State OK's Transfer of Green Acres Funds into Blue Acres for Buy Outs

$8 million in Green Acres funds will be moved to the Blue Acres program to assist towns in buying out properties that experience repetitive flooding in a resolution unamimously voted on by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee Thursday. 

Among the New Jersey towns that will receive grants are New Milford and Westwood, two Bergen County towns severely affected by flooding following Hurricane Irene. 

The resolution states that towns can only use the funds to buy out, and remove, the homes subjected to flooding, and preserve it as open space. The towns are restricted from building new houses on the cleared land.

Senator Paul Sarlo, (D-36), of Wood-Ridge, requested a breakdown from each town on how much of the money is being used for so-called “soft costs”--costs such as engineering, surveying, and demolition. 

Some environmental groups do not think that enough money has been allocated. New Jersey Sierra Club Executive Director Jeff Tittle said, "It’s a drop in the bucket at a time when we’re losing open space money.”

“There’s not enough money to go around," he continued. "The way to solve this problem is to move them out of harm’s way. Unfortunately, we’re grabbing money wherever we can get them. It’s not enough and it’s coming too late."

New Jersey Keep It Green's Tom Gilbert also said that the state lacks the funds necessary to meet its long-term needs.