Date : Mon, 19 Oct 2015 15:08:08 -0400
For Immediate Release
October 19, 2015
Contact Jeff
Tittel 609-558-9100
Christie Administration Attacks Highlands Rules by Weakening Protections
NJ Department of Environmental Protection is proposing new rules and major rollbacks to the Water Quality Management Planning, Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act Rules, New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Rules. The DEP claims they call this streamlining when they are really weakening protections and increasing development. The New Jersey Sierra Club believes this is part of the Christie Administration’s weakening of the Highlands Regional Master Plan (RMP) and repealing the Highlands Act. Public hearings will take place on these rules on November 10th and 17th. Comments will be accepted until December 18th.
“These rules are a major attack by the Christie Administration on the Highlands Act and clean water in New Jersey. These rules will allow for a lot more environmentally sensitive areas in the Highlands and shows the Christie Administration is trying to repeal the Highlands Act. The proposed changes will lead to loss of forests and flooding while threatening the water supply of 5.4 million people,” said Jeff Tittel, Director, New Jersey Sierra Club. “The original rules and standards were based on the most up-to-date state science. These changes are not based on science; they are about political science so Christie can take care of developers.”
In the Forest Preservation Area, which is the most environmentally sensitive area of the Highlands, it will quadruple development by increasing septic systems. The current rule to allow septic systems 1 house per 88 acres will change to 1 house per 22 acres. This will increase development, and lead to runoff and loss of forests. In the Forest Preservation, it will allow sewer extension area in Planning Area 1, which violates the Highlands Act. Our existing water rules should be protected, but this Administration is targeting regional planning and current laws in place to benefit developers and polluters. The Governor has stacked the Highlands Council, proposed to weaken rules for flood hazard and stormwater that would weaken stream buffers, and category one streams and now wants to increase septic systems which will only lead to more sprawl and overdevelopment.
“These changes are part of the Christie Administration’s attack on clean water. The proposed rollbacks will increase development in the Preservation Area by 400 percent and open up forests to more development, roads, and increase runoff. It will only pave over major portions of the preservation area and lead to more flooding and pollution. These proposed rules add sewer service areas which are an excuse for more development in environmentally sensitive areas. The extensions in sewer services are on top of adding alternative septic systems and package plants, which if failed will seriously wipe out the groundwater,” said Tittel.
In the Planning Area, it will allow extension of more sewers into the environmentally sensitive areas. This goes against the Regional Master Plan. It will cause more sprawl and overdevelopment and therefore more pollution. The changes allow alternative septic designs, do not work and which is an excuse for more development in environmentally sensitive areas. The rule will allow addition of package plants, which will add more pollution from development and increase sprawl. If package plant fails, it means there would be serious impacts to groundwater. These changes allows development in places that were previously protected areas under the Highlands Act, which is supposed to protect important natural resources through good planning and environmental safeguards.
“These new rules violate the law and allow and threaten our drinking water supply. The public needs to be concerned and outraged because it would increase flooding and pollution. These rollbacks show what the Christie Administration has been trying to do all along to attack the Highlands Act. This is part of the Christie Administration’s dismantling of environmental protections along with the Flood Hazard Zone Protection rules, Water Quality Planning rules, and now the Highlands rules. The Administration clearly cares about protecting developers and land speculators over protecting our drinking water,” said Tittel.
The Highlands region is home to 72 species of endangered, threatened, and rare plants and animals and some of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the state. The Highlands Act was one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation passed in the last 40 years and helps protect and manage growth in over 800,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands.
“These rules hurt both the environment and the economy and are an attack on clean water. The Highlands Act is still a very important law that is helping to protect this close to one million acre area of New Jersey. This battle to save the Highlands has begun all over again and it starts now," said Jeff Tittel, Director, New Jersey Sierra Club. “Protecting land in the Highlands region is important especially to protect forests, water supply, and water sheds. The Highlands is like our Yellowstone, but as you know is more important because of all the people who depend on the drinking water from the Highlands region. Highlands’ water is found in everything from M&M’s to Tylenol, Goya beans to Budweiser. This region must be protected, and these rules threaten the water supply for more than half the people in our state.”
List of Major Attacks in rule changes:
In the Forest Preservation Area, which is the most environmentally sensitive area of the Highlands, it will quadruple development by increasing septic systems. The current rule to allow septic systems 1 house per 88 acres will change to 1 house per 22 acres. This will increase development, and lead to runoff and loss of forests. In the Forest Preservation, it will allow sewer extension area in Planning Area 1, which violates the Highlands Act.
In the Planning Area, it will allow extension of more sewers into the environmentally sensitive areas. This goes against the Regional Master Plan. It will cause more sprawl and overdevelopment and therefore more pollution.
The changes allow alternative septic designs, do not work and which is an excuse for more development in environmentally sensitive areas.
The rule will allow addition of package plants, which will add more pollution from development and increase sprawl. If package plant fails, it means there would be serious impacts to groundwater.
Please note this is just from an initial read of the proposed changes. There will be another update later after more extensive review.
See the NJDEP Release below:
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2015
Contact: Lawrence Hajna (609) 984-1795
Bob Considine (609) 292-2994
Caryn Shinske (609) 984-1795
CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES COMMON SENSE OVERHAUL TO WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANNING RULE
PROPOSED RULE WILL PROVIDE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WITH FLEXIBILITY IN PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT WHILE SPURRING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH
(15/P91) TRENTON - The Christie Administration today proposed a significant overhaul to the state's Water Quality Management Planning (WQMP) rule that will provide county and local planning agencies with common sense flexibility to maintain high standards of environmental protection while balancing opportunities for appropriate economic growth, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin announced.
The Water Quality Management Planning rule requires local planning agencies to identify areas suitable for wastewater infrastructure based upon the ecological capacity of water bodies to accept future wastewater, as well as other environmental factors.
The proposed WQMP rule, published today in the New Jersey Register, will give county and local planning agencies more flexibility in making land-use decisions and evaluating environmental impacts when mapping areas suitable for wastewater infrastructure. It will also eliminate duplication of overlapping DEP regulatory requirements to provide for greater consistency and clarity as plans are developed.
"These revisions are consistent with the Governor's goals of reducing unnecessary red tape while maintaining the high standards of environmental protection New Jersey residents expect," Commissioner Martin said. "Through these rule changes, the DEP is adopting an approach to water quality protection that recognizes that sound planning can and does occur at the local level. We will foster better planning by providing county and local planners with the flexibility to consider a range of options to address issues and solve problems."
"Through these changes, the DEP will be able to work collaboratively - not as adversaries - with county and local planning agencies, who know their communities best, to achieve the shared goal of sound planning policies that protect the ecologically sensitive areas that ought to be protected and direct development to where it is appropriate," said Dan Kennedy, DEP's Assistant Commissioner for Water Resources Management.
The DEP is concurrently proposing a related Capacity Assurance Program (CAP) rule to ensure that wastewater treatment systems avoid overloads that could result in discharges that don't meet water quality requirements. While the WQMP rule takes a longer-term look at future circumstances and development, the CAP rule focuses on the near-term implementation of capital improvements or other measures to handle today's flows.
The DEP has been meeting with stakeholders since 2012 to identify and correct numerous problems with the existing Water Quality Management Planning Rule, adopted by a previous administration in 2008. Many counties were unable to complete a requirement that they prepare extremely detailed wastewater management plans, which include detailed projections of growth and sewer capacity, in part because this required zoning impacts that could only be decided at the municipal level. This hampered the adoption of sewer service area mapping that is essential to sound planning and environmental protection.
This rule was also extremely complex, overly broad, lacked flexibility, was duplicative of existing planning requirements, and deterred economic growth in areas where development is appropriate. Despite additional guidance and time provided by both the Legislature and DEP, county planning agencies were having an extremely difficult time meeting deadlines and complying with the rule.
The current rule proposal has been deemed consistent with the goals of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan by the State Smart Growth Ombudsman.
Specifically the proposed rule will:
Provide for comprehensive planning of water quality infrastructure to better protect the environment in the long term;
Limit where sewers can be located, thus allowing denser development only in those areas that are not environmentally sensitive and where it is consistent with local zoning;
Protect groundwater quality by setting goals for nitrate dilution from septic systems;
Allow counties and other planning entities more flexibility in preparing water quality plans;
Promote more cooperation between the DEP and counties in finding solutions to environmental issues;
Allow for the continuation of approvals of sewer service area amendments consistent with environmental standards and local planning objectives;
Defer to management plans for the Pinelands and Highlands concerning development decisions in those regions; and
Enhance the DEP's ability to resolve capacity issues at wastewater treatment plants.
County and local planning agencies will have a year following final adoption of the rule to adopt wastewater management plans. At its discretion, the DEP may choose to develop plans for any agencies that do not meet this deadline.
Today's publication in the Register triggers a 60-day public comment period ending Dec. 18, 2015 . Comments may be submitted electronically at www.nj.gov/dep/rules/comments < http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/comments > or in writing to:
Gary J. Brower, Esq.
Attention: DEP Docket Number 10-15-09
Office of Legal Affairs
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
401 East State Street, 7th Floor
Mail Code 401-04L; P.O. Box 402
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402
Public hearings will be held on the following dates:
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Freylinghuysen Arboretum
Haggerty Room
353 East Hanover Avenue
Morris Township, NJ 07962
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Gloucester County Clayton Complex
Clayton Auditorium
1200 Delsea Drive
Clayton, NJ 08312
Monday, Nov. 30, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
DEP Public Hearing Room
401 East State Street
Trenton, NJ 08625
Toni Granato Administrative Assistant New Jersey Sierra Club office:(609) 656-7612 https://www.facebook.com/NJSierraClub Received on 2015-10-19 12:08:08