The Watershed Institute with 30 environmental organizations wrote to Governor Murphy on April 5th asking that long overdue rules be released immediately. This vital action will save lives and property by better preparing our state for increased flooding and intense storms due to climate change.
In January 2020, Governor Phil Murphy announced one of the most ground breaking policies we’ve seen so far: Executive Order 100, which directed the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to adopt Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJPACT) regulations. These rules, which are essential for building a resilient future, would integrate climate change impacts such as sea level rise into the regulatory process, enhance protections for coastal areas, improve stormwater programs, and safeguard critical wildlife habitats.
Although the Murphy administration made progress with the Inland Flood Protection Rules in July 2023, coastal communities are still awaiting the larger set of updates under the NJPACT Resilient Environments and Landscapes (NJPACT REAL) rules. Read more on the Rules in the NJ Spotlight article here.
In the four years since Governor Murphy announced these rules that would protect New Jerseyans from climate threats
, sea level rise, and beach erosion have continued to plague coastal communities and threaten critical wildlife habitats. Independent reports from Rhodium’s Energy & Climate team estimate that over $15 billion worth of homes and buildings are now likely to flood at least once a year. Meanwhile, the most recent National Climate Assessment reports that over 80% of properties in the Northeast lack adequate flood insurance coverage.
The REAL Rules provide vital solutions needed to tackle these challenges. They will modernize how we build more resilient infrastructure that protects nature and people from the looming threats of climate change. The rules add increased protections for all communities statewide and encourage us to use the best science to inform our future plans.
These rules have the potential to protect our valuable ecosystems, vulnerable infrastructure, and the lives of our New Jersey residents.
We urge mayors, elected officials, and others to support the new rules that will make us all safer.
These rules must be issued promptly and will be a down payment on a safer, more resilient future. New Jersey must take additional steps to address the impacts we are currently experiencing because of climate change and those impacts are likely to worsen over time.
Please contact Governor Murphy and tell him to release the NJPACT REAL rules and protect our state:
