Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and partners from both the public and private sectors have unveiled the outline of a plan to ensure citizens of Sea Bright will be able to communicate and have access to energy and safe drinking water sources during an emergency, according to a press release.

The “Resilient City” plan for Sea Bright, announced on Dec. 12, Pallone said will serve as a model for other municipalities planning for future storms.

Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long, Councilman Marc A. Beckstein and New Jersey Natural Gas, Verizon and JCP&L officials joined Pallone at the announcement event.

“I am very excited to stand with Mayor Long and representatives from Verizon, New Jersey Natural Gas, and JCP&L to announce an exciting new initiative to make sure we are better prepared next time disaster strikes,” said Pallone. “From my first moments on the ground touring the damage Sandy wrought in New Jersey, I have remained committed to helping our communities rebuild and better prepare for future storms like Sandy. We learned that no silver bullet can prepare us for any emergency. But, with the public and private sectors working together, we can strive to make sure the citizens of Sea Bright and all of New Jersey are safer next time disaster strikes.”

During and after Sandy there was a major breakdown of communications networks, including cellular and home telephones, television, and internet services, Pallone said in the release.

There was also great stress on New Jersey’s transportation infrastructure, making it difficult for utilities to provide basic services. This created a dangerous barrier to emergency response and recovery for residents and towns, he said.

To address this problem, Pallone said his staff has been working with Sea Bright’s government and industry over the past two years to learn from the past and make the borough a model of strength.

In that time, NJNG has installed a new distribution pipeline in Sea Bright, JCP&L has raised an electrical substation to avoid storm damage and Verizon announced that it will be deploying new infrastructure including a new form of network architecture involving smaller nodes, rather than the traditional large towers.

These nodes bring more redundancy and are designed to better withstand major events. The partners plan to take one of New Jersey’s most vulnerable peninsula towns and turn it into the country’s first resilient city, according to Pallone.

— Edited press release from Congressman Frank Pallone