CMC Officials, Mayors and NJ Legislators Call for Change to State’s Proposed Climate Change Rules

Cape May County Officials, Mayors, and State Legislators from Legislative Districts 1, 9 and 10 Call for Change to State's Proposed Climate Change Rules at 9/6 Press Conference

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, NJ - After Cape May County Officials and State Legislators addressed their concerns to State Officials on the record at the NJDEP's first public hearing in Ocean County last Thursday, Director Desiderio and the Board of County Commissioner, joined by State Legislators from Legislative Districts 1, 9 and 10, and double down on their concerns with the State's proposed radical REAL climate change rules at a Press Conference on 9/6. Hosted by Cape May County and held outside of the County Administration Building, press conference speakers in lockstep with the County's position included:

Commissioner Director Leonard Desiderio

Commissioner Bobby Barr

Assemblyman Antwan McClellan, LD1

Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, LD10

Assemblyman Gregory E. Myhre, LD9

Jeff Kaelin, Lunds Fisheries

Mayor Patrick Rosenello, North Wildwood

Mayor Chris Leusner, Middle Township

Barbara Stafford-Jones, CMC Chamber of Commerce

Ray Cantor, NJBIA

Concerns from speakers included increased construction costs for public and private projects; issues with access for ADA compliance for seniors and the disabled, a population concentration that makes up greater than a quarter of the County's net population; economic impacts to housing, specifically affordable housing, economic impacts on property values; impacts to the fishing industry that will cause distress to operations and impact the shellfish industry by revising current regulations that would allow for offshore wind developers the ability to trench utility infrastructure through shellfish habitats; and impacts to historic structures, including Cape May City whose entire City operates within a historic district designation.

The State of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection published the proposed REAL Rules for a 90-day public comment period on the NJ Public Register effective August 5^th, 2024. The State's Climate Change Resilience Strategy are calling for a "managed retreat" of coastal zones based on sea-level rise projection for the year 2100 with a less than 17% probability, further stating, "Coastal stakeholders may disagree about the implementation of a managed retreat." The REAL Rules have since been catching a lot of flak from several counties and towns across the State of New Jersey, including all 16 in Cape May County, in response to the stringent floodplain requirements and expansion of flood hazard areas, which according to County Officials, will cause an economic catastrophe for the Cape May County area.

According to Commissioner Director Desiderio, "These proposed climate changed rules are ill-conceived policies that, if implemented, will do far more harm than good, and will pose significant threats to the quality of life for the hardworking families of Cape May County. To be clear, these regulations will devastate our communities under the weight of bureaucratic red tape from Trenton and exorbitant costs that will be throttled upon our residents. This is not just bad policy; it is a seriously misguided plan that is being mandated with little regard for the realities and no consideration of the potential impacts."

County Officials are urging the public to get involved by scanning the QR Code below to email the Governor and State Legislators and participate in the State's public comment period by registering for a public hearing or posting a public comment at either of the hyperlinks below.

SCAN QR CODE TO EMAIL GOVERNOR AND STATE LEGISLATORS

REGISTER FOR PUBLIC HEARING - CLICK HERE

REGISTER FOR PUBLIC COMMENT CLICK HERE

LEARN MORE ON THE ISSUE ON COUNTY'S WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

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