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DEP has filed its proposed Inland Flood Rule for adoption and it is slated to be published in either the July 3rd or July 17th NJ Register, which will be the rule’s effective date. You can find a courtesy copy of the adoption here.
Thank you to the many members who submitted projects to NJBA that would have been negatively impacted by the rule's grandfathering elements. This rule was originally slated to be adopted by emergency last July and your information helped us delay the rule significantly and achieve additional grandfathering protections.
Specifically, DEP has extended grandfathering for projects which were outside the current Flood Hazard Area (FHA) but will be inside the newly proposed FHA. In the proposed rule, these projects would have needed to obtain all Federal, State and Local approvals and have started construction. Under the adoption a project which does not need an FHA or Coastal Zone Management (CZM) permit under today's standards can be grandfathered if it has (a) received local approval or (b) the project did not need local approval and construction commenced prior to the rule filling.
Summary of the Rule
- Under the Fluvial FHA Rules, the Design Flood Elevation (DFE) will be changed to include an additional 2 feet of flood elevation. Applicants utilizing their own flood projections will be required to use year 2100 rainfall data for calculating an alternative DFE.
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Under the Stormwater Rules, stormwater designs will be required to manage runoff for both today’s storms and future storms by utilizing year 2100, county based rainfall projections, which are up to 50% higher than current totals (link to DEP rainfall projections: https://njprojectedprecipitationchanges.com).
- Municipalities will have one year to update municipal stormwater ordinances however, the stormwater rules will be immediately effective under the Residential Site Improvement Standards.
Full Summary of Updated Grandfathering
FHA Rules: You will not have to comply with the new FHA standard if:
- the activity is part of a project with a valid FHA permit, or
- the activity is part of a project that needs an FHA permit and a complete application was submitted to DEP prior to the emergency rule filling, or
- the activity is part of a project that did not need an FHA or CZM permit prior to the rule filling where: (a) the project received local approval or (b) the project did not need local approval and construction commenced prior to the rule filling.
Stormwater Rules: You will not have to comply with the new rules if:
- the project needs an FHA, Coastal Zone Management, Freshwater Wetlands or Highlands approval and a complete application was submitted prior to the emergency rule filling, or
- the project does not need DEP approval and has received local approvals pursuant to the MLUL prior to the emergency rule filling.
If you have any questions about the rule, please contact Grant Lucking, [email protected].
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