Gov. Murphy Caves To Shore Real Estate Interests - Directs DEP To Weaken Coastal Flood Rules
Gov.'s Prior Cave To Sham Attacks On Off Shore Wind Signaled A Spineless Lack Of Conviction
DEP's Political Concessions Contradict Science And Public Policy
Profiles In Cowardice
In the wake of the deadly Texas flooding, at a time when the nation's attention is focused like a laser beam on how the lack of government flood protections literally kills people, Gov. Murphy just directed DEP to weaken proposed shore flood protection regulations, see:
Even ongoing searches for human remains from massive deadly floods - and the deadly damage NJ suffered by Superstorm Sandy - could not dampen the reckless greed and political power of shore real estate and development interests - or stiffen the spines of Gov. Murphy and DEP Commisisoner LaTourette.
We predicted exactly this would happen a month ago, see:
The DEP's proposed substantive changes to the original proposal are not minor - they alter core standards dealing with the height of flood waters and the land area that will be inundated by coastal storms and sea level rise. The DEP even admitted that:
Most notably, the proposed changes will lower the coastal zone flood-elevation for new and substantially improved buildings and infrastructure from the originally proposed 5 feet to 4 feet (above the FEMA base flood elevation). As compared to the original 2024 proposal, the lower elevation effectively reduces the amount of additional coastal land area that would be subject to the building safety standards of New Jersey’s Flood Hazard Area Control Act. The proposed changes would also expand provisions to enable projects to proceed under pre-existing regulations if they reach certain planning, design, or permitting milestones by July 2026, i.e., within six months of DEP’s intended adoption of the REAL rules.
The DEP also created a massive new loophole for "affordable housing", a political concession to the NJ BIA lobbyists who cynically used affordable housing as a cover to attack the DEP rule:
Clarify that low- and moderate-income housing projects are eligible project types to be reviewed under the Flood Hazard Area Control Act rules’ “hardship exception” process, which allows relaxation of certain standards where public safety is not jeopardized.
DEP also created new loopholes by transition rules that exempt many new development projects from the new rules:
Expand provisions in the flood hazard, stormwater, coastal zone, and freshwater wetland regulations to allow projects for which the applicant submits a complete application to the DEP within 180 days of REAL’s effective date to be reviewed under today’s regulations.
[Note: Giving developers an exemption from the new rules for 180 days after they are adopted (effective date on adoption by November, at the earliest. So that gives exemptions until May-June 2026) will create a perverse incentive that will actually ACCELERATE and INVITE new development to hazardous locations. This kind of political regulatory concession is insane.]
Keep in mind that the original modest DEP proposal (which was weakened) did NOT limit new development, even in land areas that would be inundated by sea level rise and coastal storm surge.
The original proposal also did not seek a "managed retreat" from unsafe shore flood locations, as real estate interests and shore local government opponents falsely claimed.
The DEP tried to put lipstick on this pig by stating that the "changes" will "better position our coastal communities to withstand existing and future risks from coastal flooding, sea-level rise, and storm surge.”
That is flat out flat false. Weakening flood standards will put more people and property at deadly risks. Accelerating climate chaos will make risks far worse. Period.
The DEP also falsely implied that the changes are justified by science - but that claim is false. The changes are purely political concessions that contradict science:
“The DEP has carefully reviewed and considered comments from a diverse cross-section of residents, community leaders, business interests, and stakeholders as we continued to evaluate measures to better protect people and property from increasing coastal hazards,” Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette said. “We take public comment on these reforms as seriously as we do the climate science that underlies them, and we are proposing changes that will better position our coastal communities to withstand existing and future risks from coastal flooding, sea-level rise, and storm surge.”
Shame on Gov. Murphy for caving to political pressure manufactured by a campaign of lies and not standing up to defend science and the public interest.
Shame on DEP Commissioner LaTourette for not resigning in protest and instead misleading the public.
The Governor and the cowards at DEP won't even face the public to defend this fold.
Instead, the DEP will hold a "virtual" public hearing on the proposed changes - and that's no "public hearing" at all.
Sigh. Same as it ever was, between the intensive lobbying and influence-buying by the real estate development cabal, and the dishonest politicians and bureaucrats whom they get to do their bidding. That the latter are dishonest is readily apparent in statements such as that you highlight by the DEP here. Genuine Orwellian double-speak, in which weakening of protections is claimed to be strengthening.
The real estate sector has long been one of if not the single most powerful player at both municipal and state levels; both in terms of election-buying and policy influence; so of course to me this is all too familiar. And I long ago learned that it matters not a whit which Party's representatives are involved in the decision making.