Legal challenge filed over N.J.’s new coastal management regulations

Environmental groups in New Jersey have filed a legal challenge to new state regulations that they say make it easier to build in flood-prone areas.

The groups, including Environment New Jersey, Save Barnegat Bay and local residents, charge that state Department of Environmental Protection's Coastal Zone Management Act rules enacted after Superstorm Sandy allow too many buildings to be built in places that are vulnerable to future storms.

The state DEP said the groups' challenge lacks merit and that the Act's provisions "are both environmentally responsible and conducive to sound and safe coastal development," the Associated Press reported. The DEP said the rules were meant to streamline regulations while implementing environmental safeguards as New Jersey rebuilt after the 2012 storm.

"Hurricane Sandy should have been our wake-up call to realize unchecked development along our coastlines will only become costlier in the future due to sea level rise," Doug O'Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, told the AP. "Instead, DEP's finalized coastal zone rules will only greenlight more development in vulnerable coastal communities.”

nZero, developer of a real-time carbon accounting and management platform, is offering free carbon emissions assessments for buildings in New York City. The offer is intended to help building owners prepare for the city’s upcoming Local Law 97 reporting requirements and compliance. This law will soon assess monetary fines for buildings with emissions that are in non-compliance.

Resiliency | Aug 7, 2023

Creative ways cities are seeking to beat urban heat gain

As temperatures in many areas hit record highs this summer, cities around the world are turning to creative solutions to cope with the heat. Here are several creative ways cities are seeking to beat urban heat gain.

Products and Materials | Jul 31, 2023

Top building products for July 2023

BD+C Editors break down 15 of the top building products this month, from cleanroom doors to window storm protection systems.

Sustainability | Jul 27, 2023

USGBC warns against building energy code preemptions, rollbacks

In a recent editorial, the USGBC cited a growing number of U.S. state legislators who are “aiming to roll back building energy code standards and/or preempt local governments from advancing energy-efficient building codes.”

Resiliency | Jul 27, 2023

'Underground climate change' can damage building foundations, civil infrastructure

A phenomenon known as “underground climate change” can lead to damage of building foundations and civil infrastructure, according to a researcher at Northwestern University. When the ground gets hotter, it can expand and contract, causing foundations to move and sometimes crack.