The nor’easter that hit New Jersey over the weekend caused flooding in communities across the Garden State. The storm inflicted millions of dollars in damage to homes, local businesses and municipal and critical infrastructure, including roads.

The storm highlighted the need for Governor Sherrill to announce strong new flood protection rules in the coming weeks. The NJPACT REAL rules would save working families, local businesses and state and local governments millions of dollars in rebuilding costs after future storms by requiring developers to build new homes and businesses designed to withstand extreme weather events.

New Jersey residents shouldn’t have to worry about whether they will be able to rebuild — they should be able to expect that their homes and businesses can withstand the increasingly severe weather conditions hitting our state.

Environmental advocates issued the following statements to highlight the need for quick action.

“New Jersey is no stranger to flooding. We have the data to know what to expect, and our government leaders now have the responsibility to enact science based policies that protect the lives and homes of residents,” said Jennifer M. Coffey, Executive Director of ANJEC. “This weekend’s extreme coastal flooding is exhibit A of why we need to update our building and construction requirements so that we build above the known flood elevation level. The NJPACT REAL rules are common sense and the Governor needs to reinstate them immediately.”

Sherrill’s Department of Environmental Protection rolled back flood rules last week while considering changes to them following a full-throated misinformation campaign driven by powerful corporate developers seeking to build cheaper, more vulnerable structures to increase their profits.

In its announcement, dep DEP cited the need to ensure “the efficiency of the Department’s permit processes “ while acknowledging “that delaying protective standards in the rules, like requiring that critical buildings and their access roads be elevated using the climate-adjusted flood elevation, will have a negative long-term impact on affordability and public safety.”

“Delaying strong NJ PACT Rules is just kicking the can down the road,” said Jaclyn Rhoads, Executive Director for the Pinelands Alliance. “Sooner or later, we will have to confront these challenges, and by then the costs to communities will be far greater than they are today. The Pinelands is no stranger to unique and strong rules. It is an example of how thinking about the future pays off. Many who once opposed them ultimately came to recognize their benefits, and efforts to dismantle the program faded as its success became clear. New Jersey leaders of the past recognized the economic benefits of environmental protection. New Jersey must continue this tradition.”

“This weekend’s nor’easter showed New Jersey how vulnerable we are to flooding,” said Danielle McCulloch, Executive Director of the American Littoral Society. “Flooded homes, stranded cars, emergency rescues, and another round of expensive damage and repairs are costs pushed onto homeowners, towns, and taxpayers. The REAL Rules that help New Jersey build safer and smarter for flooding, should be in place now. The choices our State leaders make today will affect families and communities for decades. Every delay in stronger building standards means they are accepting more avoidable damage and more costs we will pay for. We cannot stop the storms. But we can stop making the problem worse. Our state leaders should require homes, businesses, and infrastructure to be built for the flooding we see now and for the flooding we know is coming.”

"How many flooded roadways and cars floating down our streets will it take before we accept that flooding is getting worse? The summer of floods — and this weekend's nor'easter — made the lesson inescapable: we cannot build to the standards of the past and expect a resilient future,” said Michael J. Pisauro, Policy Director of The Watershed Institute. “Delaying or weakening the REAL rules only guarantees more flooded roads, more ruined cars, more damaged homes and businesses. We call on the administration to move forward with the strong regulations that will protect all of New Jersey, today and for the future."

“Another major storm hit New Jersey over the weekend, with heavy rain, strong winds and flooding. We need strong NJ PACT REAL rules and investments in resilient infrastructure, which are critical to protecting our communities, our health and our economy,” said Allison McLeod, Interim Executive Director of New Jersey LCV. “After repeated flooding and extreme weather, we’re seeing the growing costs of a changing climate, not only in damage to homes and infrastructure, but in the rising burden on families and communities. New Jersey must continue moving toward clean energy to reduce carbon pollution and slow the impacts of climate change.”

"Just after climate week, New Jersey was once again struck by extreme coastal flooding and caught unprepared, despite the all too familiar conditions. The flooding seen this weekend at unprecedented levels in certain areas of NJ is the exact reason why we need to implement the most stringent version of the NJ PACT REAL Rules to save lives and property by building above flood levels," said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, Director for the NJ Sierra Club. "Now is not the time for delays, but the time for urgent action and protective policy that accounts for the severe weather realities of climate change that New Jerseyans are paying the price for."

Advocates called on the governor to release strong rules quickly as the strongest response to the weekend flooding.