This document discusses the challenges of rising sea levels, more frequent extreme weather events, and the need to improve flood resilience. It notes that minimum regulatory standards are insufficient, and that there is a lack of coordinated planning. It then provides recommendations to improve resilience through comprehensive planning, acquisition of at-risk properties, implementing higher construction standards, protecting natural resources, and passing supportive legislation. The key question is whether political leaders will implement bold mitigation actions now to help ensure more resilient communities in the future that can better withstand storms and flooding.

1. 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 OVERWASH
BARRIER ISLAND MIGRATION?

9. MINIMUM REGULATORY STANDARDS
TOMS RIVER TOWNSHIP BRICK TOWNSHIP

10. MINIMUM REGULATORY STANDARDS
SEA BRIGHT
DRIFTWOOD CABANA SINGLE FAMILY HOME
CLUB

11. BAYSIDE FLOODING/SURGE
SEASIDE PARK

12. URBAN AREA CHALLENGES
HOBOKEN

13. DEBRIS MANAGEMENT
6.2 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 wall
to 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.)
10 – Year 25 – Year 50 – Year 100 – Year 500 – Year
Event Event Event Event Event
Length
Of Period
1 Year 10% 4% 2% 1% 0.2%
10 Years 65% 34% 18% 10% 2%
20 Years 88% 56% 33% 18% 5%
25 Years 93% 64% 40% 22% 5%
30 Years 96% 71% 45% 26% 6%
50 Years 99+% 87% 64% 39% 10%
70 Years 99.94+% 94% 76% 50% 13%
100 Years 99.99+% 98% 87% 63% 18%

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 sustainability of
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 PROTECTION
AND 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! )