Water Quality Action Alert

A pair of bills introduced in both chambers of the New Jersey Legislature would threaten New Jersey's clean water, open spaces, and environmental legislation this holiday season.  The bills would undermine proposed Department of Environmental Protection rules that would protect water quality and allow counties to implement environmentally responsible sewage and septic plans.


Here is an excerpt from Clean Ocean Action's letter to members of the New Jersey Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Management regarding the bills:

Wastewater management planning bills before your committee (A.4335 and S. 3156) attack and undermine these robust and well-balanced planning processes. These bills make it too easy to obtain site-specific amendments and will result in environmentally-damaging, uncoordinated sprawl. These bills will result in development of sensitive environmental areas and depletion ofendangered species habitat. These bills will decrease buffers that filter-out pollution and increasenonpoint source pollution.

These bills will also increase ocean discharge volumes of treated wastewater and directly overburden wastewater treatment facilities because of provisions allowing sewer expansion that exceed treatment facility capacity. Overflows to treatment facilities can result in the discharge of partially treated or entirely untreated sewage. The costs of fines and enforcement actions, repairs to overloaded systems, and unwise capacity expansions will be passed on to homeowners, renters, and businesses.

 Take Action!

Contact your New Jersey State legislators today to let them know you oppose S. 3156 and A. 4335.  Find out who your legislators are and how to contact them here.

Contact Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver to let them know you want them to put a stop to the bills.