The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently awarded New Jersey a major regional coastal resilience grant to help communities in 15 municipalities in Monmouth County develop a resiliency plan.
Louis Berger, an engineering, architecture, planning, environmental and construction management firm based in Morristown, NJ, partnered with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to develop the grant proposal and will also lead its implementation.
The project, called New Jersey Fostering Regional Adaptation through Municipal Economic Scenarios (NJ FRAMES), is a multi-partner regional planning initiative within Two Rivers region in Monmouth County that addresses the impacts of coastal hazards and storm surge.
Louis Berger will partner with NJDEP, the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Rutgers Climate Institute and the local municipalities to implement the program.
A scenario-based approach will be used to help the Two Rivers Council determine and understand the range of costs and benefits of planning resiliency decisions in communities surrounding the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers in New Jersey.
The 15 municipalities participating in the study are Eatontown, Fair Haven, Highlands, Little Silver, Long Branch, Middletown, Monmouth Beach, Ocean Township, Oceanport, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright, Shrewsbury Borough, Tinton Falls and West Long Branch.