N.J. expands flood zone buyout program at the Shore
The Blue Acres program funds the demolition of homes in flood prone areas throughout nine New Jersey counties and conversion of the land into open space.
USGS image.
New Jersey is expanding its flood zone buyout program into Atlantic County.
The Blue Acres program funds the demolition of homes in flood prone areas throughout nine New Jersey counties and conversion of the land into open space.
More than 500 homes have been demolished along inland and coastal waterways, including in Ocean Township, an Ocean County municipality on the Barnegat Bay that suffered severe flooding during Superstorm Sandy, and Monmouth County’s Keansburg.
Pleasantville, just outside of Atlantic City with frontage on a back bay, is the state’s latest target. According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which administers the program, 25 homes are eligible for demolition there.
The program seeks to purchase clusters of homes for conversion into vacant land that can absorb flood waters and mitigate flooding nearby.
The buyouts are fueled by $375 million in funding, with the vast majority from federal sources.
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