NJ delays new flood rules for further changes

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will delay the implementation of controversial new flood rules adopted on the final day of Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration by a year to give regulators more time to make amendments.

The move to walk back regulations that set new elevation requirements, expanded state flood maps beyond federal counterparts, and created new rules for wetland protection and stormwater management was announced Friday and follows a joint legislative hearing last month where local officials and business groups decried them as unduly restrictive.

“This extension gives us time to meaningfully engage with local leaders, communities, and other stakeholders across New Jersey to get this right,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill said.

The announcement extends a grace period that will allow projects to continue under old rules if they submit complete permit applications before July 20, 2027. As written, the rules’ grace period was due to lapse July 20, 2026.

The delay will prompt a 60-day public comment period that will include a public hearing after the rulemaking proposal is published in the state register in June, the department said.

The Murphy administration already pared down the Protecting Against Climate Threats: Resilient Environments and Landscapes — more succinctly, PACT REAL — rules last July before adopting them in January.

Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) in February introduced a concurrent resolution that would have declared the regulations out of step with lawmakers’ intent.

Politico New Jersey earlier reported the administration’s plan to delay the rules.

Business groups and some local officials have railed against the new flood rules for years, arguing they would raise costs and leave some communities without developable land to meet affordable housing obligations imposed by state law.

“We’re encouraging the administration to basically start from scratch so we can accomplish the administration’s goals of providing resiliency and environmental protection while also helping to streamline the permitting process so that we can grow our economy in a sustainable manner,” said Ray Cantor, deputy chief government affairs officer for the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.

Environmental advocates and municipal finance experts told the joint panel the cost of storm damage would outweigh the cost of compliance, whether by reducing borrowing costs or cutting risk that can increase borrowing costs for flood-prone coastal communities.

Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, said the flood rules that took more than half a decade to finalize were a thoughtful response to the rising flood risks.

“The Sherrill Administration’s decision to delay the coastal flooding rules gives developers another year of using antiquated data that won’t protect our communities and homes from tomorrow’s storms,” O’Malley said. “These rules need to be adopted as quickly as possible to ensure we don’t leave more communities at risk.”