New law clarifies who has authority over N.J. waterfront access

The bill is in response to a Dec. 22 appellate court decision that sided with the Hackensack Riverkeeper and said the DEP doesn't have authority over public access to the state's waterfront areas because state law never gave the agency that power

TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday signed a bill giving the state Department of Environmental Protection jurisdiction over public access to New Jersey's waterfront.

The bill (S3321) is in response to a Dec. 22 appellate court decision that sided with the Hackensack Riverkeeper and said the DEP doesn't have authority over public access to the state's waterfront areas because state law never gave the agency that power.

Responding to a plea from DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, the state Senate and Assembly acted swiftly by passing a law on Jan. 11.

In his testimony before the Senate, Martin insisted New Jersey was in jeopardy of losing federal funding -- particularly for beach replenishment projects - without clarification of who was in charge of public access.

Bill fixing N.J.'s authority over beach access waiting for Christie's signature

"Through quick response from the legislature and the governor signing that this morning, we now have the authority to require public access, which again protects the 1,300 access points we have along the coast of New Jersey," Martin said at an unrelated event in Spring Lake on Tuesday.  "It also allows us to continue with all the major construction projects that we have with the (U.S.) Army Corps of Engineers."

The finding was the result of a challenge brought by the Hackensack Riverkeeper, which sought to toss public access rules adopted in 2012 by the Christie administration because they didn't require commercial properties to provide alternate arrangements when they couldn't provide waterfront access to the public.

Public access advocates also objected to the new rules, which they said gave local communities too much leeway in deciding the extent of public access within their borders and could actually result in less access.

The appellate court ruling threw out those rules, which Hackensack Riverkeeper executive director Bill Sheehan said remain invalidated even with the new law.

But on Tuesday, Martin said the new law reinstates those rules.

"The (state) Attorney General's Office told us those rules are still in effect so we're operating as if the rules ... are in effect," he said.

State Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), a sponsor of the bill, has said lawmakers also plan to establish a committee to rewrite those rules.

Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said that's an important aspect of the new law.

"Now that the governor has signed this bill, the real work begins. We need to make sure the DEP puts the trust back into the Public Trust Doctrine," Tittel said. "This law will allow DEP to come up with rules to require the towns to have beach access plans."

The law takes effect immediately.