Establishes four-year pilot program, and creates Triploid Grass Carp Commission, to study use of triploid grass carp in freshwater lakes for weed control; appropriates $150,000.

A2264

ASSEMBLY, No. 2264

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman MARGIE DONLON, M.D.

District 11 (Monmouth)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes four-year pilot program, and creates
Triploid Grass Carp Commission, to study use of triploid grass carp in
freshwater lakes for weed control; appropriates $150,000.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
establishing a pilot program concerning the use of
triploid grass carp in freshwater lakes, and making an appropriation.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� �1.�� a.� No later than 120
days after the effective date of this act, the Department of Environmental
Protection shall establish a four-year pilot program to evaluate the use of
triploid grass carp as an alternative to the use of herbicide in freshwater
lakes, while ensuring the protection of native plants and aquatic ecosystems.�
The pilot program shall provide matching grants to three qualified lake
management organizations for the purchase of triploid grass carp and the construction
of the containment barriers necessary to introduce the carp into a freshwater lake.�
To be eligible for a grant pursuant to this program, the lake shall be between
10 and 25 acres in size.�

���� b.� The Commissioner of
Environmental Protection shall develop an application by which a lake
management organization may apply for a grant pursuant to this section, and the
criteria to be used by the department to review applications received by the
department.� The commissioner shall provide notice of the availability of
funding for this program, including the requirements necessary to qualify for
funding, and shall make the application available on the department's Internet
website.

���� c.� From the applications
received pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall select three lake
management organizations to each receive a matching grant, not to exceed $50,000,
for the purchase of triploid grass carp and the construction of the containment
barriers necessary to introduce the carp into the lake.

���� 2.� a.� There is established
in the Department of Environmental Protection the Triploid Grass Carp
Commission.� The commission shall:

���� (1) consider the efficacy of
using triploid grass carp as an alternative to herbicides for aquatic weed
control in freshwater lakes;

���� (2) evaluate whether triploid
grass carp may be safely used in the State without negatively impacting native
fisheries or aquatic ecosystems;

���� (3) evaluate current laws,
rules, and regulations in effect in other states, concerning the use of
triploid grass carp, the effectiveness of the use of triploid grass carp in
other states, and the protection of native fisheries and aquatic ecosystems;
and

���� (4) at least annually during
the term of the pilot program operations, evaluate the pilot program
established pursuant to section 1 of this act, and at the conclusion of the
pilot program, submit a written report pursuant to subsection f.

of this
section.

���� b.��� The commission shall
consist of seven members, appointed by the Governor as follows:

���� (1) a representative of the
Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring within the Division of Water
Monitoring and Standards in the Department of Environmental Protection;

���� (2) a representative of the
New Jersey Audubon Society;

���� (3) a representative of
Rutgers, the State University, with expertise in freshwater fisheries and
aquatic ecosystems;

���� (4) a representative of Rowan
University, with expertise in freshwater fisheries and aquatic ecosystems; and

���� (5) three members, each of
whom shall represent the lake management organizations selected to receive a
grant pursuant to section 1 of this act.

���� c.���� All appointments to the
commission shall be made no later than 180 days after the effective date of
this act.� Each member shall serve for the duration of the commission, and
vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.� The
members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be
eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in
the performance of their official duties, within the limits of funds
appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.

���� d.��� The commission shall
organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members, and shall
select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members, as well as
a secretary who need not be a member of the commission.� A majority of the
membership of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
commission business.� The commission may meet and hold hearings at the place or
places the commission designates.

���� e.���� The Department of Environmental
Protection shall provide staff support to the commission.� The commission shall
be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the
employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau,
commission, or agency as the commission may require and as may be available to
the commission for its purposes.

���� f.���� No later than 120 days
after the conclusion of the four-year pilot program established pursuant to
section 1 of this act, the commission shall prepare and submit to the Governor
and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature,
a final report detailing the commission�s findings, including any
recommendations for legislative or regulatory action that the commission deems
appropriate for the effective use of triploid grass carp as an alternative to
the use of herbicide in freshwater lakes.

���� g.��� The commission shall
expire 30 days after submission of its final report pursuant to subsection f.
of this section.

���� 3. There is appropriated from
the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection the sum of
$150,000 for the purpose of awarding matching grants pursuant to section 1 of
this act.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall expire 30 days after submission of the
commission�s final report pursuant to subsection f. of section 2 of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would establish a
four-year pilot program and create a Triploid Grass Carp Commission (commission)
in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to study use of triploid
grass carp in freshwater lakes for weed control. �

���� The purpose of the four-year
pilot program is to evaluate the use of triploid grass carp as an alternative
to the use of herbicide in freshwater lakes, while ensuring the protection of
native plants and aquatic ecosystems.� The pilot program would provide matching
grants to three qualified lake management organizations for the purchase of
triploid grass carp and the construction of the containment barriers necessary
to introduce the carp into a freshwater lake.� To be eligible for a grant
pursuant to this program, a lake is required to be between 10 and 25 acres in
size.� The bill requires the DEP to develop criteria for the evaluation of
applications.��

���� The commission would be
charged with:� (1) considering the efficacy of using triploid grass carp as an
alternative to herbicides for aquatic weed control in freshwater lakes; (2)
evaluating whether triploid grass carp may be safely used in the State without
negatively impacting native fisheries or aquatic ecosystems; (3) evaluating
current laws, rules, and regulations in effect in other states concerning the
use of triploid grass carp and the effectiveness of the use of triploid grass
carp in other states and the protection of native fisheries and aquatic
ecosystems; and (4) at least annually, evaluating the pilot program established
pursuant to the bill.� In addition, the commission would be required to submit
its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature at the
conclusion of the four-year pilot program.�

���� The commission would be
comprised of seven members appointed by the Governor, as follows:� a
representative of the DEP�s Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring; a
representative of the New Jersey Audubon Society; a representative of Rutgers,
the State University, with expertise in freshwater fisheries and aquatic
ecosystems; a representative of Rowan University, with expertise in freshwater
fisheries and aquatic ecosystems; and a representative of each lake management
organization selected to receive a grant pursuant to section 1 of the bill.�
The commission would expire 30 days after submission of its final report.

���� The bill would appropriate
$150,000, from the General Fund, for the purposes of providing the matching
grants to be issued by the pilot program established by the bill.�

���� Grass carp are an aquatic
plant-eating species of carp native to eastern Asia, and the �triploid� is a
genetically altered form thereof which is unable to successfully spawn. �Stocking
triploid grass carp in certain bodies of water can substantially aid in
managing vegetative growth and improve the overall health of the waterbody.