State rightly fixed flaws in original law.

By Ted Zangari

Despite what critics contend, wastewater and sewage management legislation signed by Gov. Christie last week is not a threat to the environment. It leaves environmental protections in place while providing a remedy for overreaching regulations that have compounded the economic damage of the Great Recession.

The new law addresses a cumbersome process for wastewater treatment planning that was put in place in 2008. It required counties to attempt to precisely predict development and therefore sewer services decades in advance. The mandate has been an expensive, labor-intensive, and ineffective obstacle to appropriate development.

Under the 2008 process, all 21 counties were required to prepare intensely detailed plans by April 2009. But the materials and instructions provided by the state Department of Environmental Protection were deeply flawed. Some existing and approved projects were slated to be removed from maps while landowners were kept in the dark.

Now, nearly three years later and despite significant efforts, only two counties (Hudson and Monmouth) have submitted plans for approval.

The 2008 rules also paid no heed to broader state planning goals, such as sustainable economic growth, smart development, job creation, and housing availability. These goals cannot be met without adequate sewer and water infrastructure.

The DEP deserves credit for recognizing that the program was flawed and for granting counties short-term extensions on a case-by-case basis. But the state of the economy and landowners' need for certainty justified the uniform relief set forth in the new law, which gives counties another two years to develop wastewater plans. That's especially important given claims that the DEP could have rescinded sewer service areas under the old rules, which would have been catastrophic for development and the economy.

The new law will prohibit the DEP from rescinding wastewater service area designations while the plans continue to be developed. Such assurance is necessary for landowners who are concerned about the status of their properties, as well as for those with financial commitments from lenders and investors. It will also allow state and county officials to ensure that the plans are accurate and appropriate.

Opponents of this legislation would have you believe that it will somehow lead to unfettered development. To the contrary, the reams of regulations prohibiting and limiting development in or near environmentally sensitive areas remain in place. Moreover, current wastewater management plans remain in place until new plans are adopted. Lastly, all development applications still must satisfy the stringent requirements of multiple agencies, including planning and zoning boards.

How we treat wastewater is a critical component of state planning, but it's only one component. It must address the dual objectives of protecting water while also encouraging growth in appropriate places and at appropriate densities. The 2008 rules ignored these objectives, usurped local and regional zoning, and imposed a burdensome regulatory process that stifled economic growth.

The Christie administration and the Legislature should be applauded for recognizing that. The new law will help fuel New Jersey's economic engine while maintaining existing water quality protections.