Rule Changes Proposed to Address Climate Risk

COURT HOUSE – The Cape May County Chamber of Commerce Jan. 25 hosted a webinar that focused on prospective changes to New Jersey’s regulatory environment due to climate threats. 
Presented by state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Assistant Commissioner Vince Mazzei, the webinar dealt with proposed alterations, arising from Gov. Phil Murphy’s Executive Order 100 (https://bit.ly/3a6dpRj), signed one year ago. The order called for “sweeping regulatory reform to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.”
The proposed changesMazzeidiscussed are significant and far-reaching, but he maintained they fall with the DEP’s existing authority under the Flood Hazard Area Control Act and would not require enabling legislation.
The goal, as Mazzei explained it, was to “take a holistic look at environmental protection,” rather than continue with, what he termed as, an “incremental approach.” 
He said New Jersey Protection Against Climate Threats (NJPACT) rulemaking is the start of the effort to effectively deal with the unavailable impacts of climate change.
The webinar narrowed its focus largely to the impacts of sea level rise (SLR) and only touched briefly on other issues, such as stormwater management, renewable energy, and the lowering of emissions.
Saying that DEP wanted to use targeted reforms to modernize land-use rules, Mazzei used the Rutgers’ University Science and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) Report projection of a 17% probability of SLR exceeding 5.1 feet by 2100. 
He said the rulemaking effort decided not to use a projection that set a 50% chance that SLR would exceed 3.3 feet by 2100 because there was “a 50% chance that 3.3. feet would not be high enough.” The STAP reports are available on the website of the Rutgers Climate Institute (http://bit.ly/3pr3RGR).
Using 5.1 feet as a measurement criterion produces larger projected inundation zones, the difference between the current shoreline and the future shoreline and predicts that a larger area of Cape May County will be in future flood zones. 
He said proposed climate adjusted flood elevation levels would then be projected at 5.1 feet above FEMA 100-year flood elevation. According to Mazzei, this effort is meant to set regulatory standards that are commensurate with risk.  
Among the changes will be alterations to construction permit processes. One example is that most of the current DEP permits-by-rule would be replaced with a process of permits-by-registration. 
The state would also be asking for information that would allow follow-up on projects. “Right now,” he said, “we have permits issued where we don’t have any idea if the project went forward.”
In Mazzei’s presentation, the new regulations are seen as promoting responsible economic growth in the face of “ugly things on the horizon.” He wants the regulations to be driven by science. 
The rules cannot be so onerous, he said, that they stifle economic activity. He added that they also cannot miss the mark and leave the state and its citizens too exposed to climate threats. Mazzei’s favorite word throughout the presentation seemed to be “balance.”
The proposed rules and amendments would seek to “reduce the negative impact of climate change by preserving and protecting resources now,” while encouraging “safe” development and redevelopment to mitigate climate threats. No estimate of the economic impact of the new rules was discussed.
Asked about an expected schedule for the new regulations, Mazzei said he hoped they would begin to be introduced in the spring. After that, he said, it takes about a year for them to be finally adopted. No specific language regarding the proposed rules was provided in the presentation.
A video recording of the presentation and the PowerPoint slides is available to the public by the chamber on YouTube (https://bit.ly/3ohEGFq).
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.