Why NJ Needs the NJPACT REAL Rules – Now More Than Ever

July 15, 2025

Why NJ Needs the NJPACT REAL Rules – Now More Than Ever

At Raritan Headwaters, we believe in protecting our land and water not only for today, but for generations to come. That’s why we strongly support the adoption of New Jersey’s proposed NJPACT REAL rules, Protecting Against Climate Threats: Resilient Environments and Landscapes.

These new rules, developed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), represent the first comprehensive update to land resource protection regulations in over 30 years, and the first in the country to be grounded in climate science.

The stakes are high. New Jersey is one of the most vulnerable states in the U.S. to the impacts of climate change. Over 500,000 acres of land are highly susceptible to coastal hazards. Two-thirds of our coastline are already at high or very high risk from erosion, and nearly the entire coast faces increased risk from sea-level rise. Extreme weather, chronic flooding, and intense storms are no longer future threats, they are happening now.

Here in the Upper Raritan Watershed, we’ve already seen the devastating impact of storms like Hurricane Ida, which claimed 25 lives across the state, many due to flash flooding in homes and vehicles. We’ve also seen how outdated land use regulations fail to protect water quality, increase runoff and erosion, and leave communities exposed.

The NJPACT REAL rules are a smart and necessary response.

Require new and redeveloped buildings to be elevated above flood-prone areas
Mandate stormwater management for redevelopment projects—for the first time in our state’s history
Encourage the use of nature-based solutions, like wetlands and green infrastructure, to manage floodwaters
Strengthen protections for sensitive areas, like wetlands and stream buffers

These rules are grounded in moderate, science-based sea level rise projections (five feet by century’s end), not extreme predictions. Opponents claim the rules are overreaching—but they ignore the billions of dollars in damage we already face. Between 1980 and 2024, New Jersey experienced 72 weather disasters costing over $1 billion each, with events now occurring roughly every 32 weeks.

These protections are a necessary step toward building a more resilient, safer, and healthier New Jersey.

Resources and Information

THE SCIENCE: