Walmart has officially pulled out of the proposal to build a huge superstore in an environmentally sensitive section of Toms River. During the 13 years of fighting the project, the DEP rejected permits for the 228,000-square-foot store on Route 37 in Toms River three times. We were opposed to this project because we believed it would disturb the threatened Northern Pine Snake as well as wetlands on the property. Under the Christie Administration, however, DEP approved the CAFRA permit and the New Jersey Sierra Club lost against the project in Court. Walmart already has one store, east of the proposed site, in Toms River and more than 70 in New Jersey. After the Toms River store was re-modeled, there was even less need for the project, especially with competition to other stores in the area and online.

“Walmart withdrawing their proposal for a superstore in Toms River is good news for the environment and the Pinelands. This proposal would have built a huge Walmart superstore in an area that is environmentally sensitive with endangered species. We felt this proposal was too big for this site and clearly wasn’t needed given the existing Walmart store and all the other stores in the area. We are glad to see Walmart pulling out so this environmentally sensitive area can be protected,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “After thirteen years of fighting against this project, this environmentally destructive project is stopped. Even though we went to Court against the endangered species permit and lost, we kept fighting against the CAFRA permit. This shows that if you keep fighting instead of giving up there is more chance you can win. This is because market conditions can change and the business can pull out like what happened here. Walmart pulling out is a victory for now, but we will have to remain vigilant against future development plans on this site.”

In 2014 the Appellate Court ruled against our appeal to the DEP permits for this project. This would have allowed for the moving of pine snake and allowing habitat somewhere else to make up for the direct loss of species habitat.  The Appellate Court ruling set a dangerous precedent, and could allow the DEP to ignore protections for threatened and endangered species as long as there is some type of mitigation parcel or the ability to move the species. This proposal simply rationalized the destruction of habitat and the taking of pine snakes, in hopes that measures taken by the developer to preserve existing pine snake populations may be successful.  Permits for this project have been denied three times under CAFRA regulations due to the high habitat value of the site and the CAFRA rules do not permit the use of off-site mitigation to justify on-site destruction of threatened and endangered species habitat. 

“This project should have never moved forward in the first place. Even though this project was turned down four times by the three different DEP Commissioners, Governor Christie forced Bob Martin to push this project through. This happened because someone criticized the Governor for blocking the Walmart development because of an endangered snake. As a result, Christie bullied his way to approve this project, which was a huge sell out because this area was clearly environmentally sensitive and had endangered species,” said Jeff Tittel. “The area near this development has forests, streams and wetlands that are part of the Pinelands, which is a UN biosphere reserve and one of the largest sources of fresh drinking water, 17 trillion gallons, on the east coast.”

Although the agreement called for mitigation in the form of a 212 acre set aside for the northern pine snake, the proposed mitigation sites were not contiguous, contain barriers to pine snake movement, and have low habitat value.  The proposed sites are piecemeal, fractured habitats that are crossed by roads, trails, and utility right-of-ways (ROWS) exposing the snakes to more threats including mortality from cars and All Terrain Vehicles (ATV), vibrations from roads, and contact with dogs and cats which molest, and can potentially kill, the snakes and destroy nesting sites. The developer has stated they will improve the site as Pine Snake habitat, but the success of those projects cannot be guaranteed.  

“We are glad the proposal for the Walmart Superstore in this location was stopped because the DEP approval set a dangerous precedent. This was the first time the DEP ever allowed for the direct take of a species and then created some type of mitigation miles away.  It was not going work and would have lead to destruction of important habitat, clearly violating the regulations and the law. It is important this project is stopped because DEP clearly wanted to give away known, successful habitat to developers in exchange for speculative habitat that may not sustain breeding and foraging populations of pine snake. The mitigation for the Northern Pine Snake for this project would have failed because surveys of the proposed sites have shown they are subject to heavy ATV use. Three of the five proposed mitigation sites are incompatible wetland habitats with vegetation that is not suitable for foraging or breeding,” said Tittel.

We also challenged the CAFRA application because it depended on invalid letters of interpretation for wetlands on the property. The CAFRA application depended on the DEP acceptance of mitigation for the Northern Pine Snake habitat that were outdated and have been invalidated by intervening events and scientific research.

“The proposal to develop another Walmart in Toms River was the wrong project in the wrong place and would have caused significant environmental damage. Now that this habitat and species is protected, it will project important aquifers, groundwater recharge, open space, and has so many other benefits to the public. Northern pine snakes are in serious decline in New Jersey due to destruction and fracturing of their habitat as a result of development.  Allowing further development at existing dens will simply destroy the snake population. All of this destruction is clearly unnecessary because Walmart has realized the project is not needed,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Walmart pulling out of this project is a temporary win, but we must keep fighting to keep this environmentally sensitive area protected from future development plans.”