The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced a major expansion of the state’s climate preparedness efforts, making an additional $10M available through the Resilient NJ program to help municipalities work together on regional climate adaptation planning.
The new funding round will provide grants of up to $300,000 to groups of at least three contiguous municipalities that collaborate to develop comprehensive Resilience Action Plans. These regional partnerships can cross county borders and must include at least one community-based organization. Counties, planning commissions, and utility authorities are also eligible to participate.
Selected regional teams will be paired with multidisciplinary consulting teams that include planners, engineers, ecologists, and other experts. Together, they’ll assess current and future climate vulnerabilities, identify risk-reduction actions, conduct cost-benefit analyses, and develop actionable resilience plans.
The funding comes from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development as part of the Building a Climate Ready NJ initiative.
Prior rounds of the Resilient NJ program have already supported resilience planning in over 40 municipalities, with resulting action plans generating more than $26M in additional implementation projects. Grant applications for this latest round are due by October 14. DEP will select up to six regional teams for the grants by November 21. Municipalities interested in participating can find more information and application materials at resilient.nj.gov.
