OCEAN CITY, N.J. — City officials are objecting to a new Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rule that would allow the state to intervene if endangered species are found in coastal areas.
“This is government overreach,” George Savastano, the city's business administrator, said of the proposed rule. The City Council recently unanimously adopted a resolution formally opposing the proposal.
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Under the proposed rule, titled “Restricting Access to Tidal Streams and Adjacent Shorelines for the Protection of Endangered Species,” DEP can replace the public trust's right to access waters. More simply, it would give states the power to close off urban beaches.
City officials agreed that protecting endangered species is critical. That's why Ocean City is already doing that, Savastano said.
“We have many plans, laws and regulations in place to protect endangered species,” Savastano said. “We are highly regulated and have strong protections in place.”
But he said the DEP's rules could simply repeat what Ocean City is already doing, further restricting beach access.
City Council members agreed with Savastano.
Councilor Tom Rotondi said: “Anytime the government can bring in an unelected bureaucracy to do whatever it wants, it will do that.” “We don't want our city to be in that situation.”
But local environmental activist and resident Donna Moore called on the city council to reconsider before the vote.
He said the resolution is “more argumentative to the DEP than anything that actually benefits us.”
“This is about conservation, wildlife protection, endangered species protection, coastal bird nesting, endangered wetland habitat,” Moore said of the DEP's proposal.
