With the deadline for adoption less than a month away, advocates gathered in Trenton to launch a PR campaign aimed at convincing Gov. Phil Murphy to adopt a controversial flood management plan proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The so-called REAL Rules would update flood risk zones and toughen building standards across the state.
Activists pointed to the deadly flood tragedy in Texas this week, where more than 100 people have died at last count, including dozens of children.
“It’s a terrible thing to think about the loss of life, particularly those children that were lost. These rules are giving us the chance to plan before the disaster happens,” said Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society.
Added Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters: “This is a life and death moment for Gov. Murphy to fulfill his promise to ensure our children and grandchildren are safe.”
Set for adoption on Aug. 4, the DEP rules are based on a Rutgers study that has predicted sea levels will rise more than five feet on the Jersey Shore by the end of the century. Climate research indicates New Jersey is also experiencing more severe floods from periods of increasingly intense rainfall.
“Climate change is here, and it’s going to continue to plague us and affect us in ways we can never imagine,” said Lambertville Mayor Andrew Nowick, who joined the event.
With his town council passing a resolution in favor of the REAL Rules, the mayor described rescuing apartment residents during Hurricane Ida floods in 2009.
“All 44 families that night were rescued by boat,” he said. “The fire department had to break into the rescue squad to get a boat. We had all kinds of problems that night because of logistics.”
But scores of other towns — over 130 at last count and many on the Shore — have opposed the REAL rules as being too onerous, according to the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. They’re concerned that changes to current flood and stormwater regulations could cause economic hardships for builders and businesses.
Deb Tantleff, chair of the New Jersey Builders Association, said she feared it could impede current projects.
“We think the rules as proposed are not acceptable and not viable,” she said. “It really doesn’t allow for incremental adjustments.”
Tantleff’ said she is fast-tracking some of her own projects through the permitting process to beat the looming Aug. 4 deadline to adopt REAL Rules. “If these regulations got put forward and adopted as proposed, the projects would be unviable, and we would not be able to move forward,” she said.
The New Jersey Conference of Mayors last month sent Murphy and legislative leaders a letter opposing the rule changes, and also copied the top two candidates for governor. It has stepped up a campaign to derail the rules’ adoption by challenging the climate science accuracy and demanding more input. The DEP hasn’t dismissed their inquiries, said Michael Cerra, executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities.
“They have been attentive, they’ve been engaged,” he said. “I think that they certainly recognize that they’re going to have to make some changes, and we’ll see where they go from here.”
Tantleff said the DEP is expected to outline at least some potential changes to the REAL Rules next week. But supporters who helped shape the new regulations vehemently oppose any meddling.
“For those who would lie about these regulations, that would issue disinformation about them, they are wrong,” said Jen Coffey, executive director of Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. “We are asking Gov. Murphy to adopt these NJ REAL regulations immediately.”
The DEP deferred any further remarks to the governor’s office, which has previously stated it’s “planning the adoption of supportive regulatory changes.” It has declined to provide further detail.
