Critics: Flood zone rule changes would do harm

By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH — Critics of revised rules governing projects in flood-prone areas say the changes proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would weaken flood protections throughout the state.

“My understanding is that changes will include removing environmental protections, allow property owners to build in vulnerable areas and make it easier for individuals to get permits to build in floodprone areas,” said Rich Garlipp, a member of the Long Branch Environmental Commission.

“The rules will eliminate flood protections around waterways by weakening stream buffering requirements,” he said.

“Also it is believed that these rule revisions could increase flooding, hurt water quality and target our environment to increase profits for the builders.”

Garlipp’s comments came during a June 25 public hearing on the proposed rule changes hosted by the DEP in Long Branch.

According to the DEP, the revisions would reduce complexity, align conflicting regulations and streamline the permitting process for project applicants, without weakening standards for flood mitigation and ecological protection of river and stream corridors.

But those who commented at the meeting criticized the DEP’s proposal to revise the state’s Flood Hazard Area Control Act.

“These regulations are not only outrageous but dangerous,” said Toni Granato, of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “These changes include removing water protection, allowing property owners to build in vulnerable areas.

“It will make it easier for individuals to get permits to build in flood-prone areas.”

Some of the changes include: streamlining the flood hazard area permitting process and making the permit review process more efficient and time sensitive for certain applications.

Also, making it easier to restore impaired riparian zones by encouraging efforts such as “daylighting” streams by removing culverts that enclose them; amending requirements for the placement of stormwater discharge within riparian zones to address concerns raised by local soil conservation districts regarding downstream erosion.

The state also plans to consolidate the Special Water Resource Protection Area and 300-foot riparian zone into a hybrid buffer with standards to better protect the most ecologically sensitive streams and rivers

The aim of the revisions, according to the DEP, is to make it easier for projects such as minor road widening and bridge or culvert replacement.

Granato said the rules would mainly weaken waterways throughout the state.

“The rules will eliminate important protections for our waterways by weakening stream buffering, which hurts water quality, water supply intakes and fisheries and allow for more pollution and siltation of waterways,” Granato said.

“Buffers are important because they act as filters protecting streams from pollution.”

Granato said the DEP is catering to developers and not the protection of the environment.

“DEP is permitting a disaster by allowing so many permit by rules with loopholes allowing more development in flood-prone areas,” she said.

While only a handful of attendees made comments, every speaker panned the proposed revisions as weakening environmental protections and raised concerns about drinking water.

The revisions were based on recommendations made by stakeholder study groups.

“Our streams and rivers provide the state with many benefits, but many aspects of the way the rules are currently structured have not achieved their stated goals,” DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said. “These rule changes will correct those problems while maintaining our high standards for protection of our waterways and mitigation of flooding.”

The complete rule proposal is available at: http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/proposals/ 20150601a.pdf.

Comments may be submitted electronically at www.nj.gov/dep/rules/comments until July 31.