The state Department of Environmental Protection has gone on the offensive, countering what it says are myths about its proposed Resilient Environments and Landscapes regulations aimed at blunting the impact of climate change.
Included in the proposed rules is the creation of a new “inundation zone” that takes land currently above sea level and puts it in a zone that DEP says will be inundated permanently or twice daily during high tides by 2100.
The proposed regulations also adjust the tidal flood hazard area to reflect the agency’s expectation of a 5-foot rise in the sea level by 2100, impact stormwater management regulations, modify freshwater wetlands rules and make changes to coastal zone management rules.
They establish a new Climate Adjusted Flood Elevation level that adds 5 feet to FEMA’s 100-year flood elevation level.
The proposed REAL regulations, totaling 1,057 pages, were published in the New Jersey Register on Aug. 5, 2024. They must be adopted within a year of that date or the process of developing new climate change-based coastal land use regulations must begin again.
The regulations immediately ran into strong opposition from Cape May County and other Shore areas. After they were announced the county commissioners asked for a report on them by the Lomax Consulting Group, a county-based environmental consulting firm.
The consulting firm’s report was critical of the proposed regulations, especially citing the DEP’s dependence on a 2019 report from a Rutgers University panel that projected the 5-foot sea level rise by 2100.
Many critics from the county claimed the proposed rules would severely hamper development in Shore communities, based on a 75-year planning horizon. The new inundation zone would contain almost half of Cape May County’s acreage, they pointed out.
Now the DEP has responded to the attacks on the REAL regulations with a website page on which it deals with what it calls “Myths and Facts.”
The DEP begins by claiming that “New Jersey is the first state in the nation to initiate a comprehensive update of land resource protection regulations focused on the impacts of a changing climate.”
DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette starts a series of short videos by putting the regulations in context, which for him means a set of new rules aimed at creating resilient communities in the coastal zone, communities that are going to be increasingly exposed to hazards in the years to come.
Will the new rules impact flood insurance? The DEP says no: The FEMA maps govern flood insurance mandates and the “more accurate” information provided by REAL’s new inundation zones will not themselves force anyone to purchase flood insurance.
While it is true that the new inundation zone designations would not directly impact FEMA maps, projects within this zone involving new residential developments, critical buildings and infrastructure, or substantial improvements to existing structures will need to meet more stringent risk assessment criteria. State permitting may be more of the issue.
The DEP goes on to say that REAL rules will not prevent or discourage redevelopment after a storm. However, much depends on the definition of “discourage,” since the rules will require “resilient design and construction” in inundation zones.
According to the DEP videos, the rules do require actions to improve water quality. They say they will make affordable housing safer and more resilient. Time after time in its “debunking of myths about REAL” the DEP videos show that the new rules will have a major impact on how properties are developed.
The DEP makes clear the many ways in which the REAL regulations will make development more complex and costly. The DEP calls it increased resilience; those opposed to the regulations call it premature regulation of development based on out-of-date science.
Adoption of the rules this summer is a high priority for Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, since there is a strong desire is to have this done during the governor’s final months in office.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
