The 361-page draft of the Hazard Mitigation Plan will be available online for public comment for 28 days at www.monmouthsheriff.org, according to Michael Oppegaard, Emergency Management Coordinator with the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office.

Union Beach
Michael Loccisano, Getty Images
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"We're happy we're coming to a close of this process," said Oppegaard. "It's been a long and daunting task for the County and the municipalities that have been involved in it, especially with all the work that's come about because of Sandy. It's a good program and will kind of pave the way for the future."

Aerial view of Hurricane Sandy damage along the Jersey Shore
Aerial view of Hurricane Sandy damage along the Jersey Shore (Governor's Office, Tim Larsen)
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires the plan to be updated every five years with review required by FEMA and the New Jersey Office Of Emergency Management.

Public comments can be sent to oemmitigation@mcsonj.org. Once applicable comments are compiled into the plan and the draft is approved by both agencies, each of Monmouth's 53 municipalities must formally adopt the plan. Doing so ensures they will continue to be eligible for pre and post disaster mitigation grant funding in 2015.

"Post Sandy, the county and municipalities identified over a billion dollars in potential projects that needed to be funded," said Oppegaard, adding some of those projects were funded during the first round.

The Hazard Mitigation Plan takes into account lessons learned from Sandy and possible solutions. "A lot of the main stuff revolves around the infrastructure that we need to sustain our essential services; water into our pump stations, electrical systems and things of that nature," said Oppegaard.

A lot of the projects include flood control around the coastal areas, the strengthening and hardening of infrastructure and bulkheading, according to Oppegaard.

 

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