County expects fed funding for flood mitigation
AVALON — An influx of federal funds for flood mitigation projects is on its way and officials want to ensure local municipalities are in the position to take advantage of it.
Cape May County Emergency Management Director Marty Pagliughi said the state Emergency Management Mitigation Unit notified his office in April of the federal grant funds.
“What we want to do is have these municipalities get ready, have the engineering done, a cost benefit analysis done, ready to go to bid, so as soon as that notice of funding is in, we’re going to be working with all 16 municipalities to have their grants specialists or engineers work through our office and try to get all these projects in first in line,” he said. “We want to get our fair share in Cape May County.”
Pagliughi and the New Jersey Coastal Coalition held a news conference June 27 to announce the release of a flooding study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Protection on the group’s behalf and the expected release of federal funds for projects.
“This is a roadmap for coastal flooding in the 13 municipalities that participated in this venture by the Corps and the DEP,” Pagliughi said. “It’s very detailed, it’s going to help these municipalities get funding in the future for flooding. Whether we believe in sea level rise or not, it’s happening; now the only question is what is the rate that it’s happening?”
Participating in the study were Cape May, Cape May Point, North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Ocean City, Upper Township, Sea Isle City, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Egg Harbor Township, Downe Township and Woodbridge Township.
The study focuses on flooding projections for the years 2030 and 2080.
Pagliughi said since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, his office has administered about $24 million of mitigation grant money for all 16 municipalities in the county to fund engineering studies and construction projects, as well as update hazard mitigation plans.
In 2016, the county Office of Emergency Management put together a joint venture among five municipalities for the Flood Mitigation Assistance money that was used to help elevate 75 homes.
Coastal Coalition Executive Director Tom Quirk said the non-profit group formed after Hurricane Sandy.
“What we found is, if you’re on the Jersey shore, we flood and we flood very similarly whether you’re in Cape May or Woodbridge, which is in Middlesex Township. You’re just talking about which street and what time; it’s the same thing,” he said.
The Coastal Coalition, which has members from 38 municipalities and six counties, shares solutions to problems, Quirk said. He said representatives of the Army Corps and DEP attend the group’s meetings and exchange ideas.
By JACK FICHTER/Sentinel staff
