New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill agreed to a one-year delay and new review of the Resilient Environments and Landscape (REAL) rule, regulations intended to prepare the state for sea-level rise and more flooding. The rule, adopted on the final day of Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration in January, had been scheduled to take effect on July 20.
“This extension gives us time to meaningfully engage with local leaders, communities and other stakeholders across New Jersey to get this right,” Sherrill said in a statement released by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Ed Potosnak, confirmed as the new DEP commissioner the day before the announcement, said a comprehensive review of the REAL rule will be done that “advances the Governor’s priorities of streamlining permitting, supporting new and resilient development, and protecting life and property.”
The REAL rule factors in a projected sea-level rise of nearly five feet by 2100 and mandates more stringent construction standards, flood protections, better stormwater management, and greater protections for wetlands. The most controversial provision requires new shore homes and substantial remodels of existing homes to be constructed four feet higher than current FEMA standards. The rule also creates new “inundation risk zones” that anticipate a likely four-foot rise in sea level by 2100, placing more homes in flood zones.
The one-year delay extends a grace period for some projects to continue under older, less-stringent rules and opens the door to possible changes. Business, industry, and political leaders welcomed the delay. The New Jersey Business & Industry Association stated that the REAL regulations went too far and would have increased housing costs, hindered development, and stifled economic growth.
New Jersey Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Sen. Paul Sarlo, a Democrat, co-sponsored a legislative resolution to invalidate the REAL regulations. Michael Pisauro, policy director of The Watershed Institute, said the REAL rules were carefully crafted, reviewed, and revised over a number of years and are an important step in preparing the state for the future. He added that building in flood zones during the delay “is going to put people and property at risk” for flooding. A coalition of environmental advocates said the decision to delay the REAL rule is “dangerous and places New Jersey residents squarely in harm’s way.” New Jersey has experienced an increase in sea level of about 18 inches since the early 1900s—more than twice the global mean rate of approximately eight inches, according to the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center.