For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
Today both the Senate and Assembly have passed ACR255 (McKeon) that determines DEP Highlands Septic Rule is against legislative intent. The DEP’s proposed Highlands Forest Preservation Area is a major source of drinking water for up to 6 million people that includes pristine trout streams, and reservoirs. These rules will not only threaten our water supply, but are based on arbitrary science that target open space and will increase flooding. Even though the original rules were held up in Court, DEP is using the same basic nitrate model, but adding one change, which is allowing more nitrates and 4 times more pollution in the Forest Preservation Area, which will threaten New Jersey’s drinking water.
“This is a big victory for the Highlands and for clean water. Today the Legislature stood up against Governor Christie to protect the Highlands. It was an important vote since for the first time, the Legislature has overturned one of Christie’s terrible environmental rules. The Septic Density Rule would have weakened critical protections in the Highlands and pushed development in the mountains above our reservoirs. We applaud the Legislature for blocking these rules and protecting some of the most important and environmentally sensitive areas in the Highlands,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Now with the Christie Administration leaving, we can look forward to a new Administration that will actually work to protect the Highlands and clean water in New Jersey.”
In the Highlands’ Forest Preservation Area, which is the most environmentally sensitive area of the region and these rules will increase development by allowing more septic systems. The rules attack the Forest Preservation Area by changing the standards in the nitrate dilution model from .21 g/L to 2 g/L. That will increase density from developing from 1 house per 88 acres to 22 in forested area and 1 house per 25 acres to 8 in farmland areas.
“Twelve years after the Highlands Act was passed, Governor Christie has been working to dismantle it. These rules clearly violate legislative intent because the Highlands Act requires a nitrate model from ‘deep aquifer re-charge’ that has not been impacted by development. Instead, the DEP is using data from mostly developed areas of the Highlands around lakes that have shallow aquifers in areas outside the Preservation Area. This change will allow developers to build McMansions in the sky and make it more cost effective to build roads and subdivisions on top of the environmentally sensitive mountains. This is all so our Governor taking care of land speculators and developers at the expense of our water supply,” said Jeff Tittel.
These rules will weaken the main feature of the Highlands Act that helps protect the Highlands Forest Preservation Area from development. One of the main concerns with this rule is that the exempted lots that were grandfathered under the Highlands Act would be able to connect to new lots and even make it cost effective to build roads and subdivisions up the most environmental sensitive tops of forested mountains.
“The changes in DEP’s Highlands Septic Density rule will open the entire Forest Preservation Area in the Highlands to development. These standards prevent the degradation of water quality in one of the most environmentally sensitive areas in the entire state. The Highlands protect 64% of our state’s drinking water. By allowing the extension of sewers, it will impact open space and nearby reservoirs and streams. This rule will not only rob our clean water supply, lowering our aquifers, but will pollute our streams, rivers, and drinking water. These rules are an attack on clean water and should be blocked immediately,” said Jeff Tittel.
The Highlands Septic rules were put in place to protect our drinking water and public health, but this proposal is a dirty deal for dirty water. This is part of the Administration’s weakening of the Flood Hazard Rules, Water Quality Management Planning Rules as well as the failure to update the Water Supply Master Plan and preventing the Drinking Water Quality Institute from meeting.
“It’s important that the Legislature has passed this resolution to overturn these dangerous and damaging rules because the Christie Administration has signed off on them. The DEP signing these rules is not a surprise since Governor Christie has said he wants to repeal the Highlands Act, but the Legislature would never let him. Instead he’s trying to do it one roll back at a time like DEP’s Water Quality Management Planning rules, failing to update the Water Supply Master Plan, and stacking the Highlands Council. The Highlands Septic Density Rules violate legislative intent and threaten the entire environment and drinking water of the region. That is why the Legislature had to step with this important override resolution,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.