Posted on February 1, 2016
By Wayne Parry, The Morning Call
New Jersey’s environmental protection department says a bill being fast-tracked through the state Legislature would restore the public beach access rules that were struck down by an appeals court in December.
DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said a bill introduced Thursday would restore the same rules that were in place before the court stuck them down. The rules govern how and where the public can access the state’s ocean and bay beaches, and riverfronts.
The Dec. 22 appeals court ruling said the DEP was not authorized by the Legislature to require public beach access in coastal development projects, and it tossed out the rules. That threatened several things, including the public’s right to get onto the sand at beaches and access river banks in urban areas. Martin said it also jeopardized the ongoing beach replenishment projects that are widening beaches from Monmouth to Cape May counties and that require public access points.
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