DEP to Flood Victims: Protection “Cost Prohibitive”
$38 BILLION for tolls, $380 million for bond consultants, and NJ can’t find money to map where the flood risks are?
Statehouse. Trenton, NJ. This photo was shot from a place that was under 5 feet of Delaware River floodwater in June 2006.Governor Corzine has made no secret about his alleged commitment to protect New Jersey residents from what has turned into a devastating cycle of more frequent and severe flooding across the entire state. In the wake of the major flooding of June 2006, the Governor toured flooded areas to survey damage caused by the rising waters of the Delaware River.
“Governor Corzine Tours Flood Areas to Assess Damage” http://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/approved/20060629a.html
A major part of the problem with flooding is lax regulation of development – too much development causes excessive runoff, and downstream development in the flood plains gets flooded out.
Over-development generates large volumes of runoff, that can quickly cause even small streams to rapidly flood after relatively moderate rainfall. Over-development has radically altered the natural hydrology of NJ watersheds, greatly increasing flooding risks. Maps have not kept pace with development and greatly under-estimate risk, allowing more people and property to unknowingly be placed in harms way (often without flood insurance).A combination of lack of of flood maps, outdated flood maps, and inaccurate flood maps impedes efforts to protect people. Without accurate maps, more development is allowed to be built in the wrong places. Old maps do not reflect the amount of stormwater runoff that results from heavily developed watersheds. As a result, DEP does not know where the real flood plain is. Inaccurate maps allow people to live in harms way, often without knowing of risks or flood insurance.
So, one would think it would be a high priority to update the maps.
Not for DEP – or the Governor, apparently.
In their own words, here is DEP’s formal legal reply to a request that maps be updated: (both comment and reply are printed verbatim):
46. COMMENT: Update of the Department’s flood hazard area mapping is required, as evidenced by the age of the current maps and the fact that land use/land cover and hydrological factors have changed dramatically since the maps were adopted. Current flood hazard area maps greatly underestimate flood risks and allow inappropriate development to continue. The Department should make specific commitments to secure monetary resources so that it can update existing floodplain delineations to reflect current hydrological and land use/land cover conditions, and to adopt new flood hazard area maps where none currently exist.
RESPONSE TO COMMENTS 46: The Flood Hazard Area Control Act rules are designed to protect the residents of the State from the increased impacts of flooding and environmental degradation that would otherwise be caused by unregulated development in flood hazard areas and riparian zones. Creating and adopting State flood hazard area mapping is a separate and independent process, which extends beyond the scope of the adopted new rules. Furthermore, updating the Department’s existing flood mapping for the entire State would be cost prohibitive
http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/adoptions/adopt_071105a.pdf
Wolf – man you’ve got it right. again! NJ has not sunk any real money into into flood mapping data for decades, relying on fading paper maps. For the amount of the payment of $3,991,758 that Corzine has already made to one law firm to begin setting up his ill fated toll scheme, NJ could have done the flood mapping for the entire state using using modern computerized laser mapping. Instead because of the pressing need for this data, local governments are being forced to do this on a county by county basis, wasting mucho tax dollars. Before Corzine starts trying to impress us with his financial wizardy maybe he should take a look a what is really going on in the government he is suppose to be running.
jswamp – yes, you too are one of the few that know that DEP deals in the maps of the era of Christopher Columbus technology on many important matters.
Allowing this to persist is particularly outrageous in light of the gobs of money going to useless and destructive corporate financial buzzards that have destroyed the US economy (Wall Street finance versus Main Street production).
And then they turn around and blame environmental protection for destroying manufacturing jobs!
Anyway, I get diverted.
The public needs to know this stuff – that’s the only way we can change things. For many reasons, DEP can not reform from within and politicians and developers like the status quo.
So, I am hopeful that this blog stimulates a Samizat of the the that led to the fall of the Soviet Empire -collapse from within.
I urge caring professionals to come forward – anonymously of course – to provide the substance to star that dialogue.
One place to start is to expose the misleading testimony about the DEP – here’s a palce to start, wher Jackson actually BRAGS about DEP information technology and its ability to replace professional staff:
“I think I testified last year before this Committee and I mentioned two things: The first resource we have in the Department, in my mind, is information technology. It is not an understatement to say that when I meet with my colleagues across the country, each one of them would
tell you that New Jersey literally leads the country in its use of information technology with respect to its environmental programs. Our database for information, the NJEMS program, our e-permitting programs, our e-data submittal programs, our G.I.S. system, the investment that we make in land use, land cover, and learning what that says about our state, all actually help us do our job better and with fewer resources. So the more we can invest in and keep those systems current and as close to state-of-the-art as we can afford to make them, the more we’re able to do our jobs better.”
Link: (@ pager 3-4)
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislativepub/pubhear/sen012808.pdf