Bill Text: NJ ACR249 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Determines that DEP's proposal to revise Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules, Coastal Zone Management Rules, and Stormwater Management Rules is inconsistent with legislative intent.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-11 - Substituted by SCR180 [ACR249 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-ACR249-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 249
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED NOVEMBER 16, 2015
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblywoman L. GRACE SPENCER
District 29 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Determines that DEP's proposal to revise Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules, Coastal Zone Management Rules, and Stormwater Management Rules is inconsistent with legislative intent.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution concerning legislative review of certain proposed Department of Environmental Protection regulations pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.
Whereas, Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey provides that the Legislature may review any rule or regulation adopted or proposed by an administrative agency to determine if the rule or regulation is consistent with the intent of the Legislature as expressed in the language of the statute which the rule or regulation is intended to implement and, upon a finding that the rule or regulation is not consistent with legislative intent, may transmit the finding to the Governor and the head of the agency; and
Whereas, On June 1, 2015, the Department of Environmental Protection proposed for public comment in the New Jersey Register a rule proposal to revise its Flood Hazard Area Control Act (FHACA) Rules, N.J.A.C.7:13-1.1 et seq., Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Rules, N.J.A.C.7:7E-1.1 et seq. (recodified on July 6, 2015 as N.J.A.C.7:7-1.1 et seq.), and Stormwater Management (SWM) Rules, N.J.A.C.7:8-1.1 et seq.; and
Whereas, The notice of proposal lists the following statutes as the authority for the rule proposal: N.J.S.A.13:1D-1 et seq. (the statute establishing the department); N.J.S.A.13:1D-29 et seq. (commonly referred to as the "90-Day Law"); N.J.S.A.13:20-1 et seq. (the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act"); N.J.S.A.58:10A-1 et seq. (the "Water Pollution Control Act"); N.J.S.A.58:11A-1 et seq. (the "Water Quality Planning Act"); and N.J.S.A.58:16A-50 et seq. (the "Flood Hazard Area Control Act"); and
Whereas, According to the rule proposal, the department is proposing comprehensive changes to the FHACA Rules to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden, add appropriate flexibility, provide better consistency with federal, State, and local requirements, create additional permits-by-rule and general permits, and address implementation issues identified since the repeal and repromulgation of the rules in November 2007, and the "proposed amendments, repeals, and new rules consolidate similar provisions, simplify language, incorporate additional detail and description regarding the substantive standards that must be met to undertake regulated activities, and harmonize certain procedural provisions with the Department's other land use regulations"; and
Whereas, The proposal further notes that it is proposing related amendments to the CZM Rules and the SWM Rules for consistency with the FHACA Rules regarding development in flood hazard areas and the preservation of vegetation and habitat within and adjacent to surface waters; and
Whereas, Notwithstanding the above description, the proposal includes lessening and removing protections for headwaters, allowing development in vulnerable areas and mitigation elsewhere, weakening stream buffer requirements, and making it easier to obtain permits to build in flood-prone areas; and
Whereas, In a state as densely populated as New Jersey that suffers from severe and chronic flooding events, causing on some occasions significant property damage and inflicting incalculable harm to the economy of the State, the protection and preservation of New Jersey's water resources, including the quality and quantity of the State's limited water supply, are essential to the quality of life and the economic health of the citizens of the State; and
Whereas, The Legislature has repeatedly found and declared that it is the policy of this State to restore, enhance, and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of its waters, to protect public health, to safeguard fish and aquatic life and scenic and ecological values, and to enhance the domestic, recreational, agricultural, industrial, and other beneficial uses of water; and
Whereas, The Legislature, and the voters of the State, have repeatedly supported the acquisition of flood-prone lands in order to remove people and property from harm's way, and the proposed regulatory changes to allow development and the disturbance of vegetation in riparian zones are contrary to the State's efforts in this regard; and
Whereas, The Legislature found and declared, in the Water Pollution Control Act, that it is in the interest of the people of this State to minimize direct regulation by the federal government of wastewater dischargers by enacting legislation to continue and extend the powers and responsibilities of the Department of Environmental Protection for administering the State's water pollution control program, so that the State may implement the permit system required by the federal act; and
Whereas, The federal Clean Water Act requires states to establish and maintain water quality standards that include anti-degradation policies to maintain and protect high quality state waters from increased loadings of pollutants resulting from regulated activities, such as development and direct or indirect discharges; and
Whereas, The United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 recently submitted comments to the Department of Environmental Protection on the June 1, 2015 proposal to revise the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules, Coastal Zone Management Rules, and Stormwater Management Rules stating, among other things, that "measurable changes to Category 1 (C1) waters as a result of proposed changes to the rules would not comply with New Jersey's water quality standards"; and
Whereas, While the Legislature supports and encourages regulatory changes that reduce complexity, correct conflicting regulations, and streamline the permitting process, the regulatory changes proposed by the Department of Environmental Protection in its June 1, 2015 proposal go far beyond doing such and would weaken the State's protection for flood-prone lands and water quality, resulting in more flooding and more pollutants entering State waters, and any regulatory changes that jeopardize the State's ability to implement the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program are inconsistent with the intent of the Legislature; and
Whereas, The proposed amendments, repeals, and new rules contained in the proposal published by the Department of Environmental Protection in the New Jersey Register on June 1, 2015 to revise the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules, Coastal Zone Management Rules, and Stormwater Management Rules are inconsistent with the intent of the Legislature; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Legislature declares that the proposal by the Department of Environmental Protection, published for public comment in the New Jersey Register on June 1, 2015, to revise the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules, N.J.A.C.7:13-1.1 et seq., Coastal Zone Management Rules, N.J.A.C.7:7E-1.1 et seq. (recodified on July 6, 2015 as N.J.A.C.7:7-1.1 et seq.), and Stormwater Management Rules, N.J.A.C.7:8-1.1 et seq. is not consistent with legislative intent.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection.
3. Pursuant to Article V, Section IV, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall have 30 days following transmittal of this resolution to amend or withdraw the proposed rules and regulations or the Legislature may, by passage of another concurrent resolution, exercise its authority under the Constitution to invalidate the rules and regulations in whole or in part.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution embodies the finding of the Legislature that the Department of Environmental Protection's proposal to revise the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules, Coastal Zone Management Rules, and Stormwater Management Rules, published for public comment in the New Jersey Register on June 1, 2015, is not consistent with the intent of the Legislature.
The Commissioner of Environmental Protection will have 30 days from the date of transmittal of this resolution to amend or withdraw the proposed rules and regulations, or the Legislature may, by passage of another concurrent resolution, exercise its authority under the Constitution to invalidate the rules and regulations in whole or in part.
