By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

A NJ State Police crisis management official, testifying at a legislative hearing at the NJ shore Thursday, said the need for new storm-resilient infrastructure is now at its highest while grant funding expectations are at their lowest.

He cited studies estimating that hundreds of billions of dollars will need to be invested over the next 10 years to offset the state’s flooding risks. He said no turnkey solution exists to address the problem across all affected New Jersey sectors, including 597 state facilities, 3,000 bridges and tunnels, and 2,000 miles of highways.

Flooding is not just a problem for the shore. It also affects cities along rivers and streams and requires regional solutions.

“The water is coming and needs somewhere to go, “ he said. “The best strategy is to restrict building in those areas where we know it will be and remove infrastructure around it.”

Legislators from the state’s Senate and Assembly environmental committees were meeting in Lavalette to hear from interest groups representing business, utilities, university researchers, environmentalists, and labor about the need for storm resistance.

NJ Utilities Association President Richard Hennig stressed that his members can no longer focus on preparing for one particular storm. They now must anticipate multiple stressors, including extreme heat and historic-level electric-energy demands.

Clinton Andrew, a professor at the Rutgers Climate Change Center, said infrastructure resilience is clearly needed, pegging expected costs for transportation at $66 billion, energy at $91-$194 billion, and water supply and wastewater disposal at $12 billion each.

Andrew said a dedicated, sustained funding source is needed but does not yet exist. He pointed to New York and Rhode Island as states that have implemented dedicated funding for resilient infrastructure.

States issuing bonds to finance flood infrastructure

That reference set the stage for references throughout the hearing to a $5 billion bond issue that Senate Environment and Energy Committee Chairman Bob Smith is preparing.

Smith said that one of the reasons that New York’s bond issue was successful was that it named specific projects that would be funded. “We don’t want New Jersey voters to see this upcoming legislation as a slush fund,” he said.

The veteran senator told the overflow audience in the town’s municipal building: “We need your cards and letters. Tell us what projects will give us the biggest bang for our buck.”

London School of Economics: Financing “resilience” rather than “recovery”

Another possible funding source for stormwater protection is the ‘Polluters Pay’ bills (S2338/A3735) sponsored by Senator John McKeon and Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill. The legislation would force major fossil fuel companies to pay $50 billion over 20 years to fund state climate adaptation and infrastructure resiliency projects. The bills failed to pass in the last session but have cleared committees in both houses this year despite ongoing opposition from business organizations.

Don’t forget natural systems

Those testifying for the Nature Conservancy reminded the panel that effective climate resilience systems also include nature-based approaches such as coastal wetlands buttressing and urban tree programs.

“Some of our most effective infrastructure doesn’t always look like infrastructure,” said a Nature Conservancy representative. “Our coastline is  home to 200,000 acres of salt marshes that help protect a region where more than 700 million residents live.”

“A 2017 study by Lloyd’s of London found that New Jersey’s coastal wetlands prevented some $430 million in property damages behind marshes, he testified.

“Unfortunately, the marshes are under increasing pressure from rising seas, stronger storms and erosion that have cost many to lose elevation and, in some locations, slowly drown.”

Others weighing in

County utilities representatives spoke about tens of millions of dollars in recovery costs spent since Superstorm Sandy 14 years ago.

Michael Egenton of the NJ Chamber of Commerce noted his organization’s past support for the state’s Green Acres and Blue Acres programs that have saved hundreds of thousands of acres, as well as other predictable funding opportunities

NJ AFL-CIO lobbyist Eric Richard said the state needs additional pumping and drainage systems. “All our members are impacted by flooding,“ he said. “Organized labor stays ready to build a flood-resistant system.”

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