ENVIRONMENT

Christie signs bill creating Hunterdon-Somerset Flood Task Force

Mike Deak
@MikeDeakMyCJ

TRENTON - In the peak of the hurricane season, Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation on Wednesday creating the Hunterdon-Somerset Flood Advisory Task Force.

​Under the legislation, the Hunterdon-Somerset Flood Advisory Task Force is charged with reviewing past floods in Hunterdon and Somerset counties from the Delaware and Raritan rivers.

The task force will then recommend ways to reduce future impacts from flooding on residents, businesses and municipalities in the Delaware and Raritan basins.

READ: Assembly OKs creation of Delaware, Raritan flood task force

READ: Bound Brook celebrates flood control project​

The completion of the Bound Brook portion of the Green Brook Flood Control Project means scenes like this water rescue on Main Street might not happen again.

The Delaware River has flooded eight times in 20 years. Floods in 2004, 2005 and 2006 were the worst since the historic flood of 1955.

The Raritan and tributaries have overflowed 24 times since 2000, and 116 times since 1923. The river was six feet above regular flooding levels as recently as May 1, 2014.

“We took great strides last month in Bound Brook by moving forward the Green Brook Flood Control Project,” said state Sen. Mike Doherty (R-District 23), one of the bill's sponsors. “However, we still need a comprehensive plan to ensure all communities along the Raritan and Delaware Rivers have the tools and information needed to prepare for severe flooding. I look forward to reviewing the task force’s findings and finally implementing long term solutions for our residents.”

“As a lifelong resident of Somerset County, I have seen far too many homes and small businesses that have been irreversibly damaged by flooding,” said state Sen Kip Bateman (R-District 16), who also sponsored the bill. “The residents who continue to come to me with these concerns deserve answers, which is one of the many reasons why we advocated for establishing this task force. After generations of coping with serious flooding, it is relieving to know that we now have a pathway to protecting our communities from future severe weather events.”

Other sponsors were Assembly members Troy Singleton (D-District 7), John DiMaio (R-District 23) and Andrew Zwicker (D-District 16).

“While the Delaware and Raritan rivers afford Somerset and Hunterdon county residents many benefits, they also pose serious threats when it comes to flooding,” said Zwicker “Towns like Bound Brook are finally getting long-awaited relief from the Army Corps of Engineers project, but there are still many other towns like Manville and Rocky Hill that have been dealing with flooding for decades.  “The goal of this task force is to bring together experts in the field and local officials with keen insight so that comprehensive strategies can be formulated to mitigate damage from future flooding events.  I’m looking forward to reviewing the task force’s final report and working with my colleagues on any legislative solutions that may come out of it.”

“All too often, Hunterdon and Somerset residents have suffered from flood waters spilling into their neighborhoods. They are desperate for help,” said DiMaio. "“Bringing the experts together on the task force, we have a realistic opportunity to control the waters and reduce stress on families in flood-prone areas. We can’t expect residents to rebuild their homes and neighborhoods every couple years.”

But one environmentalist crticized the legislation for being too "weak."

“We support the idea of a flood advisory task force but this one is lacking. It fails to mention climate change or sea level rise. It also does not address buy-outs or non-structural ways to reduce flooding such as blue and green roofs. There are other, holistic, ways to prevent flooding of a watershed such as protecting forests and wetlands. If a flood task force doesn't deal with land-use issues like impervious cover or development in flood-prone areas, then it won't be effective,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club"Christie has already weakened flooding protections such as the Flood Hazard Rules that get rid of buffers and allow for dangerous development. We're concerned that this task force will only promote more flood control projects like dykes and levees that don't work instead of looking at holistic methods that do."

The task force will have 11 members — the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, or the commissioner's designee; the director of the State Office of Emergency Management; two mayors of municipalities in the Delaware basin; two mayors in the Raritan River basin; one representative each from the Hunterdon County Office of Emergency Management and the Somerset County Office of Emergency Management; one representative from the Millstone and Raritan Rivers Flood Control Commission; and two individuals with expertise in engineering, flood mitigation, public planning, environmental protection or related issues.

The members will be appointed by the governor.

The task force will submit a final report, including its findings, conclusions and recommendations, to the governor and the Legislature within one year after its organization. Copies of the report would be posted on the DEP's website, and printed copies would be provided free of charge to the public.

Christie's signature on the legislation came two weeks after the Green Brook Flood Control Commission celebrated the completion of the Bound Brook portion of its flood control project. Bound Brook has been in the bull's-eye of devastating floods throughout its 300-year history.

The task force will be welcome news in Manville after the Army Corps of Engineers announced in March that no flood control measures would be built to protect the borough from the Raritan River and its main tributary, the Millstone River.

Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-246-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com