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Politics & Government

UPDATED: Wayne to Receive $24 million in Flood Assistance

The money, coming from FEMA, will go to the purchase of homes near the Passaic River Flood Basin.

The township of Wayne will receive $24 million in funds to go to the purchase of flood ravaged properties.

According to an announcement released from the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (NJOEM), $48.3 million in “Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds have been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for state, county and local flood protection projects.  The money will be used for property acquisitions, property elevations and public works projects in central, coastal and northern New Jersey, including the flood-prone Passaic River Basin.

“We absolutely are concerned about those property owners,” said Mary Goepfert, with NJOEM in a telephone interview with Wayne Patch. “We have several projects happening in Wayne.”

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Goepfert explained that as part of the process, the town will be able to purchase the homes, only if the homeowner agrees, then the property will be turned into open space for the town to use. 

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said the funding will help deal with flooding statewide.

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"It will especially target properties in the Passaic River Basin that are repeatedly flooded, focusing on providing relief to residents of Passaic, Morris and Bergen counties who have constant worries of having their lives and livelihoods disrupted by flooding," Martin said in a statement.

In April, it was Wayne Township had already spent $500,000 this year in flood relief. According to the NJOEM, the “$48.3 million in grants represents nearly double the total amount received in the fourteen years prior to 2009.”

It was also reported the Wayne council had agreed to bond out to $4 million to fund a buyout program for homes in Hoffman Grove. 

State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes, Director of the NJOEM, said “increasing the number of disaster-resistant communities in New Jersey is one of our highest priorities.” He said that mitigation planning takes a more proactive approach to the hazard management.

“We are working with New Jersey communities statewide to keep residents out of harm’s way through voluntary property acquisitions, returning land use to open space or recreational areas, retrofitting or elevating homes, and structural controls,” said Fuentes.

Goepfert said this approach takes care both of the acute problems of flooding as well as plan for the long term care. This is a start, she said. 

State Senator Kevin O'Toole (R-40) released a statement praising the funds presented to Wayne. 

“The projects that have been approved by FEMA and the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management represent a common-sense approach to preventing further losses in areas in the Passaic River Basin that are frequently hit by floods,” said O’Toole. “The acquisition and elevation of homes that are prone to flooding is a cost-effective solution to a recurring and otherwise expensive problem.”

O'Toole reiterated this is a "voluntary property acquisitions that have been announced will make it possible for families to move to safety, while ensuring that others never have the opportunity to be put at risk.”

UPDATE: Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8), said he was proud to work with NJOEM and other local organizations to help bring the funding.

“The federal government’s millions of dollars in aid to help flood-prone communities, particularly those in Passaic County, is a story that bears repeating – and that is exactly what the state has done today.  I was proud to partner with local towns to deliver federal resources home to Passaic County and other flood-prone areas,” said Pascrell. “It is important that we get these projects moving expeditiously for the residents who have lived through destructive flooding of their homes and towns over and over again.”    

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