Passaic County, NJ Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Floodplain development in Passaic County is governed by two parallel systems, with no county permitting role. Federal layer: FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program, authorized by the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) and implemented at 44 CFR Parts 59-60. Each NFIP-participating Passaic County municipality (Paterson, Clifton, Passaic, Wayne, Hawthorne, Little Falls, Pompton Lakes, Wanaque, Ringwood, Bloomingdale, West Milford, Haledon, Prospect Park, North Haledon, Totowa, Woodland Park) has adopted a flood damage prevention ordinance meeting 44 CFR 60.3 minimum standards, including 1-foot freeboard for residential construction in Zone AE Special Flood Hazard Areas on the Effective FIRM. State layer: the Flood Hazard Area Control Act (N.J.S.A. 58:16A-50 et seq.), implemented at N.J.A.C. 7:13, authorizes NJDEP's Division of Land Use Regulation to delineate flood hazard areas and require Flood Hazard Area Individual Permits or General Permits for regulated activities (filling, grading, construction, vegetation removal) in the floodway, riparian zone, and 500-year flood hazard area. NJ flood standards under N.J.A.C. 7:13 are stricter than federal NFIP minimums in many respects — for example, the state regulates the 500-year (0.2% annual chance) area as well as the 100-year (1% annual chance) area, requires 1-foot freeboard above the Flood Hazard Area Design Flood Elevation, and protects 50- to 300-foot riparian zones along Category One waters. The Passaic River and its tributaries (Pompton River, Pequannock River, Wanaque River, Ramapo River, Saddle River) drain much of Passaic County and place sections of Paterson (where the river is constrained at the Great Falls), Wayne, Little Falls, Pompton Lakes, and Pequannock in regulated flood hazard areas. The Passaic River Basin has experienced repeated catastrophic flooding (Hurricane Floyd 1999, March 2010, Hurricane Irene 2011, Tropical Storm Ida 2021). Passaic County itself does not issue floodplain permits — applicants apply to NJDEP for a Flood Hazard Area permit and to the local municipal floodplain administrator/Construction Official for the local permit.