THE STATE WE’RE IN by Michele S. Byers
Sprawl spreads as far as sewer and septic permits allow. New rules proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) promise to give New Jersey a major weapon in the war on sprawl – but serious flaws could send them down the drain.
Good sewer rules will help preserve open space and revitalize existing communities. Approval of sewer and septic permits without good planning, on the other hand, fuels sprawl. Why? Because you can’t build new strip malls, office parks and housing developments without drinking water, and without getting rid of wastewater. Good sewer and septic rules translate into smart growth and a better quality of life.
Gov. Whitman proposed that these new wastewater rules incorporate smart growth concepts into the permit process as recommended in New Jersey’s State Plan. The governor stated that sewer rules should "take into account the full impact of development." Not just what it will do to the 200 acres of land where the buildings will go, but what will it do to the entire watershed in that area? What will it do to traffic? How will it affect the water supply?"
The proposed rules make strides toward smart growth planning, and offer exciting steps toward slowing sprawl to a crawl. But the rules have been widely criticized in environmental circles because of problematic components. We need to improve the rules and then move forward.
The most significant flaw in the rules is that they relax, or even eliminate, the proposed environmental reviews in urban and suburban areas. The theory is that by removing the rules here, it will encourage redevelopment, while discouraging it in the environmentally sensitive and rural areas where regulations are strengthened. In fact, this will leave 300,000 acres in our most densely populated areas wide open to further unplanned sprawl development and water pollution.
While we do want to encourage development and redevelopment in our cities and older communities, that development should be well thought out and planned. Preserving open space, water supplies and outdoor recreation in our existing communities, where most of us live, is critical, too! Under the proposed rules, millions of gallons of water pollution could be added to our suburban and urban waterways every single day without environmental reviews – an entirely unacceptable outcome.
We need to continue smart growth planning, including rigorous environmental impact analysis, everywhere in New Jersey. But while these serious flaws must be corrected, we cannot and should not lose this historic opportunity to gain ammunition in the war on sprawl. For the first time, our rules would tie sewer and septic permitting to the State Plan. That’s a huge step in the right direction. The rules appropriately call for higher levels of review in rural and environmentally sensitive areas.
The new rules will scrutinize more development proposals by lowering the review threshold from 49 septic systems down to six. Now, one 49-unit subdivision after another can carve up the landscape without analysis of environmental impact. Bringing the threshold down to six would be a major improvement.
Finally, the new rules combine planning – something we need to do much better in New Jersey – and permitting – an important carrot (and stick) -together in one program.
These sewer rules should help focus New Jersey’s development toward our established communities, where infrastructure already exists, and where such investment is so sorely needed. This would help stop pushing growth into farmland and natural, environmentally sensitive areas. We just have to make sure that the rules don’t give cities and suburbs the short end of the stick.
To do that, the governor must step in and make sure the rules deliver on their promise. To make such a bold move, she’ll need encouragement from us. Contact Gov. Christie Whitman at 125 W. State St., P.O. Box 001, Trenton, N.J. 08625-0001, phone (609) 292-6000, fax (609) 292-3454. You also can contact her at the Web site: www.state.nj.us/governor/contact.
For more information on preserving New Jersey’s land and natural resources, contact me at the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, 1-888-Land-Save, www.njconservation.org.
Michele S. Byers is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation based in Far Hills.