STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman P. CHRISTOPHER TULLY
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman ERIC HOUGHTALING
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman LISA SWAIN
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Space, Assemblywoman Downey and Assemblyman Calabrese
SYNOPSIS
Directs DEP to establish pollinator habitat program for closed landfills.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning pollinator habitat at closed landfills and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
“Animal pollinator” means any bee, butterfly, moth, wasp, fly, beetle, ant, hummingbird, bat, or animal that is known to pollinate plants.
“Closed landfill” means any legacy landfill or closed sanitary landfill facility, as defined in section 1 of P.L.2013, c.69 (C.13:1E-125.1).
b. The Department of Environmental Protection shall within its existing budget establish a program to encourage the owner or operator of any closed landfill to transform the landfill into habitat that supports animal pollinators using native plants where possible. The department shall create guidelines and best practices for establishing and maintaining pollinator habitat on a closed landfill no later than six months after the effective date of this act.
c. The department shall seek and encourage corporate sponsorship and non-profit partnerships for the creation and maintenance of pollinator habitat on closed landfills.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection to establish a program that encourages the owner or operator of a closed landfill to transform the landfill into habitat that supports animal pollinators using native plants where possible. The department is also required to create guidelines and best practices for establishing and maintaining pollinator habitat on closed landfills no later than six months following the effective date of this act. Furthermore, the department is required to seek and encourage corporate sponsorship and non-profit partnerships for the creation and maintenance of pollinator habitat on closed landfills.
As defined in the bill, “animal pollinator” means any bee, butterfly, moth, wasp, fly, beetle, ant, hummingbird, bat, or animal that is known to pollinate plants. Further, “closed landfill” means any legacy landfill or closed sanitary landfill facility.