| From the Baykeeper... |
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New Jersey DEP's new "Common Sense" public access policy makes no sense at all. Just as the summer season was underway, NJDEP Commissioner Martin announced a rollback of public access rules. While a rulemaking is in the works to weaken beach public access requirements for municipalities, immediate steps are being taken to rollback public access requirements along our urban waterfronts. Under the current rule, when development occurs at a new or existing facility, including industrial and port sites, access to the waterfront is required. Generally, because of safety and security concerns access cannot be provided on-site and the rule then requires that access be provided at a nearby off-site location, which can include a contribution.
Off-site contributions have helped towards the creation of waterfront parks and walkways within our urban communities like Newark and Elizabeth - cities that have historically been cut off from the waterfront because of industrial development or pollution. The new policy harms our urban communities and is the wrong direction for the NJDEP.
Deborah A. Mans
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