ASSEMBLY SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5194

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 27, 2021

      The Assembly Special Committee on Infrastructure and Natural Resources reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 5194.

      This bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to establish, to the extent allowable under the federal "Clean Water Act," a ranking system for nonpoint source pollution control grants it issues pursuant to the "Water Pollution Control Act," P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et seq.).

      Under the bill, the ranking system would include, but not be limited to, priority to projects that are located (1) in an area that is served by a stormwater utility, (2) in a municipality that has an ordinance prohibiting the use of lawn fertilizers, (3) in an area that has experienced recent economic hardship because nonpoint source pollution has limited the uses of a nearby waterbody, or (4) in a municipality that has an ordinance imposing maintenance and inspection standards on the owners and operators of septic systems.