New Jersey Herald
Flood rules to affect Sussex plans
By BRUCE A. SCRUTON
bscruton@njherald.com
TRENTON — New rules to reduce property damage from floods along the Delaware River will reach upstream into areas of Sussex County miles from that river.
The new rules, approved last week by the state Department of Environmental Protection, are aimed at what is known as the 100-year flood plain, an area which covers major rivers and the Jersey Shore.
But to put those rules into effect, the new rules cover Category One streams, such as the Pequest and Wallkill rivers as well as some streams which support trout or are the natural habitat of threatened or endangered species which rely on the water to survive.
As it flows through Sussex County, the Pequest, which eventually dumps into the Delaware, is little more than a small creek. The Wallkill River actually flows north through Wantage and Vernon and eventually into the Hudson River.
Yet both are among state waters classified as Category One, which will get the most restrictive changes, a protective zone which could be as wide as 300 feet. There is also a "zero net fill" requirement that any area within a restrictive zone which is filled in, must be recreated in another spot in the same flood hazard area.
Prior to the change, developers can fill up to 20 percent of a flood hazard area's storage capacity with few restrictions.
Commenting on the overall effect of the new rules, Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the program is an important step forward to ensure protection for many areas which have seen repeated flooding.
By expanding protection zones around certain streams to include the vegetation, the DEP is acknowledging the water storage capacity of those areas. Category One streams will get the 300-foot buffers, while trout streams and areas for threatened and endangered species get a 150-foot zone.
Those protections expand what had been a 25-foot corridor for most waterways and as little as 150 feet for Category One streams.
Sussex County Planner Eric Snyder said "a great deal depends on what development is being proposed" as to the overall effects of the new rules on the county.
But what he has more concerns about is the future and a second set of proposals from DEP which greatly expands the amount of waterways considered Category One.
Those rules, proposed in late April, have gone through the public comment period and DEP staff is now looking at those comments and working on language, said DEP spokeswoman Karen Hershey.
"They got plenty of them," said Snyder, referring to public comments.
"I believe, and so do many others, that performance standards are much more reasonable than just a number. A number just doesn't take into account local topography, nearby roads, things like that. The science has to be reasonable."
Should those rules go in as proposed, a wide range of streams and tributaries feeding current Category One waters will get that designation and these recently approved regulations.
"We have to assume those (corridors along streams) will be wider," Snyder said. "The whole process of getting waivers will be much more time-consuming and expensive."
Hershey said the department has no timetable on completing the Category One regulations, although state law does set a one-year deadline.
The new rules on flooding do encourage redevelopment and simplify permit requirements for many urban areas which abut rivers and streams. But, in exchange for the quicker, simpler permit process, the redevelopment must include enhanced designs to prevent loss during a flood.
One of the problems which became evident during the major floods of 2005 and 2006 was the lack of current and coordinated maps of flood-prone areas for much of the state.
Tittel said the state needs to come up with the funds for the Bureau of Flood Mapping to create new maps of flood-prone areas so regulators do not have to rely on consultants, often hired by the developers, to outline those areas.
While applauding the new rules, Tittel said the Sierra Club also found some weaknesses or loopholes within the regulations. He said the rules are still too loose when it comes to claims of hardship, with no set standards on what constitutes "hardship."
Also remaining are the ability to get permits for such auxiliary structures as oil tanks, utility crossing and up to five cubic yards of fill.
In another recommendation to further update the rules, the Sierra Club calls for stronger regional planning, especially in the Delaware River Basin where overdevelopment could cause more powerful floods in the future.
And, Tittel said, while there are protections for trout production streams, there are no specific protections for drinking water sources.
"If we do it for trout, we should do it for people," he said.
Flood rules to affect Sussex plans
By BRUCE A. SCRUTON
bscruton@njherald.com
TRENTON — New rules to reduce property damage from floods along the Delaware River will reach upstream into areas of Sussex County miles from that river.
The new rules, approved last week by the state Department of Environmental Protection, are aimed at what is known as the 100-year flood plain, an area which covers major rivers and the Jersey Shore.
But to put those rules into effect, the new rules cover Category One streams, such as the Pequest and Wallkill rivers as well as some streams which support trout or are the natural habitat of threatened or endangered species which rely on the water to survive.
As it flows through Sussex County, the Pequest, which eventually dumps into the Delaware, is little more than a small creek. The Wallkill River actually flows north through Wantage and Vernon and eventually into the Hudson River.
Yet both are among state waters classified as Category One, which will get the most restrictive changes, a protective zone which could be as wide as 300 feet. There is also a "zero net fill" requirement that any area within a restrictive zone which is filled in, must be recreated in another spot in the same flood hazard area.
Prior to the change, developers can fill up to 20 percent of a flood hazard area's storage capacity with few restrictions.
Commenting on the overall effect of the new rules, Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the program is an important step forward to ensure protection for many areas which have seen repeated flooding.
By expanding protection zones around certain streams to include the vegetation, the DEP is acknowledging the water storage capacity of those areas. Category One streams will get the 300-foot buffers, while trout streams and areas for threatened and endangered species get a 150-foot zone.
Those protections expand what had been a 25-foot corridor for most waterways and as little as 150 feet for Category One streams.
Sussex County Planner Eric Snyder said "a great deal depends on what development is being proposed" as to the overall effects of the new rules on the county.
But what he has more concerns about is the future and a second set of proposals from DEP which greatly expands the amount of waterways considered Category One.
Those rules, proposed in late April, have gone through the public comment period and DEP staff is now looking at those comments and working on language, said DEP spokeswoman Karen Hershey.
"They got plenty of them," said Snyder, referring to public comments.
"I believe, and so do many others, that performance standards are much more reasonable than just a number. A number just doesn't take into account local topography, nearby roads, things like that. The science has to be reasonable."
Should those rules go in as proposed, a wide range of streams and tributaries feeding current Category One waters will get that designation and these recently approved regulations.
"We have to assume those (corridors along streams) will be wider," Snyder said. "The whole process of getting waivers will be much more time-consuming and expensive."
Hershey said the department has no timetable on completing the Category One regulations, although state law does set a one-year deadline.
The new rules on flooding do encourage redevelopment and simplify permit requirements for many urban areas which abut rivers and streams. But, in exchange for the quicker, simpler permit process, the redevelopment must include enhanced designs to prevent loss during a flood.
One of the problems which became evident during the major floods of 2005 and 2006 was the lack of current and coordinated maps of flood-prone areas for much of the state.
Tittel said the state needs to come up with the funds for the Bureau of Flood Mapping to create new maps of flood-prone areas so regulators do not have to rely on consultants, often hired by the developers, to outline those areas.
While applauding the new rules, Tittel said the Sierra Club also found some weaknesses or loopholes within the regulations. He said the rules are still too loose when it comes to claims of hardship, with no set standards on what constitutes "hardship."
Also remaining are the ability to get permits for such auxiliary structures as oil tanks, utility crossing and up to five cubic yards of fill.
In another recommendation to further update the rules, the Sierra Club calls for stronger regional planning, especially in the Delaware River Basin where overdevelopment could cause more powerful floods in the future.
And, Tittel said, while there are protections for trout production streams, there are no specific protections for drinking water sources.
"If we do it for trout, we should do it for people," he said.
