Changes membership of Lake Hopatcong Commission and requires DEP to develop water level management plan for Lake Hopatcong to be approved by commission.

S3853

SENATE, No. 3853

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANTHONY M. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Changes membership of Lake Hopatcong Commission and
requires DEP to develop water level management plan for Lake Hopatcong to be
approved by commission.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning Lake Hopatcong and amending and
supplementing P.L.2000, c.175.

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

���� 1.��� Section 3 of P.L.2000,
c.175 (C.58:4B-3) is amended to read as follows:

���� 3.��� a.� There is created, in
but not of the Department of Environmental Protection, the Lake Hopatcong
Commission, which shall comprise 11 voting members, as follows:� a
representative of Morris county appointed by the Board of Chosen Freeholders
thereof; a representative of Sussex county appointed by the Board of Chosen
Freeholders thereof; a representative of Hopatcong borough appointed by the
governing body thereof; a representative of Jefferson township appointed by the
governing body thereof; a representative of Mount Arlington borough appointed
by the governing body thereof; a representative of Roxbury township appointed
by the governing body thereof;
[
two
]

four
members
of the public appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the
Senate
[
;
]

and
a
chairperson of the commission appointed by the Governor with the advice and
consent of the Senate
[
;
the Commissioner of Community Affairs, or a designee thereof, who shall serve
ex officio; and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, or a designee
thereof, who shall serve ex officio
]
.

���� b.��� Each county and
municipal appointing authority as prescribed pursuant to subsection a. of this
section may also respectively appoint an alternate member for each regular
member appointed by the county or municipal appointing authority to act in the
absence or disability of the regular member, and while so acting an alternate
member shall have all the powers, including voting powers, of the regular
member.

���� c.���� (1) The chairperson of
the commission shall serve a term of three years and until a successor shall
have been appointed and qualified.� A chairperson may be reappointed to
successive terms.

���� (2)�� Each member of the
public appointed by the Governor shall serve a term of two years and until a
successor shall have been appointed and qualified
[
; except that of the two members
of the public first appointed, one shall serve a term of two years and the
other a term of one year
]

.� Members of the public appointed by the Governor may be reappointed to
successive terms.

���� (3)�� Each member or alternate
member appointed by a county or a municipality shall serve a term of two years
and until a successor shall have been appointed and qualified; except that each
member and alternate member first appointed by Sussex county, Mount Arlington
borough, and Roxbury township shall serve a term of one year, and thereafter
each member and alternate member appointed by that county and those two
municipalities shall serve a term of two years and until a successor shall have
been appointed and qualified.� Members and alternate members may be reappointed
to successive terms.

���� d.��� Vacancies in the
appointed positions on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointments were made but for the unexpired term only.

���� e.���� Members of the
commission shall serve without compensation, but the commission may, within the
limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it, reimburse
members for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their
official duties.

���� f.���� Members of the
commission shall serve at the pleasure of the relevant appointing authority.

(cf: P.L.2000, c.175, s.3)

���� 2.��� Section 6 of P.L.2000,
c.175 (C.58:4B-6) is amended to read as follows:

���� 6.��� The duties and
responsibilities of the Lake Hopatcong Commission shall be to:

���� a.���� conduct water quality
and water quantity monitoring of Lake Hopatcong to assess conditions and
changes thereto over time, and identify the causes and sources of environmental
threats and impacts to Lake Hopatcong and its watershed;

���� b.��� assess present and
projected development, land use, and land management practices and patterns,
and determine the effects of those practices and patterns upon the natural,
scenic, and recreational resources of Lake Hopatcong and its watershed;

���� c.���� develop plans,
strategies, policies, ordinances, and funding mechanisms necessary to protect,
preserve, restore, maintain, manage, and enhance Lake Hopatcong and its
watershed, to be implemented by those entities with representatives on the
commission;

���� d.��� coordinate with, and
make recommendations to, the Department of Environmental Protection with
respect to any State plan or program for watershed management, water quality,
water
quantity,
water supply, stormwater management, nonpoint source pollution,
or wastewater management for the area that includes Lake Hopatcong and its
watershed;

���� e.���� recommend appropriate
State legislation and administrative action pertaining to the protection,
preservation, restoration, maintenance, management, and enhancement of Lake
Hopatcong and its watershed;

���� f.���� encourage and assist in
the creation of special local improvement districts for purposes beneficial to
Lake Hopatcong and its watershed, including control of stormwater runoff and
nonpoint source pollution, and the preservation of significant environmental
areas, including wetlands, to control stormwater runoff and nonpoint source
pollution;

���� g.��� review and assess the
potential impact upon Lake Hopatcong and its watershed of environmental permit
applications pending before or received by the Department of Environmental
Protection and provided to the commission pursuant to subsection b. of section
8 of this act, and provide recommendations to the Department of Environmental
Protection for appropriate action thereon;

���� h.��� review and assess the
potential impact upon Lake Hopatcong and its watershed of proposed amendments
and revisions to municipal master plans, zoning and other ordinances governing
land use and development, and applications for specific development projects,
which have been provided to the commission pursuant to section 9 of this act,
and provide recommendations to the appropriate municipal agency for appropriate
action thereon;

���� i.���� conduct, manage, and
coordinate specific activities and projects pertaining to the protection,
preservation, restoration, maintenance, management, and enhancement of Lake
Hopatcong and its watershed, including, but not limited to, weed control
measures, dredging, installation and maintenance of boat sewage pump outs, and
environmental education;

���� j.���� encourage individuals,
corporations, associations, and organizations to preserve and enhance the
natural scenic beauty, and protect and preserve the purity of the waters, of
Lake Hopatcong and its watershed, and to engage in environmental education of
the public for such purposes; and

���� k.��� establish advisory
committees and enlist and accept the support and cooperation of organizations
of property owners and others interested in promoting the purposes and
objectives of this act.

(cf: P.L.2000, c.175, s.6)

���� 3.��� Section 8 of P.L.2000,
s.175 (C.58:4B-8) is amended to read as follows:

���� 8.��� a.� The Division of
State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, with respect to State
boating laws, the Division of Fish and Wildlife in the Department of
Environmental Protection, with respect to State fish and wildlife laws, and the
Department of Environmental Protection, with respect to environmental
violations, shall each prepare and submit a report, on at least an annual
basis, to the Lake Hopatcong Commission on the number and type of law
enforcement stops made, violations for which citations, notices, or orders were
issued, and crimes, offenses, and violations committed during the prior year
either on Lake Hopatcong or in the immediate area of Lake Hopatcong as defined
by the commission.

���� b.��� The Department of
Environmental Protection shall provide to the commission notice of any permit
application pending before or received by the department
or any division
thereof
for an activity that may impact upon Lake Hopatcong or its
watershed, and request that the commission review and evaluate the permit
application to assess the potential impact of the activity proposed therein
upon Lake Hopatcong and its watershed and provide the commission's
recommendations for appropriate action thereon.

���� c.���� The Division of Fish
and Wildlife shall consult with the commission prior to engaging in any fish
stocking or fishery management activities affecting Lake Hopatcong.

����
d.��� Prior to the adoption
or revision of the water level management plan developed by the Department of
Environmental Protection pursuant to section 4 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.���� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), the plan or revision thereto shall
be submitted to the commission for approval by an affirmative vote of a
majority of the full membership of the commission.

����
e.���� Any action by the
Department of Environmental Protection, or any division thereof, that will
cause the water level of Lake Hopatcong to fall below a level of 8.5 feet as
measured on the Lake Hopatcong lake gauge shall first be submitted to the
commission for approval by an affirmative vote of a majority of the full
membership of the commission.

(cf: P.L.2000, c.175, s.8)

���� 4.��� (New section)� Within 90
days after the effective date of P.L. ,
c. (C. �� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), the Department of Environmental Protection shall
develop a water level management plan for the waters of Lake Hopatcong that
establishes the objectives and uses of the waters, including uses within the
Musconetcong River system, lake drawdowns, lakeshore construction and gate
manipulation guidelines.� The adoption of the water level management plan, or
any revision thereto, shall not be subject to the �Administrative Procedure
Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), but shall comply with the
requirements set forth in section 8 of P.L.2000, c.175 (C.58:4B-8).� As used in
this section, �Musconetcong River system� means the Musconetcong River
and Lake Mustconetcong.

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

STATEMENT

���� The Lake Hopatcong Commission
has been charged with, among other things, managing and protecting the natural,
scenic, and recreational resources of Lake Hopatcong and its watershed.� This
bill would grant the commission the authority necessary to carry out its
duties.

���� Specifically, the bill would
remove the Commissioners of Community Affairs and Environmental Protection as
members of the commission and would replace them with two additional members of
the public to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the
Senate.� Each member of the public would serve a term of two years until a
successor is appointed and qualified.� The bill also expressly adds to the
commission�s duties and responsibilities the coordination with the Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) on any plan or program affecting the water
quantity of Lake Hopatcong.� The bill also requires DEP to provide the
commission with notice of any permit application pending before or received by
any division of DEP for any activity that may impact on Lake Hopatcong
or its watershed.

���� Under the bill, the DEP is
required to develop a water level management plan to establish the objectives
and uses of the waters of Lake Hopatcong, including downstream uses within the Musconetcong River system.� The plan would also provide guidelines on any drawdowns,
lakeshore construction and gate manipulation for the lake.� Additionally, the
plan must be submitted for approval by an affirmative vote of the majority of
the full membership of the commission before the DEP may adopt or revise the
plan.� Finally, the DEP is required to submit to the commission any proposed
action that would cause the water level of Lake Hopatcong to fall below a level
of 8.5 feet as measured on the Lake gauge for approval by an affirmative vote
of the majority of the full membership of the commission.�