Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH PENNACCHIO
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Senator ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
Senator STEVEN V. OROHO
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Durr
SYNOPSIS
Establishes grant program in DEP for lake management activities; appropriates $10 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing a grant program for the management and maintenance of lakes, supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is appropriated the sum of $10 million annually from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection to provide grants to assist qualified entities to pay for the management and maintenance of lakes for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to the provisions of this section.
b. The amounts appropriated in subsection a. of this section shall be used for providing grants to assist qualified entities to pay for the management and maintenance of lakes for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to the provisions of this section.
c. The department shall establish a program for the purpose of providing grants with the moneys appropriated pursuant to subsection a. of this section to assist qualified entities to pay certain costs associated with the management and maintenance of lakes for recreation and conservation purposes.
d. In establishing the program required pursuant to this section, the department shall develop criteria for the evaluation and ranking of applications to provide priority to projects:
(1) submitted by qualified entities responsible for a lake with public access; and
(2) to improve water quality and increase recreational access and use of lakes, including projects to control nutrient levels in lakes in order to prevent future harmful algal blooms.
e. A grant issued pursuant to this section may be used for stormwater and nonpoint source pollution management activities that would, as determined by the department, directly enhance, improve, or protect the use of a lake for recreation and conservation purposes.
f. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall develop an application by which a qualified entity may apply for a grant pursuant to this section, and criteria by which to rank the applications received by the department. The commissioner shall provide notice of the availability of funding for this program and make the application available on the department's Internet website.
g. As used in this section:
“Greenwood Lake Commission” means the commission created pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1999, c.402 (C.32:20A-3).
“Lake Hopatcong Commission” means the commission created pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2000, c.175 (C.58:4B-3).
“Qualified entity” means: the Greenwood Lake Commission; the Lake Hopatcong Commission; a local government unit; an entity established as a joint meeting pursuant to law, or an entity established pursuant to ordinance by the municipalities surrounding a publicly-accessible lake for the management of the lake, including, but not limited to, the Deal Lake Commission or the Lake Topanemus Park Commission; or a nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. s.501 (c)(3) and whose mission is the management of a publicly-accessible lake.
“Recreation and conservation purposes” means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would appropriate $10 million annually to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to fund the cost of a grant program to assist qualified entities to pay certain costs associated with the management and maintenance of lakes for recreation and conservation purposes.
The bill requires the DEP to develop criteria for the evaluation and ranking of applications to provide priority to projects submitted by qualified entities responsible for a lake with public access; and projects to improve water quality and increase recreational access and use of lakes, including projects to control nutrient levels in lakes in order to prevent future harmful algal blooms. The bill provides that a grant issued pursuant to the bill may be used for stormwater and nonpoint source pollution management activities, if the DEP determines that those activities would directly enhance, improve, or protect the use of a lake for recreation and conservation purposes.
The bill defines “qualified entity” to mean: the Greenwood Lake Commission; the Lake Hopatcong Commission; a local government unit; an entity established as a joint meeting pursuant to law, or an entity established pursuant to ordinance by the municipalities surrounding a publicly-accessible lake for the management of the lake, including, but not limited to, the Deal Lake Commission or the Lake Topanemus Park Commission; or a nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. s.501 (c)(3) and whose mission is the management of a publicly-accessible lake.
P.L.2021, c.225 made a one-time supplemental appropriation of $10 million in Fiscal Year 2022 to establish a grant program for this purpose. This bill would make the program permanent.