SENATE, No. 331

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Senator MARTIN

An Act concerning public water supplies, and amending P.L.1988, c.163.

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

    1. Section 1 of P.L.1988, c.163 is amended to read as follows:

    1. a. No municipality, municipal utilities authority, or public utility shall convey any land utilized for the purpose of the protection of a public water supply prior to the adoption by the Department of Environmental Protection of the [rules and regulations establishing buffer zones for all watershed lands associated with public water supply reservoirs for the purpose of protecting drinking water quality required pursuant to the "Watershed Protection Act," P.L. , c. (C.    )(now before the Legislature as Senate Bill No. 2339 of 1990)]watershed management plan required pursuant to subsection b. of this section . The provisions of this section shall not apply to land utilized for the purpose of the protection of a public water supply if the land is otherwise subject to regulation pursuant to P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.) or P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.).

    b. Within 18 months of the effective date of this act, the Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), a watershed management plan that shall:

    (1) Identify, using the criteria established pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, watershed lands and surrounding buffer zones to be preserved and maintained for the protection of public water supplies;

    (2) Establish criteria for determining the extent of watershed lands and surrounding buffer zones to be preserved and maintained by a municipality, municipal utilities authority, or public utility to protect a public water supply, and conditions under which certain watershed lands and surrounding buffer zones may be developed; and

    (3) Include any other provisions that the department finds are necessary for the protection of public water supplies.

(cf: P.L.1990, c.19, s.1)

    2. Section 2 of P.L.1988, c.163 is repealed, except that the Watershed Property Review Board established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1988, c.163 may decide any matters pending before it as of the date of enactment of this act, and upon completion thereof, it shall expire.

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt a watershed management plan within 18 months of enactment. The plan would include at the least the identification of watershed lands and buffer zones necessary to preserve and maintain public water supplies, and the establishment of criteria for determining the extent of critical watershed areas and surrounding buffer zones. The plan would also require the department to identify conditions under which watershed lands and buffer zones may be developed. Upon adoption of the watershed management plan, the current moratorium on conveyances of municipal and utility watershed lands would end.

    The current moratorium is set to end upon the adoption by the department of regulations pursuant to a bill introduced in a prior legislative session that was never enacted into law. Because the department has not been required to adopt the anticipated regulations, the moratorium has extended indefinitely. However, this indefinite moratorium may eventually be invalidated by a court as being inconsistent with the legislative intent of the original law. It is crucial that the department establish a watershed management program that will protect watershed lands after the moratorium ends, and that the department be given sufficient time to develop this program.

Extends moratorium on conveyances of watershed lands until adoption by DEP of watershed management plan.