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Cranford officials stress FEMA's role after Ida and outline river desilting, desnagging plans
Summary
Commissioner Andrews warned federal changes to FEMA could harm Cranford’s flood response. He outlined a five-year desilting plan pending state approval, a planned desnagging operation in cooperation with Union County, and a police drone flight to map river obstructions.
Commissioner Andrews used the Township Committee meeting on April 22 to warn that a proposed federal shift in disaster response could reduce FEMA’s role and increase reliance on state and local governments for flood recovery.
Andrews cited Cranford’s experience after Hurricane Ida, saying the township received about $1,770,000 in FEMA public assistance that supported township responses such as water rescues and emergency services. He said individuals and businesses received about $4,400,000 in combined FEMA and Small Business Administration assistance following Ida.
The committee discussed near-term river work: Andrews said the township has a five-year desilting (soil removal) plan ready to begin pending New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approval. He also said Cranford will pursue a “desnagging” operation to remove large fallen trees and branches from the river; the last such operation was done two to three years earlier in cooperation with Union County, which provides the large equipment.
To help plan the desnagging, Andrews said the Cranford Police Department offered to conduct a drone flight over the river to identify major trees and branches that should be removed; he said the flight would allow police to fulfill training-hour requirements while assisting planning.
Ending
Commissioner Andrews said the committee would prepare a public comment response regarding the federal request for feedback on FEMA experiences and flagged the town's pending DESILTING and desnagging projects as near-term priorities pending NJDEP approval.
