Colliers Engineering & Design received funding through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to prepare a Resilience Action Plan for Upper Township, in Cape May County as part of the Department’s Municipal Assistance Program. This project was a follow up to a previous NJDEP-funded effort, where our team prepared a Climate Change-Related Hazard Vulnerability Assessment report identifying the environmental threats that Upper Township may be expected to face in coming years.

The assessment reviewed potential impacts to physical assets of the community such as structures, infrastructure and utilities; natural system assets; and socio-economic assets associated with residents and businesses with particular emphasis on addressing environmental justice, at risk neighborhoods and vulnerable populations, where applicable. The assessment considered geography, land use, and other local factors to determine which hazards are most critical to the township, ultimately determining that increased temperatures, droughts, wildfire, precipitation and flooding, hurricanes, and sea level rise as the most pressing threats. The action plan took these six threats and provides recommended, specific actions to mitigate or eliminate the potential damages of each.