Fawn McGee
Director of the Blue Acres Program & Bureau Chief, State Land Acquisition
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Biography
Fawn McGee has been with the Green Acres Program since 1995, and became Chief of the State Land Acquisition Program in 2004. In this capacity, Ms. McGee has direct responsibility over the budget and negotiations to purchase lands for NJDEP Divisions of Park & Forestry and Fish & Wildlife. On an annual basis, there are approximately 450 active negotiations pending across the State. In addition, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, she operationalized and continues to direct the State Blue Acres Buyout Program, which purchases flood-prone properties from homeowners at pre-storm value; these structures are then demolished and the land is restored for conservation and flood mitigation purposes. Ms. McGee and her team have secured more than $300 million through Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enabling the Blue Acres program to assist approximately 1,181 families in 20 separate communities in 10 different Counties. Since its inception in May 2013, the Blue Acres Program has assisted in moving 774 families out of harm’s way. The Program has demolished 712 of those homes to date.
On June 26, 2019, Governor Murphy signed P.L.2019,c.136, which established funding allocations for constitutionally dedicated Corporate Business Tax (CBT) revenues. This permanent and stable funding source from the Corporate Business Tax (CBT) will enable the Blue Acres Program to continue to leverage federal dollars for continued flood buyouts into the future.
Rutgers Climate Bridge Panel 5: The Impact of Sea Level Rise
Abstract
Recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a National Best Practice in Disaster Mitigation and by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as an Exemplary Practice program, the New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) Superstorm Sandy Blue Acres Buyout Program is committed to helping families move out of harm’s way and to reducing the risk of future catastrophic flood damage. Blue Acres, the flood buyout arm of New Jersey’s Green Acres Program, purchases storm-damaged homes in flood-prone areas at pre-storm values from willing sellers. Once purchased, clusters of homes or whole neighborhoods are demolished, and the land is permanently preserved as public open space. In this presentation I will discuss the history of the Program, lessons learned and our plans for the future.