Lawmakers flush Christie's septic plan for Highlands reservoir region down the drain

UPDATE on Friday 1/12/18: Gov. Chris Christie's environmental commissioner said Friday he would not withdraw plans to expand septic systems in the Highlands saying a resolution approved by the Legislature this week to invalidate the plan was "constitutionally flawed."

In a letter to Senate and Assembly leaders, Bob Martin said the Legislature could not block the rules because the science that backed the septic expansion was sound and did not violate the intent of the 2004 Highlands Act that severely prohibited large-scale development in New Jersey's environmentally-sensitive reservoir region. 

But lawmakers and environmentalists said Friday that Martin's letter is meaningless in the waning days of the Christie administration. They said Governor-elect Phil Murphy, who will be sworn in on Tuesday, and his nominee to head the Department of Environmental Protection, Catherine McCabe, will likely withdraw the septic rules. 

"Bob Martin has, what, 72 hours left on the job," said Assemblyman John McKeon, one of the primary sponsors of the resolution. "I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Earlier story: 

A plan by the Christie administration to allow more development in the most protected regions of the Highlands was shot down by the Legislature late Monday, blocking what many saw as a serious threat to an area that supplies drinking water to millions.

The resolution approved by the Senate and Assembly essentially turns back a plan that would have permitted as many as 1,145 more septic systems to be built in New Jersey's mountain region dotted with reservoirs and aquifers. 

“The Legislature showed its commitment to the citizens it represents by this action, which is intentionally an arduous procedure and a last resort,” said Elliott Ruga, policy director of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition.

The resolution passed the Senate 21-16 and the Assembly 41-25 during a dizzying legislative session that saw 200 measures approved in one day. It essentially says the septic plan is invalid because it defies the intent of the 2004 Highlands Act, a law that severely limited development to protect drinking water.

Supporters of the plan, including the New Jersey Builders Association, said striking down the septic expansion plan continues an imbalance in the region, where economic development and property rights have taken a back seat to environmental protections.

The resolution would have forced the Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, to amend or withdraw the septic rule. Current Commissioner Bob Martin will be replaced by Catherine McCabe after Gov.-elect Phil Murphy is sworn in on Jan. 16. Environmentalists believe McCabe and Murphy would uphold the Highlands protections.

Approved by the DEP last year, the septic plan was Christie's signature move in easing the 2004 law that limited development on 800,000 acres over seven counties, including Bergen, Passaic and Morris. 

While the Highlands Act has been celebrated by conservationists, landowners have complained for years that their property values have unfairly plummeted. The hardest hit were farmers, whose large patches of land could have been developed into homes, strip malls or office parks.

The state does not have enough money to fund the estimated $1.3 billion it would cost to preserve 92,360 acres of conservation lands and 70,197 acres of farmland. On Monday, the state Highlands Council announced that it plans to purchase conservation easements on 16 properties in the region for as much as $4.5 million, bringing the total to 2,700 acres preserved.

The septic plan was introduced in 2016 by DEP officials who said the Highlands can handle more nitrate pollution from septics than originally believed, without water quality being substantially degraded. 

The original Highlands plan, which called for one septic tank per 88 acres on forested land and one per 25 acres in open space, was not representative of the region because it was based on nitrate concentrations from only seven wells, DEP officials have said. New data were taken from 19,000 well samples. 

Supporters of septic expansion said Tuesday that the plan should have been able to move forward because it was based on better data. 

"Property owners remain unsettled and unhappy, and losing septic density was a disappointment," said Peter Furey, executive director of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, the biggest group advocating on behalf of Highlands landowners. 

Environmentalists and mostly Democratic lawmakers have called the DEP's findings flawed. They said the study concentrated on wells near developed areas that already have septic systems and thus higher nitrate levels. That allowed the DEP to raise the bar on how much nitrates the pristine areas could sustain before water quality would degrade, they said.

Christie had targeted the Highlands even before he took office in 2010. His transition team called for a drastic reduction in the powers of the Highlands Council, created to enforce the 2004 law, calling it "a disaster on multiple levels" because it impeded economic growth. 

Christie appointed allies to the council and fired its popular director, Eileen Swan, who had served during prior administrations. But the septic rule has been among the most direct challenges to the Highlands protections. Among those opposing the septic rules are Newark and Jersey City leaders, whose cities get the vast majority of their water from Highlands reservoirs.