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New Jersey Builders Battle New Development Rules
On May 1, approximately 300 members, affiliates and friends of the New Jersey Builders Association (NJBA) attended a New Jersey Senate Legislative Oversight Committee meeting to oppose two proposed rules from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) affecting Water Quality Management Planning (WQMP) and Site (Soil) Remediation Standards.
In three hours of testimony to determine whether the department had overstepped its authority in proposing the new regulations, builders told the committee that the rules would make it more difficult for them to plan and complete residential projects.
Tim Touhey, executive vice president of the association, expressed concern that the DEP rules would halt development across the state, eliminating jobs and creating a devastating impact on housing affordability, the state’s economy and the future of its housing industry.
Opponents of the rules, who included NJBA President Stephen Patron, noted that groundwater beneath most of the state's identified brownfields is not used for public drinking water. They also said that the new standards would stall, kill or increase the costs of existing projects in which developers are trying to convert brownfields into usable commercial and residential properties.
"The general concern was that the rules are changing midway. You can start down a path, having met the criteria, met it all the way, and then find yourself back to square one," said Amy Whilldin, a spokeswoman for the association.
For more information, e-mail Elizabeth Ambrose at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8253.
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