Reducing Flood Damages and Stormwater Pollution
Help reduce the number of properties in floodways and repetitive flooding areas.
- Encourage municipal support for Blue Acres voluntary buyouts of frequently flooded homes (for further information, see the NJDEP Blue Acres Program).
- Ensure that local zoning, subdivision and site plan ordinances prevent development in flood plains or ensure that any allowed development is constructed to minimize flood damages.
Encourage your municipality to participate in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which reduces the potential for flood damages while also lowering the costs of flood insurance.
Encourage preservation of wetlands and flood plains to retain flood storage using local, county and Green Acres open space funds (for more information, see the NJDEP Green Acres Program).
Be an advocate for effective municipal compliance with its Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit (for further information, see the NJDEP Municipal Stormwater Web Site).
Replace aging stormwater infrastructure with green stormwater infrastructure (for further information, see NJDEP’s What is Green Infrastructure? and New Jersey Future’s New Jersey Green Infrastructure Municipal Toolkit).
Where green infrastructure isn’t viable, replace old stormwater infrastructure with new systems that can handle more intense storms, increase groundwater recharge, and reduce water pollution (for further information see the NJ Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual).
Adopt a stormwater management ordinance that achieves more than NJDEP’s rules require (see the Enhanced Stormwater Management Model Ordinance 2023 from the Watershed Institute).
Encourage municipal consideration of a stormwater user fee to support some or all municipal costs of stormwater management, ensuring that land that generate the most stormwater bear a fair share of stormwater management costs (for further information see New Jersey Future’s Stormwater Utility Resource Center). (Note: a fee-based stormwater utility is more appropriate for areas with large amounts of impervious cover. Also, a fee-based stormwater utility is a funding mechanism; it can be created directly by a municipality, county or utility authority and does not require a new agency.)
Help the PRC Manage Its Land Trust Properties
For a list of preserves, see the PRC’s Land Trust page. Get in touch using the Connect With Us page.
Volunteer as a Land Steward in a nearby PRC preserve.
Organize cleanups of local PRC preserves.
Reduce Toxic Pollution
Find out what contaminated sites are in your area, using the NJDEP Known Contaminated Site List, an online mapping program.
Find out what is happening to mitigate or eliminate contamination from these sites.
Advocate for completion of remedial actions on these sites.
Support Improved Parks and River Access
Encourage creation of riverfront parks in your municipality and county using local, county and Green Acres open space funds (for more information, see the NJDEP Green Acres Program).
Encourage creation and maintenance of safe river access points for recreation, wildlife viewing.
Be River Friendly and Sustainable in Your Home, Business, School and Municipality
Participate in the New Jersey River Friendly Program.
Participate in the Sustainable Jersey Schools Program.
Participate in the Sustainable Jersey Municipal Certification Program.
Rutgers University Training Programs
Join the Rutgers Environmental Stewards Program.
Become a Green Infrastructure Champion.
Other Ideas and Resources
If your municipality has an Environmental Commission or Green Team, get involved! If not, encourage your municipal government to establish both and gain the benefits.
- Environmental Commissions: See the ANJEC page on Environmental Commissions.
- Green Teams: See the Sustainable Jersey page on Municipal Registrations in the Municipal Certification Program.