Directs DEP to develop and implement water quality, flood control, and stream restoration pilot program.

A4633

ASSEMBLY, No. 4633

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Directs DEP to develop and implement water quality,
flood control, and stream restoration pilot program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

establishing a water quality, flood control, and
stream restoration pilot program, supplementing Title 58 of the Revised
Statutes, and amending P.L.2007, c.340.

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

���� 1.� (New section)� As used in
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

���� �Bank� means the inclined side
of a channel, an excavated or impounded area, or a topographic depression,
which confines or conducts water.

���� �Bank stabilization or
restoration� means activities conducted to restore to a stable condition a bank
or channel, which has become eroded, unstable, or ecologically degraded.

���� �Category one waters� means,
for the purposes of sediment removal, those waters designated by the Department
of Environmental Protection, for purposes of implementing the antidegradation
policies of the �Water Pollution Control Act,� P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et
seq.), for protection from measurable changes in water quality characteristics
because of their clarity, color, scenic setting, other characteristics of
aesthetic value, exceptional ecological significance, exceptional recreational
significance, exceptional water supply significance, or exceptional fisheries
resources.� These waters may include, but are not limited to:

���� (1)�� waters originating
wholly within federal, interstate, State, county, or municipal parks, forests,
fish and wildlife lands, and other special holdings that have not been
designated by the department as FW1;

���� (2)�� waters classified by the
department as FW2 trout production waters and their tributaries;

���� (3)�� surface waters
classified by the department as FW2 trout maintenance waters or FW2 non-trout
waters that are not more than 750 feet upstream of waters classified by the
department as FW2 trout production waters;

���� (4)�� shellfish waters of
exceptional resource value; or

���� (5)�� other waters and their
tributaries that flow through, or border, federal, State, county or municipal
parks, forest, fish and wildlife lands, and other special holdings.

���� �Channel� means a linear
topographic depression, either naturally occurring or of human origin through
excavation or construction, that continuously or intermittently confines or
conducts surface water, but shall not mean transient erosion gullies and other
ephemeral features that temporarily form after heavy rainfall.

���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Environmental Protection.

���� �FW� means the general surface
water classification applied to fresh waters.

���� �FW1� means those fresh waters
that originate in and are wholly within federal or State parks, forests, fish
and wildlife lands, and other special holdings, that are to be maintained in
their natural state of quality and not subjected to any man-made wastewater
discharges.

���� �FW2� means the general
surface water classification applied to those fresh waters that are not
designated as FW1 or pinelands waters.

���� �Sediment� means solid
material, mineral or organic, that is in suspension, is being transported or
has moved from its site of origin by air, water, ice, or gravity as a product
of erosion.

���� �Stream cleaning, clearing,
and desnagging� means the removal of accumulated sediments, debris, garbage, or
vegetation from a stream with a natural stream bed, or the removal of any
accumulated material from a stream previously channelized with concrete or
similar artificial material, to improve, for the purposes of flood control, the
use or function of any stream.

���� �Trout maintenance waters�
means waters designated by the department for the support of trout throughout
the year.

���� �Trout production waters�
means waters designated by the department for use by trout for spawning or
nursery purposes during their first summer.

���� 2.��� (New section) a.� The
Department of Environmental Protection shall develop and implement a water
quality, flood control, and stream restoration pilot program to assist counties
and municipalities with projects that restore the environment, improve water quality,
reduce flooding, and contribute to the storing of carbon in natural areas.� The
projects funded and implemented under the pilot program shall restore streams,
smaller waterways, and tributaries in the State.� Projects to restore rivers
shall not be eligible for participation in the pilot program.

���� b.� Under the pilot program,
the department shall provide grants for three projects at comparable costs; one
each in the southern, central, and northern areas of the State.

���� c.� Under the pilot program,
funding may be provided for projects for:

���� (1) �stream cleaning,
clearing, and desnagging;

���� (2)� bank stabilization or
restoration;

���� (3)� stream dredging;

���� (4)� restoration of historic
stream beds;

���� (5)� plans for the timed
release of water from detention basins, dams, or other water bodies;

���� (6)� farm practices to retain
soil moisture;

���� (7)� design and installation
of pervious surfaces;

���� (8)� restoration of historic
flood plains;

���� (9)� promotion of public use
of flood plains that reduces flooding;

���� (10)� installation of native
plantings; and

���� (11)� residential installation
of flood control methods such as rain gardens, cisterns, and buried downspouts.

���� d.��� A project conducted
under the pilot program shall meet the following conditions:

���� (1)�� the removal of any
material shall not extend below the historic depth of a stream bed and shall
not alter the natural stream bank beyond its historical contour;

���� (2)� the project shall not
obstruct flow in the channel or floodway, significantly alter the channel, or
impair surface water flow into or out of any wetland area;

���� (3)�� the project shall not
reduce the stability of a steep slope or result in the permanent loss of any
upland forested area;

���� (4)�� disturbance to
vegetation in the riparian zone shall be minimized, and all cleared or removed
vegetation shall be replanted with native, non-invasive vegetation except where
the cleared or removed vegetation has been replaced by non-vegetative
stabilizing material;

���� (5) the project shall not
result in the likelihood of the destruction or adverse modification of habitat
for federally or State listed threatened or endangered species;

���� (6)�� every effort shall be
made to perform work so as to ensure that vegetation and canopy on a stream
bank is preserved for stream shading;

���� (7)�� if a project is in a
municipality known to have federally or State listed threatened or endangered
species associated with its wetlands or if the project is in a stream
classified as pinelands or category one waters, the project shall (a) be
coordinated with the appropriate federal and State agencies, and (b)
incorporate appropriate timing restrictions; and

���� (8)�� the project shall comply
with any applicable requirements of �The Wetlands Act of 1970,� P.L.1970, c.272
(C.13:9A-1 et seq.), the �Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act,� P.L.1987, c.156
(C.13:9B-1 et seq.), the �Coastal Area Facility Review Act,� P.L.1973, c.185
(C.13:19-1 et seq.), the �Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act,�
P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et al.), and the �Flood Hazard Area Control Act,�
P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), and any rules and regulations adopted
pursuant thereto.

���� e.���� Before approving a project
to be conducted under the pilot program, the department shall ensure that the
project is eligible for any permit, approval, or other authorization required
by law and the department shall issue the necessary permit, approval, or other
authorization.

���� 3.��� (New section)� a.� One
year after the effective date of P.L. , c.���
(C.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the commissioner shall
issue a written report to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991,
c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), summarizing the projects undertaken and completed under
the pilot program.�

���� b.� The report shall include:

���� (1) a description of each project

undertaken under the pilot program,
including

a description of the nature of the project,
the water quality, flood control, or carbon storage objectives of the
projects, and identification of the municipality and county in which the
project occurred;

���� (2)
the cost of each
project

undertaken;
and

���� (3)
any
recommendations for any administrative or legislative actions that
the commissioner deems appropriate and necessary to assist counties and
municipalities in addressing projects that restore the environment, improve
water quality, reduce flooding, and contribute to the storing of carbon in
natural areas in the State.

���� 4.� (New section)� The
Department of Environmental Protection shall allocate $1 million for the pilot
program established pursuant to P.L.��� , c.��� (C.��� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill) from the moneys allocated for programs that enhance
the stewardship and restoration of the State's streams, flood plains, and water
quality pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-51) from the
"Global Warming Solutions Fund," established pursuant to section 6 of
P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-50).

���� 5.� Section 7 of P.L.2007,
c.340 (C.26:2C-51) is amended to read as follows:

���� 7. a. The agencies
administering programs established pursuant to this section shall maximize
coordination in the administration of the programs to avoid overlap between the
uses of the fund prescribed in this section.

���� b.��� Moneys in the fund,
after appropriation annually for payment of administrative costs authorized
pursuant to subsection c. of this section, shall be annually appropriated and
used for the following purposes:

���� (1)�� Sixty percent shall be
allocated to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to provide grants
and other forms of financial assistance to commercial, institutional, and
industrial entities to support end-use energy efficiency projects and new,
efficient electric generation facilities that are state of the art, as
determined by the department, including but not limited to energy efficiency
and renewable energy applications, to develop combined heat and power
production and other high efficiency electric generation facilities, to
stimulate or reward investment in the development of innovative carbon
emissions abatement technologies with significant carbon emissions reduction or
avoidance potential, to develop qualified offshore wind projects pursuant to
section 3 of P.L.2010, c.57 (C.48:3-87.1), and to provide financial assistance
to manufacturers of equipment associated with qualified offshore wind
projects.� The authority, in consultation with the board and the department,
shall determine:� (a) the appropriate level of grants or other forms of
financial assistance to be awarded to individual commercial, institutional, and
industrial sectors and to individual projects within each of these sectors; (b)
the evaluation criteria for selecting projects to be awarded grants or other
forms of financial assistance, which criteria shall include the ability of the
project to result in a measurable reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases
or a measurable reduction in energy demand, provided, however, that neither the
development of a new combined heat and power production facility, nor an
increase in the electrical and thermal output of an existing combined heat and
power production facility, shall be subject to the requirement to demonstrate
such a measurable reduction; and (c) the process by which grants or other forms
of financial assistance can be applied for and awarded including, if
applicable, the payment terms and conditions for authority investments in
certain projects with commercial viability;

���� (2)�� Twenty percent shall be
allocated to the board to support programs that are designed to reduce
electricity demand or costs to electricity customers in the low-income and
moderate-income residential sector with a focus on urban areas, including
efforts to address heat island effect and reduce impacts on ratepayers
attributable to the implementation of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.) or to
support the light duty plug-in electric vehicle incentive program and the
incentive program for in-home electric vehicle service equipment established
pursuant to sections 4 and 6 of P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-4 and C.48:25-6).� For
the purposes of this paragraph, the board, in consultation with the authority
and the department, shall determine the types of programs to be supported and
the mechanism by which to quantify benefits to ensure that the supported
programs result in a measurable reduction in energy demand or accomplishment of
the plug-in electric vehicle goals established pursuant to section 3 of
P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-3);

���� (3)�� Ten percent shall be
allocated to the department to support programs designed to promote local
government efforts to plan, develop and implement measures to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, including but not limited to technical assistance to local governments,
and the awarding of grants and other forms of assistance to local governments
to conduct and implement energy efficiency, renewable energy, and distributed
energy programs and land use planning where the grant or assistance results in
a measurable reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases or a measurable
reduction in energy demand. For the purpose of conducting any program pursuant
to this paragraph, the department, in consultation with the authority and the
board, shall determine:� (a) the appropriate level of grants or other forms of
financial assistance to be awarded to local governments; (b) the evaluation
criteria for selecting projects to be awarded grants or other forms of
financial assistance; (c) the process by which grants or other forms of
financial assistance can be applied for and awarded; and (d) a mechanism by
which to quantify benefits; and

���� (4)�� Ten percent shall be
allocated to the department to support programs that enhance the stewardship
and restoration of the State's forests
, streams, flood plains, water
quality,
and tidal marshes that provide important opportunities to
sequester or reduce greenhouse gases.

���� �c. (1) The department may use
up to four percent of the total amount in the fund each year to pay for
administrative costs justifiable and approved in the annual budget process,
incurred by the department in administering the provisions of P.L.2007, c.340
(C.26:2C-45 et al.) and in administering programs to reduce the emissions of
greenhouse gases including any obligations that may arise under subsection a.
of section 11 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-55).

���� (2)�� The board may use up to
two percent of the total amount in the fund each year to pay for administrative
costs justifiable and approved in the annual budget process, incurred by the
board in administering the provisions of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.)
and in administering programs to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases
including any obligations that may arise under subsection a. of section 11 of
P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-55).

���� (3)�� The New Jersey Economic
Development Authority may use up to two percent of the total amount in the fund
each year to pay for administrative costs justifiable and approved in the
annual budget process, incurred by the authority in administering the provisions
of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.) and in administering programs to reduce
the emissions of greenhouse gases.

���� �d.�� The State Comptroller
shall conduct or supervise independent audit and fiscal oversight functions of
the fund and its uses.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.362, s.12)

���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill directs the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop and implement a water
quality, flood control, and stream restoration pilot program to assist counties
and municipalities with projects that restore the environment, improve water
quality, reduce flooding, and contribute to the storing of carbon in natural
areas.

���� The bill establishes that,
under the pilot program, the DEP would provide grants for three projects, one
each in the southern, central, and northern areas of the State.� Projects that
may be funded under the program would include stream cleaning, clearing, and
desnagging, stream bank stabilization, stream dredging, restoration of historic
stream beds, plans for the release of water from detention basins, dams, or
other water bodies, farm practices to retain soil moisture, design and
installation of pervious surfaces, restoration of historic flood plains,
promotion of public use of flood plains that reduces flooding, installation of
native plantings, and residential installation of flood control methods such as
rain gardens, cisterns, and buried downspouts.

���� The bill requires the
Commissioner of Environmental Protection one year after the bill�s effective
date, to issue a written report to the Legislature summarizing the projects
undertaken and completed under the pilot program and including:

���� 1) a description of each of
the projects

undertaken under the pilot program, with a description of
the nature of the project,
the water quality,
flood control, or carbon storage objectives of the projects, and identification
of the municipality and county in which the project occurred;

���� 2)
the cost of each
project

undertaken;
and

���� 3)
any
recommendations for any administrative or legislative actions that
the commissioner deems appropriate and necessary to assist counties and
municipalities in addressing.

���� Finally, the bill directs DEP
to allocate $1 million for the pilot program established in the bill from the
moneys in the Global Warming Solutions Fund allocated for programs that enhance
the stewardship and restoration of the State's streams, water quality and flood
plains� The bill amends current law concerning use of moneys in the Global
Warming Solutions Fund to specify that stream, water quality, and flood plain
projects are included in the stewardship and restoration programs authorized to
receive grants from the fund.