State Rejects DEP Appeal to Avalon Beach Access Lawsuit

AVALON – According to an Avalon release issued today, New Jersey Supreme Court issued an order on April 23 in which it released its decision not to consider an appeal filed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regarding beach and bay public access policies.
The ruling by the court means that the Borough of Avalon has “successfully defeated the DEP on this issue, and the regulations that the department tried to impose on coastal towns in New Jersey will not become law,” the release states.
“Avalon is very pleased with the decision by the state’s highest court not to consider an appeal of the rulings made by the appellate court,” Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi said. “These latest regulations that the state tried to force down the throats of every coastal town in New Jersey prove once again that Gov. Jon Corzine and the DEP are simply out of control.”
On Nov. 19 2008, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court invalidated new public access rules that the DEP had adopted by regulation and included in a new version of the State Aid Agreement, which shore communities must sign in order to get beach replenishment funding.
The regulations mandated 24-hour seven day a week access to beaches, bay fronts and marinas; the proposed regulations also mandated shore communities provide parking spaces and public bathrooms near the beach but did not indicate how many parking spaces would be needed, nor did they provide any plan for local towns to accomplish these goals.
“The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled today that the order for certification on the appeal was denied”, said Avalon Municipal Solicitor Stephen Barse.
In the NJDEP’s petition for certification to the New Jersey Supreme Court, it argued, “…The Appellate Division’s decision improperly limits the department’s ability to ensure meaningful public access for all publicly-funded shore protection projects, including reasonable provisions for amenities which are essential to providing such access.”
“That statement by the NJDEP is simply ludicrous and shows that the state of New Jersey, under Governor Corzine’s leadership or lack thereof, is more interested in social engineering rather than engineered beaches,” Pagliughi said.
“Avalon proved it provides more than adequate parking spaces and public bathrooms for public use. This was all about the NJDEP attempting to provide public access around the clock to beaches without an ounce of thought or consideration to public safety.”
The borough argued that public access issues were flawed because they would permit beach access even during coastal storms and other events that threaten public safety. Avalon, and other coastal communities, would have needed to secure permission from the DEP before they could legally close beaches during weekends and overnight hours when storm conditions or other hazards are present.
“We experienced an unfortunate incident in Avalon last summer where medical waste came ashore on a Saturday afternoon in August,” Pagliughi said.
“If we would have went along with DEP’s new regulations, we would have first had to get approvals from the department to move people off of the beaches before we could legally could.”
Avalon has continued to address beach issues in the borough and throughout the state. Last week, Pagliughi traveled to Washington, D.C. and met with the office of Vice President Joseph Biden to talk about long-term funding for beach nourishment projects in the United States.
Tomorrow at 6 p.m. Pagliughi will also host a town meeting with coastal and tourism leaders at the Avalon Community Center to discuss Gov. Corzine’s proposed cuts to the beach nourishment and tourism promotion budgets in the state of New Jersey.
“Gov. Corzine employs thousands of people in the DEP so the department can develop flawed policy that even a small community like Avalon knew was illegal from day one,” Pagliughi said.
“We promise to have a very open dialogue with coastal leaders to once again prove to the governor that he needs to pay attention to shore communities.”