New Jersey § 58:11a-2

§ 58:11a-2.

a. The Legislature finds that the people of the State have a paramount interest in

the restoration, maintenance and preservation of the quality of the waters of the

State for the protection and preservation of public health and welfare, food supplies,

public water supplies, propagation of fish and wildlife, agricultural and industrial

uses, aesthetic satisfaction, recreation, and other beneficial uses; and that the

severity of the water pollution problem in the State necessitates continuing water

quality management planning in order to develop and implement water quality programs

in concert with other social and economic objectives. The Legislature further finds that water quality is dependent upon factors of topography,

hydrology, population concentration, industrial and commercial development, agricultural

uses, transportation and other such factors which vary among and within watersheds

and other regions of the State and that pollution abatement programs should consider

these natural and man-made conditions that influence water quality. The Legislature further finds that the State's groundwaters are a precious and vulnerable

resource. b. The Legislature declares that the objective of this act is, wherever attainable,

to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters

of the State, including groundwaters, and the public trust therein; and that areawide

waste treatment management planning processes should be developed and implemented

in order to achieve this objective and to assure adequate control of sources of water

pollutants in the State. The Legislature further declares that wherever practicable and feasible waste treatment

management planning areas shall be coterminous with county boundaries, and that wherever

appropriate county governments shall perform such areawide waste treatment management

planning; that the Department of Environmental Protection shall conduct areawide

waste treatment management planning for all areas of the State without a designated

planning agency, and that said Department of Environmental Protection shall establish

a continuing planning process which will encourage, direct, supervise and aid areawide

planning and which will also incorporate water quality management plans into a comprehensive

and cohesive Statewide program directed toward the achievement of water quality objectives;

that the Department of Environmental Protection through the continuing planning process

and the planning agencies through the areawide planning process shall coordinate and

integrate water quality management plans with related Federal, State, regional and

local comprehensive land use, functional and other relevant planning activities, programs

and policies; and that opportunities for meaningful public participation shall be

provided during all phases of the water quality planning management process.