Client: NJDEP (contract was procured through DPMC)
As part of the federal government’s Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) established the National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC), which made $1 billion available to communities struck by natural disasters. The competition was designed to promote risk assessment, planning, and implementation of innovative resilience projects to better prepare communities for future storms and other extreme weather events. The competition was funded by Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds provided by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (PL 113-2). In January 2016, the State of New Jersey was awarded $15 million as part of the competition. From that award, $10 million will fund Resilient NJ. The program will be administered through the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Office of Coastal and Land Use Planning (OCLUP). Resilient NJ is designed to reduce flood damages in both coastal and riverine towns through community-based resiliency planning. The Resilient NJ program was implemented in two phases.
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Phase 1 of the Project brought together municipalities, counties, utility authorities, community-based organizations, and other regional entities with consultant teams to identify community assets, assess current and future flood risks, and develop various potential actions to address flooding. These actions formed the basis of a Regional Resilience and Adaptation Action Plan. Phase 2 implemented planning actions that were developed in Phase 1. ENGenuity Infrastructure is a sub-consultant for the project for the Atlantic County Coastal Region. ENGenuity is leading the Public Engagement Phase of the Project which includes the Engagement Plan, Visioning Plan, all Steering Committee meetings, Community Advisory Committee Meetings, Technical Advisory Committee Meetings, Focus Group Meetings, strategies for engaging socially vulnerable populations, and the project website for the Region which includes Atlantic City, Brigantine, Pleasantville, Northfield, Ventnor City, Margate City, Longport, and the American Red Cross. These actions formed the basis of a Regional Resilience and Adaptation Action Plan.
The Phase 2 project implemented planning actions that were developed in Phase 1. ENGenuity Infrastructure worked on the Back Bay Prioritization Project that included a variety of key stakeholders including USACE Philadelphia District, US Fish and Wildlife, Orsted, NJEDC, NJDEP, Stockton University, Stevens University, the American Red Cross, municipalities, the County, NJ State Police, NJOEM, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind. The Phase 2 Back Bay Prioritization Project focused on the beneficial reuse of dredged material, and the purpose was to identify and prioritze shoreline segments the coastal communities of Atlantic City, Longport, Margate, Ventnor, Brigantine, and Pleasantville that need stabilization, are suitable for habitat enhancement, have public ownership, have nearby public access for public benefit, and are cost effective. The project included data inputs of the shoreline, elevation/bathymetry, existing habitats (marsh, seagrass, etc.), shoreline erosion/retreat, proximity of critical facilities, proximity of vulnerable populations, public ownership and access points, and special use considerations (ports, marinas, urban canals, etc.) that should not be blocked by sediment. The final project was a full study that prioritized locations for beneficial re-use of dredged material that had community support.
