(TRENTON)—Demonstrating his commitment to preserving open space throughout the State, Governor James E. McGreevey signed legislation today that will protect water resources and establish flood-prone areas as high priorities under New Jersey’s Open Space Preservation Program.

 

“This new law helps to ensure clean drinking water supplies for millions of New Jersey citizens and also serves as a natural buffer against future floods. Safe drinking water must be a top priority of the State’s Open Space program,” said McGreevey. “I would like to thank Senator Bob Smith, as well as the other legislative sponsors, for their leadership in seeing this important piece of legislation become law.”

 

"By providing water resource protection as a priority and requiring a 'master plan' for open space acquisition, we will ensure that taxpayer dollars are efficiently used to protect open space and water supplies," said Senator Smith.

 

Senate Bill 889 was sponsored by Senators Bob Smith (D-Middlesex/ Somerset) and Hank McNamara (R-Bergen/ Essex/ Passaic).  The Assembly version of the bill, A-1997, was sponsored by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) and Upendra Chivukula (D-Middlesex/ Somerset).

 

The new law will require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to rank certain properties ahead of others when considering which lands to purchase with Green Acres money from the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund.  Specifically, when determining which properties to preserve, property that would protect water resources would be given three times the weight and flood-prone areas would be given twice the weight.

 

“Quality of life, economic prosperity and environmental protection are inextricably linked in New Jersey,” said McGreevey. “Protecting and preserving New Jersey’s water resources, including our water supply, is essential to our public and economic health.  The acquisition of flood-prone areas as part of the State’s open space program is in our best interest so that we can prevent the loss of life and property.” 

 

“Eight of the last twelve months have been the driest in New Jersey’s recorded history.  The current drought reminds us that we can not take our State’s water supplies for granted,” added Governor McGreevey. “We can no longer allow our limited drinking water supplies to become polluted and rendered unsafe to drink. We must act now to protect this vital and limited resource so that New Jersey has clean and plentiful water now and in the future.”

 

Consistent with this legislation, DEP, under Governor McGreevey’s leadership, has already made protection of water resources a top priority in its Green Acres funding package for fiscal year 2003.  Open space funding is directed to areas critical to recharging and safeguarding our groundwater and to protecting our reservoirs, rivers and streams.  This legislation further supports this effort this new direction.

 

The benefits of protecting watershed lands are far reaching, stretching across county and municipal boundaries.  For example, the core of the Highlands encompasses one million acres of forest that surround and protect the source waters for one-third of New Jersey’scitizens.

 

The legislation also requires the DEP, in consultation with the Office of State Planning in the Department of Community Affairs, to prepare an annual Open Space Master Plan. 

 

This Master Plan will indicate those areas of the State where future acquisition and development by the State for recreation and conservation is most likely to occur, and those areas where there is a need to protect water resources.  It will also require the Garden State Preservation Trust to include findings from the Master Plan in its biennial report, as well as a tabulation of the total acreage in the State, each county and municipality of the lands acquired for recreation and conservation purposes that protect water resources and protect flood-prone areas.

 

In addition, DEP will be required to adopt rules and regulations to regulate any activity on lands acquired by the State to assure that resources remain protected and to ensure that the protection of surface water or groundwater resources are not diminished.

 

Furthermore, DEP and the State Agriculture Development Committee will be required to adopt rules and regulations that will jointly establish standards regulating any improvements on lands acquired by the State for farmland preservation purposes to assure that any improvements do not diminish protection of surface or groundwater resources.

 

DEP will also be required to consult with the Pinelands Commission in the development of the Open Space Master Plan and requires the Garden State Preservation Trust to consult with the Commission in the development of its biennial report.