FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, May 1, 2017

 

 

Trenton, NJ – The Christie Administration has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, May 11, 2017, to solicit public comment on the State’s planned $150 million flood resiliency project in the Meadowlands communities of Little Ferry, Moonachie, Carlstadt, Teterboro, and South Hackensack.

The public hearing on the project will be held at Little Ferry Borough Hall located at 215-217 Liberty Street in Little Ferry. The hearing will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The hearing is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is funding the project as part of its Rebuild By Design (RBD) program. HUD created the RBD program in response to the destruction caused in New Jersey and other states during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. Through RBD, HUD seeks to promote projects that improve the resilience of flood-prone communities, while also providing infrastructure that improves the quality of life. The State submitted a winning proposal for the RBD Meadowlands project in HUD’s RBD competition.

The RBD Meadowlands project is an urban water management strategy designed to reduce the risk of floods from both storm hazards and sea level rise within the project area, thereby protecting public health, public safety, and property. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has identified the following three broad project design alternatives:

  • Alternative 1 (Structural Flood Reduction): This alternative would analyze various structural, infrastructure-based solutions such as levees, berms, barriers, drainage structures, pump stations, and/or floodgates that would be constructed to provide protection from both inland and tidal/storm surge flooding.
  • Alternative 2 (Stormwater Drainage Improvements): This alternative would analyze a series of stormwater drainage improvements and wetlands restoration aimed at reducing the occurrence of higher frequency, small- to medium-scale flooding events that impact the communities located in the project area. These interventions may include: drainage ditches, pipes, and pump stations at strategic locations; increased roadway elevations; new green infrastructure (e.g., wetland drainage basins, bioswales, rain gardens), water storage areas, and water control structures; cleaning and de-snagging of existing waterways; and increasing and enhancing public open space.
  • Alternative 3 (Hybrid of Alternative 1 and Alternative 2): This alternative would analyze a strategic, synergistic blend of new infrastructure and local drainage improvements to achieve the maximum amount of flood protection within the boundaries of the project area.

The DEP is currently conducting a Feasibility Study and preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in order to identify a preferred alternative for the RBD Meadowlands project. It is anticipated that a preferred alternative will be identified in the fall of 2017, at which point another public hearing will be held to solicit further public feedback.

The public hearing will take place in the City Council chambers. Members of the public will be given up to three minutes each to provide comments.

The facility is accessible for the mobility-impaired. Spanish interpretation and sign language interpretation will be available. Individuals needing special accommodations such as accessible seating or documentation in alternative formats may contact Sandy Recovery Division Constituent Services at (609) 292-3750 or by email at sandy.recovery@dca.nj.gov.

Residents may also submit written comments by email to sandy.publiccomment@dca.nj.gov or by mail to the attention of Constituent Services, Sandy Recovery Division, NJ Department of Community Affairs, 101 South Broad Street, P.O. Box 823, Trenton, NJ 08625. All comments will be considered equally, whether presented in-person at the public hearing or in writing. Comments must be received on or before May 22 at 5 p.m.

CONTACT:
Lisa Ryan
(609) 292-6055