WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker today announced the awarding of $1,498,294 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), representing the final installment of a $21,119,377 storm resiliency and flood mitigation effort in South River to buyout flood-prone properties damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

“As New Jersey continues its recovery more than five years after Superstorm Sandy devastated our state, it is absolutely critical that we take proactive steps to protect our communities and vital infrastructure from the threat of future storms and flooding,” said Sen. Menendez. “Voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties is just one element in a broader mitigation and storm resiliency effort to ensure New Jersey and its residents are stronger and better prepared for when disaster strikes.”

“Buyouts of flood-prone homes are an important part of New Jersey’s long-term recovery from Hurricane Sandy," said Sen. Booker. "While we have made significant progress in the five years since Sandy's devastation, we still have work to do. Federal investments in the strength and resiliency of New Jersey communities help mitigate against future disasters and save lives.”

The N.J. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will use the latest funding to acquire and demolish the final six flood-prone homes in a South River neighborhood that was inundated by Sandy’s record storm surge, and return the properties to their natural function to be maintained as open space.

Last April, Sens. Menendez and Booker announced over $4,000,000 in federal funding to acquire, demolish and return 15 flood-prone properties to natural function in South River.

In 2013, President Obama signed the Superstorm Sandy Supplemental Appropriations bill into law, bringing the total Sandy aid enacted by Congress to $60.2 billion. The funding package, which Sen. Menendez helped lead to passage, included federal aid to help homeowners, businesses, and communities recover and resources to rebuild coastal, transportation, and water infrastructure.

Sen. Menendez, who chaired the Sandy Task Force, has co-authored bipartisan, comprehensive flood insurance reform legislation, originally cosponsored by nearly a dozen Republicans and Democrats including Sen. Booker, that reframes our nation’s entire disaster paradigm to one that focuses more on prevention and mitigation, like expanded voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties, to spare the high cost of rebuilding after flood disasters.

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