Governor declares streams ‘protected’

The waterways now are listed under the state’s Category One, which limits development as well as providing for protection from pollution.

By: Linda Seida
   STOCKTON — With the historically and ecologically important Delaware and Raritan Canal as a backdrop, Gov. James E. McGreevey announced April 29 the state has conferred its highest form of protection on five ecologically sensitive streams that are part of the Delaware River waters in Hunterdon County.
   On the grounds of the 18th-century Prallsville Mill, the governor said the waterways now will be designated Category One waterways. Category One is the highest type of protection for a body of water and aims to safeguard the streams from any further pollution. Category One also offers protection from the impact of development.
   Such protection also can help limit development and stop sprawl. According to Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, developers intent on building near protected streams now will be required to consider their projects from an ecological viewpoint.
   Under the Category One designation, no impact on the protected streams will be permitted. No discharged into the streams is allowed. Also, under stormwater management regulations being considered by the state Department of Environmental Protection, development will not be permitted within a 300-foot buffer zone of the protected streams, according to Mr. Tittel, who added additional restrictions would be imposed in zones beyond that buffer. The buffer zone now is 50 feet. That also affects homeowners whose property is within that zone if they want to build anything in that area.
   The five streams given Category One protection are Wickecheoke Creek, which flows through Stockton and the townships of Delaware, Raritan, Kingwood and Franklin; Lockatong Creek, which winds its way through Kingwood and Franklin townships; Nishisakawick Creek, which is found in Frenchtown and Kingwood Township; Little Nishisakawick Creek, which flows through Alexandria Township; and Harihokake Creek, which winds through Frenchtown and the townships of Kingwood and Alexandria.
   The governor’s recent announcement came on the heels of his Earth Day proclamation the previous week that six streams and nine reservoirs in New Jersey also would receive Category One protection, including four in Hunterdon County — South Branch Rockaway Creek, Sidney Brook, Round Valley Reservoir and Beaver Brook.
   "This is not the time to congratulate ourselves on protecting 15 water bodies and then to forget about the rest of our water resources," Gov. McGreevey said. "Protecting New Jersey’s high quality water resources must be a continuing priority in our smart growth agenda. Today, we are taking another step forward in this effort as we announce additional waterways in Hunterdon County that we are proposing for the highest level of protection."
   Present at Prallsville Mill for the announcement was Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell, a resident of Lambertville.
   "Through his leadership, the governor has made it clear that protecting our water supplies must be an ongoing priority for state, municipal and community partners in order to save our ecologically sensitive habitats and drinking water for New Jersey’s families and communities," Commissioner Campbell said.
   "These five streams are only the latest step in a continual process to increase water quality protection statewide."