In June, The New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP) announced that it would be consolidating the rules that
determine how development occurs in coastal areas. These changes are being
billed as administrative in nature, to streamline permitting and reduce
paperwork. However, some of the changes
proposed could have significant consequences for our coastal waters.
Staff Scientist Cassandra Ornell spoke at the first of three
public hearings, held in Long Branch on June 25. She highlighted the fact that the proposal
does not specifically address actions that will be taken in the permitting and
development process to increase resiliency at the coast, and protect coastal
communities from sea level rise and extreme storm events. To the contrary,
several provisions in the new rules would allow more development in sensitive coastal areas, only increasing
future risk. The ability to develop more properties on a single lot in
shoreline coastal areas will not only endanger residents and their livelihoods,
but increase polluted stormwater runoff, and further impact the quality of our
coastal waters.
The rules also change several aspects of dredged material
management. The conditions that determine
maintenance dredging are being relaxed, so that dredging in areas that were
last dredged long ago would now fall under the definition of “maintenance
dredging,” and therefore be dredged back to historical levels. This change
would allow for less restrictive dredging protocols in areas that are not
currently used for navigation, and opens the way for new development in farther
upstream areas. Similarly, time restrictions for dredged material management
areas would be relaxed, thereby allowing historical sites that are now
productive functioning wetlands that filter pollutants from the water and that
may contain threatened or endangered species to potentially be reverted back to
dredged material management areas.
Marina expansion and new development would be permitted (under
specific conditions) in shellfish areas.
Although these areas may be small, there is no limit in the law to how
many of these areas can be developed, that is, there would be no limit to the
amount of total shellfish area that would be lost. This change will impact water quality and further
reduce already dwindling shellfish resources, as well as affect those who depend
on the resource for a living.
At over 1,000 pages, the details of the rule changes are too
numerous to mention. Clean Ocean Action and several other environmental
organizations met with the NJDEP in July to gain further clarity about the
proposed changes, and to discuss the potential implications of these changes. COA has since prepared
and submitted extensive written comments on the rule proposal. Please stay posted for any updates.
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