S2275

An Act directing the Department of Transportation to study State-owned stormwater basins in the Barnegat Bay watershed.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Department of Transportation shall conduct a study of all State-owned stormwater basins in the Barnegat Bay watershed.

The study shall identify those State-owned stormwater basins in the Barnegat Bay watershed that are malfunctioning and determine the order in which the stormwater basins should be repaired based on the need for maintenance or restoration. The study shall also estimate the cost to repair each stormwater basin individually.

2. Within one year of the effective date of this act, the Department of Transportation shall prepare and submit a final report of the study conducted pursuant to section 1 of this act, including the department’s findings and any recommendations, to the Governor, to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and to the chairperson and members of the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee and the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, or their successor committees. Copies of this report shall also be provided to the public upon request and free of charge, and the report shall be posted on the Internet website of the Department of Transportation.

3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on the 30th day after the Department of Transportation submits its report as prescribed in section 1 of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill would require the Department of Transportation to conduct a study of all State-owned stormwater basins in the Barnegat Bay watershed to identify which are malfunctioning and to submit to the Governor and the Legislature a list of the malfunctioning basins prioritized to indicate the order in which they should be repaired and the estimated cost for each repair.

Rainwater either is absorbed into the environment or flows over land into the waterways. Water that flows over land is referred to as runoff. Once a region becomes developed and buildings and paved areas prevent environmental absorption, the quantity of runoff increases. In addition, paved surfaces accelerate the speed at which runoff travels, allowing it to reach waterways much more quickly. Stormwater basins temporarily collect runoff and slowly release it into the waterways at a more natural pace, mitigating the environmental impact of development.

Stormwater basins help to protect the environment from the ramifications of modern development. In addition to helping prevent flooding by slowing runoff, stormwater basins trap the various pollutants, such as nitrogen from fertilizers, that runoff collects as it travels across modern developments. By allowing these pollutants to settle or be absorbed, stormwater basins help to prevent contamination of our waterways and drinking water. This makes stormwater basins an essential countermeasure to mitigate the environmental impact of development.

Over time, stormwater basins can become clogged or overgrown and therefore require maintenance. The necessary maintenance is minimal, consisting mostly of removing debris and mowing the grass. While this maintenance is always time consuming, the cost pales in comparison to the tens of thousands of dollars required to restore a failed basin. Without maintenance, a stormwater basin can have diminished effectiveness or cease to function because the volume available to contain runoff is reduced as the water within the basin is unable to disperse and builds up over time. Also, once the water begins to pool it becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes. In addition to their impact on quality of life, mosquitoes are known carriers of various serious diseases, including the West Nile Virus and malaria. Therefore, proper maintenance of stormwater basins is the fiscally and environmentally prudent course of action.

The regional environmental ramifications of failing to maintain stormwater basins can be seen today in the Barnegat Bay watershed. Due to the lack of proper filtration that could be provided by functioning stormwater basins, approximately 1.4 million pounds of nitrogen, or enough to fill 70,000 fertilizer bags, end up in the bay each year. As a result, the bay is listed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as having the second worst eutrophication problem in the country. Eutrophication is caused by an unnatural increase in nutrient levels in the water, which in turn creates an influx in plant and algae growth. This alteration in the bay’s natural environment threatens the survival of native species, including clams and other shellfish, and has been blamed for the explosion of the stinging jellyfish population. Eutrophication is currently threatening the Barnegat Bay economy, which provides $3.3 billon in benefits to the State of New Jersey. Simply maintaining the area’s stormwater basins, however, can mitigate a significant amount of this environmental damage.

The study proposed by this bill will determine the current condition of all State-owned stormwater basins in the Barnegat Bay watershed. It will also arm the State with a prioritized list of basins that are in the greatest need of repair and an estimate for each repair. Once this report is finalized it will permit the State to determine how best to proceed in restoring failed stormwater basins and performing maintenance on those in need.