New Jersey Buyout Program Turns Flood-Prone Properties Into Green Buffer Zones

A New Jersey buyout program that purchases properties in flood-prone areas has successfully acquired around 1,200 properties, helping families move out of risky regions, reports Emilie Lounsberry for Inside Climate News.

The Blue Acres Program, launched in 1995, has used $234 million in state and federal funds to pay homeowners fair market value for their properties. “A report this month by Georgetown Climate Center said the program has achieved ‘significant results’ by moving quicker than federal buyout programs, providing a stable source of state funding and shepherding homeowners through the process.”

A separate report from the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Defense Fund advises communities that more cities around the country will need to consider similar programs as certain areas become unlivable due to high risks of flooding, wildfires, or other disasters. 

For New Jersey, the program’s success is crucial. “Sea level rose about 1.5 feet along the New Jersey coast in the last 100 years—more than twice the global rate—and a new study by the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center at Rutgers University predicts a likely increase of between 2.2 and 3.8 feet by 2100, if the current level of global carbon emissions continues.”

According to Courtney Wald-Wittkop, who manages Blue Acres for the state Department of Environmental Protection, “The program’s goals, however, go beyond the needs of homeowners. The idea is to help reshape the community by returning properties to permanent open space, which can better absorb rain water than impervious surfaces such as concrete, asphalt and buildings.”