ASSEMBLY, No. 669

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

 

 

By Assemblyman BAGGER

 

 

An Act creating the Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission, amending P.L.1985, c.398, supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. (New section) This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the "Great Swamp Watershed Protection Act."

 

    2. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that the public lands, including the approximately 7,300-acre Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and the 1620 acres of national parkland and 1840 acres of county parkland, located in the Great Swamp and the Great Swamp watershed in mostly suburban Morris and Somerset counties are a unique natural, recreational, and open space resource in the State, comprising a variety of habitats deserving of protection that are utilized by over 220 species of birds, 30 species of mammals, 24 species of fish, 39 species of amphibians and reptiles, and over 600 species of plants; that at least 27 threatened and endangered species utilize the Great Swamp and the Great Swamp watershed as habitat; that the environmental health of the Great Swamp and the public health, safety, and welfare in that area depend in large part upon maintaining or improving the water quality and water supply of the Great Swamp watershed, both above and under the ground; that the State of New Jersey, Morris and Somerset counties, the federal government, various municipalities, and private entities and individuals over the years have made large financial investments to protect land in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and its surrounding watershed; that although much of the core of the Great Swamp is owned and managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as a national wildlife refuge and wilderness area with national natural landmark designation and by Morris and Somerset counties as county parks, much is also still in private hands, as is much of the surrounding land; that the Great Swamp watershed has experienced in the past, and continues to experience, the effects of point and nonpoint source pollution discharges, loss of forest cover, stormwater runoff, development, and other environmental and aesthetic impacts; that land use decisions and other activities in and around the Great Swamp can have a profound effect on the environmental health of the Great Swamp because of the hydrology and drainage patterns of the area; that the development pressure in and around the Great Swamp watershed is great, and if development is allowed without scrutiny and cooperative planning, or strong consideration of environmental consequences, it is likely to have an adverse environmental impact upon the resource; and that there has heretofore been a general lack of coordination among all levels of government concerning protection and management of the Great Swamp watershed in a consistent and effective manner and a lack of consideration of the environmental impacts of various land use decisions and other activities upon the environmental health of the watershed.

    The Legislature therefore determines that it is appropriate to undertake a coordinated approach involving all levels of government in developing a comprehensive management plan for the Great Swamp watershed for the purpose of achieving certain prescribed goals and objectives with respect to protecting, enhancing, and managing the Great Swamp watershed in an environmentally sound manner; that it is also appropriate to create a Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission, comprised of representatives of the ten Great Swamp watershed municipalities, the two Great Swamp watershed counties, and three public members, to be charged with the task of developing and adopting the comprehensive management plan; that, in developing this plan, the Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission, the Great Swamp municipalities, and Morris and Somerset counties should have the opportunity to engage in a cross-acceptance process similar to that successfully utilized in the adoption of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan; that this plan should be implemented by the various Great Swamp municipalities, as well as by Morris county and Somerset county, through the mechanism of their respective municipal and county master plans, development regulations, and other relevant municipal and county plans; and that actions of the various State agencies, entities, and authorities should be consistent with the comprehensive management plan to be developed and adopted pursuant to this act.

 

    3. (New section) As used in this act:

    "Application for development" means an application for development as defined pursuant to section 3 of the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-3).

    "Commission" means the "Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission" created pursuant to section 4 of this act.

    "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection.

    "Comprehensive management plan" means the comprehensive management plan for the Great Swamp watershed prepared and adopted by the commission pursuant to this act.

    "County master plan" means a county master plan as defined pursuant to section 3 of the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-3).

    "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.

    "Development regulation" means a development regulation as defined pursuant to section 3.1 of the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-4).

    "Great Swamp municipalities" means the Morris county municipalities of Chatham Township, Harding Township, Long Hill Township, Madison Borough, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Morris Township, and Morristown, and the Somerset county municipalities of Bernards Township and Bernardsville Borough.

    "Great Swamp watershed" means the approximately 55.6 square mile drainage area contributing to the United States Geological Survey stream gauging station on the Passaic River at Millington, New Jersey, as determined by the United States Geological Survey.

    "Municipal master plan" means a master plan as defined pursuant to section 3.2 of the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-5).

 

    4. (New section) a. There is created the "Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission." For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the commission is allocated within the Department of Environmental Protection, but, notwithstanding that allocation, the commission shall be independent of any supervision or control by that department or by the commissioner or any officer or employee thereof.

    b. (1) The commission shall consist of 15 voting members to be appointed and qualified as follows:

    (a) a representative of each Great Swamp municipality, who shall be selected by the governing body of that municipality;

    (b) a representative of Morris county, who shall be selected by the governing body of that county;

    (c) a representative of Somerset county, who shall be selected by the governing body of that county; and

    (d) three residents of either Morris county or Somerset county, at least one of whom shall be either a landowner or an employee of a landowner in the Great Swamp watershed, at least one of whom shall be a licensed professional planner or a licensed professional engineer, and at least one of whom shall by training and experience be knowledgeable in conservation and environmental protection, to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. No Great Swamp municipality may have more than one resident of that municipality selected to be a member of the commission pursuant to this subparagraph.

    (2) The commissioner shall appoint a liaison to the commission.

    (3) The chairman of the State Planning Commission in the Department of the Treasury shall appoint a liaison to the commission.

    (4) The commission shall invite the United States Department of the Interior to appoint a liaison to the commission.

    c. (1) Members of the commission appointed by the Governor shall serve for a term of three years; provided, however, that of the first members appointed by the Governor, one shall serve a three-year term, one shall serve a two-year term, and one shall serve a one-year term.

    (2) Any member of the commission appointed by a Great Swamp municipality or by Morris county or Somerset county shall serve for a term of three years.

    d. Each member of the commission shall serve for the term of the appointment and until a successor shall have been appointed and qualified. Any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the unexpired term only.

    e. Any member of the commission may be removed by the appointing authority, for cause, after a public hearing.

    f. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but the commission may, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it, reimburse its members for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties.

 

    5. (New section) a. The commission shall organize as soon as may be practicable after the appointment of its members and shall annually elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members.

    b. The commission shall meet regularly as it may determine, and shall also meet at the call of the chairperson of the commission or upon the written agreement of a majority of the full membership of the commission.

    c. A majority of the membership of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of commission business. Action may be taken and motions and resolutions adopted by the commission at any meeting thereof by the affirmative vote of a majority of the full membership of the commission, except for adoption or revision of the comprehensive management plan, which shall require the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the full membership of the commission.

    d. (1) The commission may employ such staff or experts and incur such traveling and other miscellaneous expenses as it may deem necessary in order to perform its duties and responsibilities pursuant to this act.

    (2) The department and the State Planning Commission shall provide technical support to the commission, at no cost to the commission.

    (3) The commission may appoint an executive director who shall be the chief administrative officer thereof and shall serve at the pleasure of the commission.

    e. (1) The commission shall be entitled to request the assistance and avail itself of the services of such employees of any State, county, or municipal agency, entity, or authority as it may deem necessary and as may be available to it for the purpose of performing its duties and responsibilities pursuant to this act.

    (2) Upon request of the commission, each such governmental agency, entity, or authority shall make available to the commission any studies, surveys, plans, data, and other materials or information concerning the capital, land use, environmental, transportation, economic development, and human services plans and programs of the governmental agency, entity, or authority that pertain to the Great Swamp watershed.

    f. The meetings of the commission shall be subject to the provisions and requirements of the "Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.), and shall be held to the maximum extent practicable and feasible within the respective jurisdictions of the Great Swamp municipalities.

 

    6. (New section) The commission shall have the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:

    a. To adopt, and from time to time amend or repeal, suitable by-laws for the management of its affairs;

    b. To adopt and use an official seal and alter it at its pleasure;

    c. To maintain an office at such place or places within the respective jurisdictions of the Great Swamp municipalities as it may designate;

    d. To prepare and adopt through a cross-acceptance process, within two years of the effective date of this act, a comprehensive management plan for the Great Swamp watershed for implementation and use by the Great Swamp municipalities, Morris county, Somerset county, and the State as set forth in this act, and to revise and readopt through the cross-acceptance process that plan at least every five years thereafter in accordance with the same procedures;

    e. To apply for, receive, and accept, from any federal, State, or other public or private source, grants, contributions, donations, or loans for, or in aid of, the authorized purposes, goals, and objectives of this act and the comprehensive management plan, for use by the commission or for redistribution to any of the Great Swamp municipalities, Morris county, Somerset county, the department, the United States Department of the Interior, or any other local, State, or federal governmental or private nonprofit agency, entity, or authority deemed appropriate by the commission;

    f. To enter into any and all agreements or contracts, execute any and all instruments, and do and perform any and all acts or things necessary, convenient, or desirable for the purposes of the commission or to carry out any power, duty, or responsibility set forth in this act;

    g. To prepare and transmit to the commissioner such recommendations as the commission deems appropriate;

    h. To prepare and transmit recommendations to the Governor, the Legislature, and the commissioner for legislative or administrative action to abate environmental threats to the Great Swamp watershed or to otherwise further the purposes, goals, and objectives of this act and the comprehensive management plan;

    i. To identify any lands for which the public acquisition of a fee simple or lesser interest therein is necessary or desirable in order to ensure the preservation or protection of those lands or the Great Swamp watershed, or to provide sites for public recreation, and to transmit such identifications in the form of recommendations to the affected municipal or county governmental agencies, entities, or authorities, the commissioner or other State officials, or the Secretary of the United States Department of Interior, as appropriate;

    j. To make grants as appropriate to Great Swamp municipalities, Morris county, and Somerset county, to assist them in meeting the costs of revisions to municipal or county master plans or implementing development regulations therefor, or other relevant municipal or county plans, that are designed to bring those plans and development regulations into conformance with the comprehensive management plan prepared and adopted by the commission pursuant to this act. The commission may make those grants from any State, federal, or other funds that may be appropriated or otherwise made available to it;

    k. To negotiate cross-acceptance of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan with the State Planning Commission in the same manner as a county planning board or local planning body pursuant to the "State Planning Act," P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et seq.); and

    l. To take such other actions as may be required by this act or as may be necessary and appropriate to further the purposes, goals, and objectives of this act and the comprehensive management plan.

 

    7. (New section) The comprehensive management plan for the Great Swamp watershed required pursuant to this act shall include, but need not be necessarily limited to: a land use component; an infrastructure needs assessment; a water quality and water supply management component; a sewage, wastewater, and septic system management component; a nonpoint source pollution and stormwater management component; a soil erosion, sediment control, steep slope, stream corridor protection, stream encroachment, and flood plain protection component; a critical habitat preservation and protection component that may include, but need not be necessarily limited to, consideration of such techniques as conservation zoning, open space dedications, and open space acquisitions; individual subwatershed components as necessary; a pollutant and volume allocation program; a coordinated environmental education program; and a coordinated enforcement and plan implementation monitoring program.

    The comprehensive management plan shall take into account both individual and cumulative adverse environmental impacts of land use and other activities upon the Great Swamp watershed.

 

    8. (New section) The goals of the comprehensive management plan shall be to:

    (1) Protect, preserve, and maintain the essential character of the Great Swamp watershed, including the plant and animal species indigenous thereto and the habitat therefor;

    (2) Protect, maintain, control, monitor, and enhance the quality and supply of surface and ground waters in the Great Swamp watershed;

    (3) Encourage environmentally acceptable patterns of land use in the Great Swamp watershed in order to accommodate regional growth influences in an orderly way while protecting the Great Swamp watershed from the individual and cumulative adverse environmental impacts thereof; and

    (4) Promote a coordinated regional and intergovernmental effort in protecting and managing the Great Swamp watershed.

 

    9. (New section) a. In preparing, maintaining, and revising the comprehensive management plan, the commission shall solicit and give due consideration to the municipal and county master plans and other plans, development regulations and other ordinances, resolutions, laws, rules, regulations, comments, and advice, as the case may be, of the Great Swamp municipalities, Morris county, Somerset county, the department, the State Planning Commission, other State agencies, entities, and authorities designated by the commission, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and other appropriate local, regional, and federal agencies, entities, and authorities. The commission shall also give due consideration to the State Development and Redevelopment Plan adopted pursuant to P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et seq.).

    b. Prior to adoption of the comprehensive management plan, the commission, within one year of the effective date of this act, shall prepare and distribute a preliminary comprehensive management plan to each Great Swamp municipal governing body, planning board, and environmental commission, the Morris county and Somerset county governing bodies and planning boards, the department, the State Planning Commission, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and other requesting parties, including other State and federal agencies, entities, and authorities and recognized metropolitan or regional planning organizations. In addition, the commission shall make the preliminary comprehensive management plan available to any individual or organization requesting it.

    Not more than three months after distribution of the preliminary comprehensive management plan, the commission shall, for the purpose of providing information on the preliminary comprehensive management plan, responding to inquiries concerning the preliminary plan, and receiving informal comments and recommendations from public officials and any other interested parties, (1) conduct a joint public informational meeting and public hearing with the planning board of each Great Swamp municipality, (2) meet and consult with the planning boards of Morris county and Somerset county, (3) meet and consult with officials of the department, the State Planning Commission, and other State agencies, entities, and authorities designated by the commission, and (4) meet and consult with officials of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.

    c. (1) The commission shall negotiate plan cross-acceptance with the planning board of each Great Swamp municipality. The planning board of each Great Swamp municipality shall solicit and receive any findings, recommendations, and objections concerning the preliminary comprehensive management plan from the environmental commission and other relevant local governmental agencies, entities, and authorities established by or within the municipality. The planning board of each Great Swamp municipality, within three months of the date of its joint public informational meeting and public hearing required pursuant to subsection b. of this section, shall file with the commission a formal report of findings, recommendations, and objections concerning the preliminary plan, including a description of the degree of consistency and any remaining inconsistency between the preliminary plan and the municipal master plan, development regulations, and other relevant municipal plans designated by the commission.

    (2) The commission shall also negotiate plan cross-acceptance with the planning boards of Morris county and Somerset county in the manner prescribed for Great Swamp municipalities pursuant to this section.

    (3) As used in this subsection, "cross-acceptance" means a process of comparison of planning policies among governmental levels with the purpose of attaining compatibility between municipal and county master plans, development regulations, and other relevant municipal and county plans designated by the commission, and the comprehensive management plan, which is designed to result in a written statement specifying areas of agreement or disagreement and areas requiring modification by parties to the cross-acceptance.

    d. Upon consideration of the formal reports of the Great Swamp municipalities and Morris county and Somerset county, and within two months of receipt thereof, the commission shall prepare and distribute a draft final comprehensive management plan to each Great Swamp municipal governing body, planning board, and environmental commission, the Morris county and Somerset county governing bodies and planning boards, the department, the State Planning Commission, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and other requesting parties, including other State and federal agencies, entities, and authorities and recognized metropolitan or regional planning organizations. In addition, the commission shall make the draft final comprehensive management plan available to any individual or organization requesting it. The commission, within two months of the date of distribution of the draft final comprehensive management plan, shall conduct not less than three public hearings at different locations within the respective jurisdictions of the Great Swamp municipalities for the purpose of receiving comments on the draft final comprehensive management plan. The commission shall give (1) at least 30 days' public notice of each hearing in advertisements in at least two newspapers that circulate in the area served by the hearing, and (2) at least 30 days' written notice to the governing body and the planning board of each of the Great Swamp municipalities and Morris county and Somerset county.

    e. Taking full account of the testimony presented at the public hearings, the commission shall make revisions in the draft final comprehensive management plan as it deems necessary and appropriate and adopt the comprehensive management plan by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the commission not later than two months after the final public hearing.

    f. Upon adoption of the comprehensive management plan or any revision thereof, a copy of the plan or revision thereof, as the case may be, shall be transmitted within 30 days to the Governor, the Legislature, the commissioner, the State Planning Commission, and the Secretary of the United States Department of Interior.

 

    10. (New section) Subsequent to adoption of the comprehensive management plan, the provisions of any other law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or resolution to the contrary notwithstanding:

    a. No application for development, or other approval, certificate, license, consent, application, permit, or financial assistance for the construction of any structure or the disturbance of any land, within the Great Swamp watershed, shall be approved or granted by any Great Swamp municipality, Morris county, or Somerset county, or any agency, entity, or authority thereof, and no capital project of any Great Swamp municipality, Morris county, or Somerset county, or any agency, entity, or authority thereof, shall be financed or constructed within the Great Swamp watershed, unless such application for development, approval, certificate, license, consent, application, permit, financial assistance, grant, or capital project conforms to the provisions of the comprehensive management plan; and

    b. No application for development, or other approval, certificate, license, consent, application, permit, or financial assistance for the construction of any structure or the disturbance of any land, within the Great Swamp watershed, shall be approved or granted by any State agency, entity, or authority, and no capital project of any State agency, entity, or authority shall be financed or constructed within the Great Swamp watershed, unless such application for development, approval, certificate, license, consent, application, permit, financial assistance, grant, or capital project conforms to the provisions of the comprehensive management plan; provided, however, that an exception to the provisions of this subsection may be allowed if the commission finds that such an approval or grant or capital project is necessary to alleviate extraordinary hardship or to satisfy a compelling public need, is consistent with the purposes and provisions of this act, and would not result in substantial impairment of the resources of the Great Swamp watershed.

 

    11. (New section) a. The provisions of any other law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or resolution to the contrary notwithstanding, within one year of the date of adoption of the comprehensive management plan, or any revision thereof, each Great Swamp municipality shall submit to the commission such revisions of its municipal master plan and development regulations as may be necessary in order to conform them with the comprehensive management plan. After receiving and reviewing those revisions, the commission shall approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions the revised municipal master plan and development regulations, as it deems appropriate, after public hearing, within two months of the receipt thereof.

    Upon approval by the commission of the revised municipal master plan and development regulations, the Great Swamp municipality shall adopt, implement, and enforce the revisions. Upon disapproval or conditional approval by the commission of the revised municipal master plan and development regulations, the commission shall identify such changes therein that it deems necessary for commission approval thereof, and the Great Swamp municipality shall adopt, implement, and enforce the municipal master plan and development regulations as so changed.

    b. (1) If the commission has approved the revisions of the municipal master plan and development regulations of a Great Swamp municipality as provided pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and the Great Swamp municipality has adopted those revisions, no approval by the commission of any application for development within the Great Swamp watershed within that municipality shall be required.

    (2) Until such time as a Great Swamp municipality has complied with the requirements of subsection a. of this section, or in the event that a Great Swamp municipality fails to implement or enforce an approved revised municipal master plan and development regulations, as the case may be, the commission shall have the authority to review and approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions any application for development within the Great Swamp watershed within that municipality to ensure compliance with the comprehensive management plan.

    c. Any subsequent proposed revision of, or proposed amendment to, an approved municipal master plan and development regulations that would adversely affect the Great Swamp watershed or the successful implementation of the comprehensive management plan shall be submitted to the commission. After receiving and reviewing the proposed revision or amendment, the commission shall approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions the proposed revision or amendment, as it deems appropriate, after public hearing, within 45 days of the receipt thereof. Failure of the commission to act within the 45-day period shall be deemed to constitute approval of the proposed revision or amendment.

    d. Any approval of an application for development granted by any Great Swamp municipality, Morris county, or Somerset county, or any agency, entity, or authority thereof, in violation of the provisions of this section shall be null and void and of no force and effect at law or equity.

 

    12. (New section) In order to ensure that the actions, decisions, determinations, and rulings of the State, Morris county, and Somerset county shall conform with the comprehensive management plan in the manner required pursuant to this act, the commission shall prepare, periodically revise, and transmit to all State, Morris county, and Somerset county governmental agencies, entities, and authorities empowered to grant or deny any application for development, or other approval, certificate, license, consent, application, permit, or financial assistance for the construction of any structure or the disturbance of any land, or empowered to finance or construct any capital project, within the Great Swamp watershed, such guidelines for the granting of any such application for development, approval, certificate, license, consent, application, permit, or financial assistance, and for the location and construction of such capital projects, as the case may be, as the commission deems necessary and appropriate.

 

    13. (New section) Any person submitting an application for development within the Great Swamp watershed to a Great Swamp municipality, Morris county, Somerset county, or the State after adoption of the comprehensive management plan as provided in subsection e. of section 9 of this act shall file a copy of that application and any supporting documentation with the commission.

 

    14. (New section) a. Any decision by a Great Swamp municipality, or any agency, entity, or authority thereof, that has adopted an approved revised municipal master plan and development regulations, including any condition thereto imposed by the commission, on an application for development within the Great Swamp watershed lying within the municipality shall not be appealable to the commission, but shall be appealable in the usual manner provided for such decisions pursuant to the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.), and the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey.

    b. After adoption of the comprehensive management plan pursuant to subsection e. of section 9 of this act, the commission shall have the right to intervene in any proceeding before the State, Morris county, Somerset county, or a Great Swamp municipality, or any agency, entity, or authority thereof, that the commission determines may adversely affect the Great Swamp watershed or the successful implementation of the comprehensive management plan.

    c. After adoption of the comprehensive management plan pursuant to subsection e. of section 9 of this act, the commission shall have the right to appeal any decision of the State, Morris county, Somerset county, or a Great Swamp municipality, or any agency, entity, or authority thereof, that the commission determines may adversely affect the Great Swamp watershed or the successful implementation of the comprehensive management plan.

    d. After adoption of the comprehensive management plan pursuant to subsection e. of section 9 of this act, the commission may seek injunctive relief for (1) any violation of this act or the comprehensive management plan, (2) failure of a Great Swamp municipality, or any agency, entity, or authority thereof, to implement and enforce the provisions of the comprehensive management plan within that municipality, or (3) failure of the State, Morris county, or Somerset county, or any agency, entity, or authority thereof, to implement and enforce the provisions of the comprehensive management plan as required pursuant to this act.

 

    15. (New section) The commission may impose a surcharge of up to 10% upon any fee currently levied and collected pursuant to law by a Great Swamp municipality in connection with an application for development within the Great Swamp watershed. Any such surcharge shall be collected by a Great Swamp municipality at the same time the fee is collected for an application for development. The sums collected shall be forwarded to the commission and shall be utilized to meet the operating expenses of the commission and the costs of implementing this act.

 

    16. Section 7 of P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-202) is amended to read as follows:

    7. a. In preparing, maintaining and revising the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, the commission shall solicit and give due consideration to the plans, comments and advice of each county and municipality, State agencies designated by the commission and other local and regional entities. Prior to the adoption of each plan, the commission shall prepare and distribute a preliminary plan to each county planning board, municipal planning board and other requesting parties, including State agencies and metropolitan planning organizations. Not less than 45 nor more than 90 days thereafter, the commission shall conduct a joint public informational meeting with each county planning board in each county for the purpose of providing information on the plan, responding to inquiries concerning the plan, and receiving informal comments and recommendations from county and municipal planning boards, local public officials and other interested parties.

    b. The commission shall negotiate plan cross-acceptance with each county planning board, which shall solicit and receive any findings, recommendations and objections concerning the plan from local planning bodies. Each county planning board shall negotiate plan cross-acceptance among the local planning bodies within the county, unless it shall notify the commission in writing within 45 days of the receipt of the preliminary plan that it waives this responsibility, in which case the commission shall designate an appropriate entity, or itself, to assume this responsibility. Each board or designated entity shall, within six months of receipt of the preliminary plan, file with the commission a formal report of findings, recommendations and objections concerning the plan, including a description of the degree of consistency and any remaining inconsistency between the preliminary plan and county and municipal plans. In any event, should any municipality's plan remain inconsistent with the State Development and Redevelopment Plan after the completion of the cross-acceptance process, the municipality may file its own report with the State Planning Commission, notwithstanding the fact that the County Planning Board has filed its report with the State Planning Commission.

    The commission shall also negotiate plan cross-acceptance with the Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission created pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill) in the same manner as it negotiates cross-acceptance with a county planning board or local planning body pursuant to this section.

    The term cross-acceptance means a process of comparison of planning policies among governmental levels with the purpose of attaining compatibility between local, county and State plans. The process is designed to result in a written statement specifying areas of agreement or disagreement and areas requiring modification by parties to the cross-acceptance.

    c. Upon consideration of the formal reports of the county planning boards, the commission shall prepare and distribute a final plan to county and municipal planning boards and other interested parties. The commission shall conduct not less than six public hearings in different locations throughout the State for the purpose of receiving comments on the final plan. The commission shall give at least 30 days' public notice of each hearing in advertisements in at least two newspapers which circulate in the area served by the hearing and at least 30 days' notice to the governing body and planning board of each county and municipality in the area served by the hearing.

    d. Taking full account of the testimony presented at the public hearings, the commission shall make revisions in the plan as it deems necessary and appropriate and adopt the final plan by a majority vote of its authorized membership no later than 60 days after the final public hearing.

    e. For the purposes of this act, the Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission created pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill) shall be treated in the same manner as a county planning board or local planning body.

(cf: P.L.1985, c.398, s.7)

 

    17. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission the sum of $95,000 for the purposes of this act.

 

    18. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill would create the Great Swamp Regional Planning Commission, the major purpose of which would be to develop and adopt, through a cross-acceptance process, a comprehensive management plan for the approximately 55.6 square mile Great Swamp watershed in Morris and Somerset counties, in order to achieve certain prescribed goals and objectives with respect to protecting, enhancing, and managing the Great Swamp watershed in an environmentally sound manner. The 15-member commission would be composed of representatives of the ten Great Swamp municipalities, Morris county, and Somerset county, as well as three public members from Morris or Somerset counties. In developing this plan, the commission, the various Great Swamp municipalities, and Morris and Somerset counties would engage in a cross-acceptance process similar to that successfully utilized in the adoption of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan. The plan would be implemented by the various Great Swamp municipalities, as well as by Morris and Somerset counties, through the mechanism of their respective municipal and county master plans and development regulations. Also, State entities would be required to carry out the plan through their permit approval processes.

    The municipalities that would participate as members of the commission are the Morris county municipalities of Chatham Township, Harding Township, Long Hill Township, Madison Borough, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Morris Township, and Morristown, and the Somerset county municipalities of Bernards Township and Bernardsville Borough.

    The Department of Environmental Protection and the State Planning Commission would be required to provide technical support to the commission, at no cost to the commission.

    The comprehensive management plan would be required to be developed and adopted through a cross-acceptance process within two years, and would be revised and readopted through a cross-acceptance process at least every five years thereafter.

    The comprehensive management plan would include, but need not be necessarily limited to: a land use component; an infrastructure needs assessment; a water quality and water supply management component; a sewage, wastewater, and septic system management component; a nonpoint source pollution and stormwater management component; a soil erosion, sediment control, steep slope, stream corridor protection, stream encroachment, and flood plain protection component; a critical habitat preservation and protection component that may include, but need not be necessarily limited to, consideration of such techniques as conservation zoning, open space dedications, and open space acquisitions; individual subwatershed components as necessary; a pollutant and volume allocation program; a coordinated environmental education program; and a coordinated enforcement and plan implementation monitoring program.

    The comprehensive management plan would take into account both individual and cumulative adverse environmental impacts of land use and other activities upon the Great Swamp watershed.

    The goals of the comprehensive management plan would be to:

    (1) Protect, preserve, and maintain the essential character of the Great Swamp watershed, including the plant and animal species indigenous thereto and the habitat therefor;

    (2) Protect, maintain, control, monitor, and enhance the quality and supply of surface and ground waters in the Great Swamp watershed;

    (3) Encourage environmentally acceptable patterns of land use in the Great Swamp watershed in order to accommodate regional growth influences in an orderly way while protecting the Great Swamp watershed from the individual and cumulative adverse environmental impacts thereof; and

    (4) Promote a coordinated regional and intergovernmental effort in protecting and managing the Great Swamp watershed.

    Subsequent to adoption of the comprehensive management plan, decisions by municipalities and counties regarding development proposals in the Great Swamp watershed would be based upon conformance to the plan. Permit decisions by State entities would also be subject to the plan.

    Each Great Swamp municipality would be required to submit its master plan and development regulations to the commission for review and approval to ensure conformance with the comprehensive management plan. If the municipal master plan and development regulations are approved by the commission, no approval by the commission of any application for development within the Great Swamp watershed within that municipality would be required.

    The bill provides that, after final adoption of the comprehensive management plan, the commission may appeal certain State and local governmental decisions, may intervene in certain proceedings when they affect the Great Swamp watershed or the comprehensive management plan, and may also seek injunctive relief for violations.

    The bill would authorize the commission to impose a surcharge of up to 10% upon any fee currently levied and collected pursuant to law by a Great Swamp municipality in connection with an application for development within the Great Swamp watershed. The surcharges collected would be forwarded to the commission to be utilized to meet the operating expenses of the commission and the costs of implementing the bill. The bill would also appropriate $95,000 for the purposes of the bill.

    Finally, the bill would also incorporate the Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission into the cross-acceptance process for the State Development and Redevelopment Plan.

    The public lands within the Great Swamp and the Great Swamp watershed, including the approximately 7,300-acre Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, the 1620 acres of national parkland, and the 1840 acres of county parkland, are a unique natural, recreational, and open space resource in the State, comprising a variety of habitats deserving of protection that are utilized by over 220 species of birds, 30 species of mammals, 24 species of fish, 39 species of amphibians and reptiles, over 600 species of plants, and at least 27 threatened and endangered species. The environmental health of the Great Swamp and the public health, safety, and welfare in that area depend in large part upon maintaining or improving the water quality and water supply of the Great Swamp watershed, which is presently affected by point and nonpoint source pollution discharges, loss of forest cover, stormwater runoff, development, and other environmental and aesthetic impacts. Land use decisions and other activities in and around the Great Swamp can have a profound effect on the environmental health of the Great Swamp because of the hydrology and drainage patterns of the area.

    This bill is responsive to the recommendation of the Great Swamp Watershed Advisory Committee (GSWAC) calling for establishment of a regional entity for the Great Swamp watershed. The GSWAC was established by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection by administrative order on September 14, 1989, and issued its report and recommendations concerning the Great Swamp in April 1993.

 

 

 

Creates Great Swamp Watershed Regional Planning Commission; appropriates $95,000.