Sea Bright at work on flood plan
Hazards, ways to mitigate flooding being studied
BY AMANDA BELING Staff Writer

SEA BRIGHT - - As part of its Smart Growth planning, the governing body has a flood mitigation plan in the works.

At a workshop meeting Sept. 27, Mayor Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams and members of the Borough Council discussed the process of formulating an individual flood mitigation plan for the borough.

Council President Jack Keeler said the county sent out a letter to the borough about three years ago and the borough signed onto the plan but it was suddenly put on hold.

"They are starting the process again and we have signed on, but we're looking into doing our own flood mitigation plan," he said.

Councilwoman Maria Fernandes noted that engineer Robert Mainberger, of Hatch Mott MacDonald, drafted a flood mitigation plan proposal for the borough at her request.

"All coastal towns and boroughs should have an individualized flood mitigation plan, specifically one that is in accordance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines," said Mainberger.

The borough currently has 1,777 flood insurance policies in effect, insuring more than $190 million in property value while businesses and residents pay a cumulative insurance premium of $854,199.

"Right now, we don't have Community Rating System (CRS) standing, which we need to be eligible for FEMA money so residents can make improvements to their property and for us to do upgrades," said Fernandes.

CRS is an incentive program through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements.

The CRS program is voluntary and if a municipality participates, the flood insurance premium rates are discounted to reflect the reduced flood risk.

The rates for CRS participants are discounted in increments of 5 percent from the flood insurance premiums. In a Class 1 community, there would be a 45 percent premium discount, while a Class 9 community would receive only a 5 percent discount.

Mainberger noted that obtaining a 20% discount in Sea Bright would save residents $180,000 each year.

"To get to that percentage is a very aggressive achievement for a coastal town but it's not unattainable," he said.

"This discount is something that would come directly from the insurance companies," said Fernandes.

The borough's flood mitigation plan must be approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM).

"Hatch Mott MacDonald will work with the us, FEMA, NFIP, and OEM to form the most efficient plan for the borough," she said.

According to Mainberger, a flood mitigation plan is essentially an inventory of all of the flood hazards that exist in the borough, or that could impact the borough.

"It's a plan to mitigate the dangers and damages. It's not just about property. It's also about infrastructure and people's lives," said Mainberger.

He noted that the plan would identify potential hazards in the borough so residents can be as prepared as possible.

The core hazards that affect the borough are high winds, heavy waves, high tides, snow and ice storms, thunder storms/heavy rains/lightning, according to Keeler.

These hazards have the potential for structural damage to roofs, blown-in doors and windows, flying debris, downed wires, severe beach/dune erosion, undermining of the sea wall, flooding of Route 36, erosion of private property, destruction of buildings and vehicles as well as pubic utilities, flooding of the streets, fires and electrocution.

"The dynamics of having an individualized mitigation plan are to help or reduce damages to the town during these types of hazards," said Keeler.

He noted that officials aren't sure if the borough will need to choose between having a county mitigation plan or an individualized plan for the borough, but those details will be worked out.

"Once a plan is developed, the borough will need to revamp it every year and establish new goals working with neighboring municipalities to see how their problems impact them and how theirs impact the borough. They will work with the county for evacuation routes," said Mainberger.

The agencies the borough plans to contact and meet with regarding a flood mitigation plan are the state Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Coast Guard (CG), the Two Rivers Reclamation Authority, the borough Department of Public Works, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), FEMA, NFIP, consulting engineers, police, fire, first aid and emergency management, the building department and planning board.

"The idea is to assign one or two of these agencies to each of our six major committees in the borough so they can

get] some basic information together for an overview of our own mitigation plan," said Keeler.

The committees include the beach committee, police, finance, fire, public safety and public works committees.

Keeler noted that no matter how well conceived and implemented, the mitigation plan will not protect Sea Bright from a Category 3, 4 or 5 hurricane.

"Our geography, topography, and size will leave us very vulnerable to such an event," he said.

Councilwoman Dina Long noted that development of a mitigation plan should be accompanied by an in-depth review of the borough's emergency response plan, with an emphasis on evacuation policies and procedures.

The next Smart Growth workshop is scheduled for Oct. 25.