Politics & Government

NJ DEP Issues Warning About Hazards of Global Climate Change

Environmentalists charge Sandy reconstruction ignores science in rush to rebuild Jersey Shore.

By Tom Johnson (Courtesy of NJ Spotlight)

There will be warmer summers and winters. The state will see a significant increase in precipitation, but more intensive rain and less snowfall. Rising sea levels will threaten a majority of New Jersey’s coastline. Be prepared for more extreme storms.

Those projections are detailed in the latest trend report put together by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on the impact of global climate change on the state. But is anyone paying any attention to its conclusions?

At least that's the question posed by the New Jersey Sierra Club, which yesterday argued that the science in the report, put up on the DEP’s website in June without any fanfare, is being ignored by policymakers as they rush to rebuild the Jersey Shore and other flood-prone areas in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

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“We should be building on sound science—not on sand that will be washed away,’’ said Jeff Tittel, director of the environmental organization. “When you look at what’s happening in rebuilding, we’re making the same mistakes that we made in the past.’’

Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the agency, disputed that assessment, saying that the document is a trend report routinely updated by the agency.

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“It’s not a DEP study,’’ he said. “The Sierra Club obviously is playing politics to make it seem that DEP is hiding something. That is not the case.’’

Hajna said the administration has been taking extraordinary measures to make sure that reconstruction efforts focus on safety and resilience, through things like the state elevation standard, the $300 million buyout program, financing to protect water and wastewater infrastructure and working, with the Army Corps of Engineers to reconstruct beaches.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.


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