The state Department of Environmental Protection has announced substantial changes to its proposed coastal zone regulations after a strong backlash from Shore communities.
The revisions to the controversial Resilient Environments and Landscape (REAL) regulations came about in part due to new science on climate change, DEP Commissioner Shaun LaTourette said at press briefing on Monday, July 14.
LaTourette said repeatedly that the changes were not a compromise or a capitulation to pressure from groups that have opposed REAL, including business organizations, coastal zone officials, real estate developers and others who felt the rules went too far in their reliance on sea level rise projections that dated to a 2019 Rutgers University study.
The changes include:
- Lowering the elevation requirement for new and substantially improved buildings and infrastructure from 5 feet to 4 feet above FEMA’s base flood elevation level.
- Revising the extent of the proposed inundation risk zone and removal of the zone from the list of coastal special areas in the DEP review of state planning actions in the Coastal Area Facility Review Act area. Standards within the reduced zone are unchanged from what was published last year.
- Making affordable housing a “compelling public need” for flood hazard hardship exceptions.
- Extending the legacy period for existing projects by providing a 180-day period for submission of completed applications before new standards apply.
- Providing additional flexibility for “dry access” requirements.
Details of the revised regulations will be available when the changes are published in the New Jersey Register July 21.
The announcement of the changes came at a virtual briefing held by LaTourette, Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Moriarty and state Floodplain Administrator Vincent Mazzei.
LaTourette said one motivating factor leading to the changes was new science that now projects lower levels of temperature increases out to the year 2100. He also said the changes were an attempt by the state to be responsive to public input and concerns. He said the state has received 2,965 public comments on the rule-making.
The commissioner added that there will be ample opportunity to continuously adjust the regulations, which will be subject to review and amendment every five years.
Mazzei said that the changes reflected the department’s commitment to relying on the “best science available.” The reference most often cited in the briefing was a change of the range of temperature increases expected as the globe moves toward 2100.
Noting improvements due to actions taken by many countries, LaTourette said the expected rise in temperature that the rule-making was originally based on was 3.3 degrees, and it is now 2.7 degrees, leading to a revised sea level rise projection that is at the heart of the changes to the regulations. According to the DEP officials, the alteration of the likely warming levels reduces the sea level projections for 2100 from 5 feet to 4 feet.
The state is using a “notification of substantial change” process for the already published regulations to both incorporate the changes and to extend the deadline for adoption of the regulations beyond their fast-approaching Aug. 4 deadline.
A state agency has one year from the date of publication of a proposed rule in the New Jersey Register to take final action on its adoption. The REAL rules were first published on Aug. 5, 2024. Failure to meet that deadline means the proposed rule expires, and the agency must resubmit it for publication if it wishes to continue the rule-making process.
Asked why the department waited so long to propose changes to the regulations published last year, LaTourette said, “We have been busy.”
The revisions, by resetting the clock on adoption of the regulations, give the state more time to placate the opposition. The DEP says the new schedule will include a 60-day comment period and a planned virtual public hearing on Sept. 3 at 6 p.m.
Environmental groups and others who have pushed for the unchanged adoption of the REAL regulations published in 2024 held an event July 8 in Trenton to urge Murphy to hold the line on any alteration of the regulations.
LaTourette said he expects adoption of the original proposal with the changes by end of year or in early January. Murphy’s term as governor ends on Jan. 20, 2026, when a new governor is sworn in based on the results of the November elections.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
