Burlington County is partnering with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and 11 county municipalities to assess climate change-related hazards in towns within the Route 130 Corridor and make plans to improve resiliency to future floods, severe storms and other hazards.

As part of the initiative, the DEP and County will host three upcoming public workshops for residents to learn more about the planning initiative and provide their input.

“This is the start to important conversations about climate change threats facing our communities and residents,” said Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel, the liaison to the Department of Resource Conservation. “This planning initiative is designed to identify potential hazards, along with science-based solutions to make our Route 130 communities more resilient and ready for future storms, floods and other extreme weather events. This is an issue that requires multiple levels of government to work together to develop regional plans, and we are pleased to report that is happening in Burlington County.”

“Burlington County continues to be impacted by the alarming increase in severe storms and extreme weather,” added State Senator Troy Singleton. “This planning assistance will help our Delaware River communities become better prepared and more resilient against future storms and floods.”

The workshops will be held on the following dates and locations:

• Thursday, April 10, from 5:15 PM to 6:45 PM at the Burlington Township Municipal Building, 851 Old York Road, Burlington Township. The meeting will focus on hazards and resiliency in Burlington City, Burlington Township and Florence.
• Tuesday, April 22, from 6 PM to 7:30 PM, at the Kennedy Center, 429 John F. Kennedy Way, Willingboro. The focus will be on the communities of Willingboro, Beverly and Edgewater Park.
• Thursday, April 24, from 6:30 PM to 8 PM, at the Delran Municipal Building, 900 Chester Avenue, Delran. The focus will be on Delran, Palmyra, Riverton, Cinnaminson and Riverside.

The meetings will feature presentations from DEP’s Resilient NJ Municipal Assistance planners and Dewberry, a consultant firm contracted by the DEP to lead the Route 130 Corridor resiliency project.

The Burlington County Engineering and Planning Office is also a partner on the project.

The 11 municipalities are all located along the Delaware River and its tributaries, including the Rancocas, Assiscunk and Pompeston creeks. All 11 have been impacted by flooding and severe storm events.

The resiliency planning is being led by the DEP and its Office of Climate Resilience. Previously, the office has worked on climate planning in the Northeast part of the state, the Raritan River and Bay communities, Long Beach Island and the Coastal Region.

The planning project is the first undertaken by the Office of Climate Resilience involving contiguous communities not directly on the Atlantic Coast. The work is made possible with financial assistance from the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended and administered by the Office for Coastal Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Coastal Management Program.

“This planning initiative is focused of Delaware River communities along the Route 130 corridor, but we know the impacts of climate change and extreme weather is broad and can create multiple threats, including tornados, wildfires and flash floods,” said Eckel, who is now serving as the President of the Southern New Jersey County Commissioners Association and as a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Local Government Advisory Committee. “We hope this project creates a model for additional planning across our county and region.”

Original Article