Merging "Smart Growth" and sustainable development concepts with a watershed-based approach to protecting and restoring water quality, the New Jersey Department of Environ-mental Protection ("NJDEP"), with the support of Governor Whitman, recently unveiled its proposed Water Quality and Watershed Management Rules Program. In announcing the proposal, the Governor emphasized the importance of water resources, noting that the drought and flooding during 1999 demonstrated the State's problems with water recharge and drainage.
NJDEP's action follows the Governor's Executive Order 109, issued earlier this year, which mandated a watershed-based water quality protection program and appropriate evaluation of alternatives to achieve sound water resource management. The proposed rules take this approach a step further and strongly encourage development and redevelopment only in designated sewer service areas or in Designated Centers or Planning Areas 1 or 2, as defined by the State Development and Redevelopment Plan ("State Plan") (collectively, "Encouraged Development Areas").
The new requirements would apply to proposed developments consisting of six or more homes or generating more than 2,000 gallons per day of wastewater. To focus development to the preferred areas, the program would require a stringent environmental review for any proposed development outside of an Encouraged Development Area. The comprehensive environmental assessment would evaluate water resource impacts and ensure that the proposed development is consistent with the State Plan. Development proposed for areas within Encouraged Development Areas would not be subject to this heightened scrutiny.
Another major thrust of the proposal is maintaining and improving water quality through comprehensive evaluation of all pollutant sources within each of the state's twenty designated watershed management districts. While the state's water quality has improved greatly under point source permitting, NJDEP explains, improvement cannot continue under a program that addresses only a portion of the impacts to water quality. A key impact currently unregulated is nonpoint source pollution, which includes runoff from roads, lawns and farms. Accordingly, the proposal provides for individualized regulation of watershed management districts by NJDEP in partnership with public advisory committees, and provides procedures for evaluation of all sources of pollution in the watershed. Each district is to develop a Watershed Management Area Plan, based upon environmentally meaningful natural boundaries rather than artificial borders such as county lines, to maintain or improve water within the watershed. This plan is intended to function as an "umbrella" plan, encompassing local plans and planning tools used by other county and municipal authorities.
A third element of the proposed regulations calls for identification of impaired water bodies within each watershed district and development of Total Maximum Daily Loads ("TMDL") for state water bodies. Under federal law, TMDLs must be established for impaired and threatened water bodies in order to quantify the amount of a specific pollutant that the water body can assimilate without surpassing Surface Water Quality Standards. NJDEP further proposes to use "protective TMDLs," which ensure that a non-water quality limited segment water body meets the water quality standards set forth in the applicable Watershed Management Area Plan.
The Watershed Rule proposal is expected to draw attack from both environmental advocacy groups and developers. NJDEP currently expects to formally publish the rule proposal in the July 3, 2000 New Jersey Register. NJDEP has scheduled three public hearings during July and August at various areas throughout the state.
