The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a draft report that calls for elevating more than 6,400 residential structures along New Jersey’s back bays as part of a $7.65 billion project to reduce damage by coastal storms.
Titled the New Jersey Back Bays Coastal Storm Risk Management Study, the draft report includes a plan to elevate 6,421 residential structures and flood-proof 279 critical infrastructure facilities, such as police and fire stations, ambulance facilities and hospitals.
The costs for the project would be split 65% federal and 35% non-federal. The plan is subject to change and has not yet been approved by higher authorities, including Congress, and has not been funded at the federal or state level.
“Engineering and economic analyses indicate the study area could experience $2.6 billion in average annual flood damages if no action is taken,” the study says, adding that implementation of the project would reduce average annual damages in the study area by about $258.6 million.
The plan, according to the Corps’ Philadelphia District website, is another partnership with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which is already promoting its Protecting Against Climate Threats/Resilient Environments and Landscapes program, which has many coastal area residents up in arms.
The Corps’ plan is a feasibility study that defines the New Jersey back bay area as “the network of interconnected tidal water bodies located landward of New Jersey’s ocean coastline in Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, Burlington and Cape May counties.”
The study area, the report says, includes approximately 950 square miles and nearly 3,400 miles of shoreline across 89 municipalities. The objective of the study is to investigate problems and possible solutions to reduce damage from coastal storm-related flooding that affects population, critical infrastructure, property and ecosystems.
The $16 million draft plan also calls for using dredged materials “to enhance 217 acres of salt marsh habitat vulnerable to sea level change at seven locations in the back bay area.”
It includes an environmental assessment that details extensive engineering, economic and environmental analyses conducted as part of the study.
The report and its appendixes are available online, and there will be a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 22, from 6 to 7 p.m. to provide additional information (see links below). A public comment period will follow through Feb. 18.
The study includes 19 appendixes containing reports associated with the study. The appendixes outline structural features, including the construction of three storm-surge barriers and two cross-bay barriers in addition to home elevations and flood-proofing.
But the study team, the Army Corps said, has since moved away from the barriers approach to consider a different plan “that is more achievable in the near term given the extensive engineering, environmental and technical analyses still needed on the potential structural measures.”
The science and engineering conducted to date on the storm-surge and cross-bay barriers remain valuable, the report says, for a variety of purposes and can be revisited at future phase of the study.
To view the full draft report and appendixes, visit https://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/New-Jersey-Back-Bays-Study.
To view the Jan. 22 meeting:
Meeting ID: 993 972 525 107
- https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_04077d805338499db6dff57465c1d7e3%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22fc4d76ba-f17c-4c50-b9a7-8f3163d27582%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b3bc1e99-09b3-4c49-acd1-4da0f06a8c8c%22%7d
- +1 503-207-9433,,696502659#
- Phone conference ID: 696 502 659#
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
