DENNISVILLE – Dennis Township Committee decided at its March 22 meeting to table a recently introduced ordinance that replaces specific language to be consistent with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reviewed the New Jersey model flood damage prevention ordinance and recommended that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) revise it to ensure that all participating community ordinances are compliant with the NFIP.
Additionally, FEMA directed that the new model ordinance incorporates the higher state standards found in the Flood Hazard Area Control Act and the Uniform Construction Code.
According to Deputy Mayor Scott Turner, the ordinance needs both technical fixes for some definitions used in the language of the proposed regulation and because a “local senator is opposing” it.
According to a citizen’s input during public comment, there seems to be a divergence in opinion creating a flooding forecasting discrepancy that will result in potential financial burdens for local municipalities between a 2019 Rutgers study and a recent 2021 study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
