBITION TO BLUE ACRES FUNDING TO COMPENSATE PROPERTY OWNERS • ESTABLISH COASTAL COMMISSION TO FACILITATE REGIONAL PLANNING IN COASTAL ZONE? • DUNE AND SHOREFRONT PROTECTION ACT?

27. THE BAD NEWS • DESPITE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT TO “CONTROL” FLOODING AND REDUCE RISK, STATISTICS SHOW THAT EACH DECADE SINCE 1900 HAS WITNESSED MORE FLOOD LOSSES THAN THE PREVIOUS DECADE • WE CONTINUE ON THE SAME PATH AND REPEAT PAST MISTAKES WITHOUT MAJOR CHANGES IN POLICY AND REGULATION • SANDY DEMONSTRATED THAT WE CANNOT AFFORD A “BUSINESS AS USUAL” ATTITUDE

28. THE GOOD NEWS • WE KNOW WHAT WORKS • WE HAVE A BROAD RANGE OF PROVEN MITIGATION STRATEGIES AVAILABLE • SANDY PROVIDES A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO IMPLEMENT ACTIONS THAT WILL MITIGATE DAMAGES, COSTS AND MISERY OF FUTURE STORM EVENTS

29. THE $34 BILLION QUESTION… CAN NEW JERSEY’S LEADERS SUMMON THE POLITICAL WILL TO IMPLEMENT BOLD, DECISIVE AND COST-EFFECTIVE ACTIONS NOW, TO ENSURE MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES IN THE FUTURE? ( LET’S MAKE SURE THAT THEY DO! )