NJ’s State of the Shore is Unsure Long Term

NJDEP Commissioner McCabe will be kicking off New Jersey’s annual State of the Shore. As the New Jersey celebrates the start of the summer, we need the Murphy Administration to put in place policies that will ensure we have a coast for future generations and to keep these residents protected. Under the Christie Administration, New Jersey failed to plan for climate change and sea level rise, unfortunately, its been over a year and the Murphy Administration have not done enough to protect us against sea level rise and make us more resilient against the next storm. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club released the following statement:

“We hope this a great year for our shore where people will be able to go on Memorial Day. We are concerned that even though things are good right now, the state of our shore is unsure long term.  There are serious issues on the horizon that will impact our beaches and the Jersey Shore. Things like climate change, sea level rise, combined sewer overflow, sprawl, overdevelopment and more will put a permanent cloud on our beaches and shore.

“Even though it will be a nice weekend, the biggest concern we have is that the Murphy Administration has not changed any of Christie’s policies. In order to prepare for climate impacts, we need to reopen the Office of Climate Change and other coastal programs. We must update our adaptation for sea level mitigation program, our shore protection plan, fix CAFRA loopholes and have a Coastal Commission. DEP must also update new FEMA flood maps for sea level rise, update building codes, and start to implement adaptation and hazard planning as part of their resiliency model.

“The Murphy Administration still need to reverse many rule rollbacks under Governor Christie. This includes the Flood Hazard Rules that were rewritten, removing important protections for headwaters, increasing permit by rules, and letting a permit by certification process increase development in flood-prone areas. The proposed changes to the coastal regulations allow rebuilding without a permit or proposer oversight. The DEP must also update other water protection rules such as the Wetlands Rules and Water Quality Management Planning Rules.

“New Jersey needs to create a comprehensive approach to the shore that includes mitigation of climate change, adaptation for sea level rise, and restoration of natural systems.  Instead of wasting billions of dollars on manmade structures like seas walls and barriers, we need to be taking a holistic approach for flood management and resiliency. The state does not currently have a program that requires towns to protect and maintain their dunes, which is what we need. Money funded by taxpayers should not go to town projects such as flood walls, but towards more sustainable projects like dune restoration. According to a Zillow study, there are 61,000 homes in New Jersey in jeopardy of flooding now and in 30-40 years, that number can 250,000 homes. We should be buying out property of flood prone areas, and rebuilding in a more sustainable manner including pulling back from the shore where we can. Otherwise we are washing millions of dollars out to sea.

“We not only need to protect our shore from climate change, but we need to make sure the water is safe to swim in. When it rains, it pours sewage and polluted runoff. Last summer we saw dozens of beaches that were closed and or under advisory because of high fecal bacteria. This impacts public health but hurts our tourism. These beaches were closed because of the failure of New Jersey to protect our bays and coast from chronic pollution. There is technology to test water quality within a few hours, which the DEP needs to invest in order to protect public health and our economy. We also need at least $14 billion just to fix our combined sewer overflow systems and billions more to fix our water systems that are outdated and breaking.

“New Jersey’s needs to step up and prevent out beaches, water, and wildlife from becoming any more inundated with plastic waste.  Beach sweeps in New Jersey found that beaches from Monmouth County down to Cape May County have micro plastics in the ocean and on the beach. Towns are moving forward on plastic bans but the state isn’t. The state legislature is sitting on the most comprehensive statewide ban on single use plastics. In order to keep our shore clean, the legislature and Governor Murphy need to move and pass a statewide ban on single use plastics.

“People can’t enjoy our shore without having public access to it. The beach access bill Governor Murphy recently signed into law is an important step forward in putting the Public Trust Doctrine into law. However the law will still let communities and towns like Deal, Avalon, and Long Beach Township to get off the hook from requiring public access. We need a legislative fix bill that would strengthen public access. There are too many places in our state where private beachfront homeowners want the public money, but they don’t want the public to be there.

“It is critical that the Murphy Administration keeps our bays and coast oil free. This means rejecting new fossil fuel infrastructure like the NESE project and building a green wall around President Trump’s offshore drilling plan. An oil spill off the coast of New Jersey could trigger an even more dramatic decline in our tourism economy. New Jersey’s coastal tourism industry supports nearly 500,000 jobs, and one out of every six of the state’s jobs are linked in some form to its shoreline.  We cannot risk our beautiful Jersey Shore, marine life, and coastal economy for any fossil fool.

“Photo ops and press events will not protect our shore from 8 years of Christie rollbacks and climate impacts. We want people to go to the shore and not have to worry about another Sandy Superstorm or having oil rigs off our coast. Our beaches should be accessible, clean, and plastic free. Our shore is what makes New Jersey. It’s what’s part of us. We need to make sure that the Murphy Administration make these changes so that we can continue to enjoy our shore now and for future generations.”