Towns protecting NJ water supply fight cuts in aid

With elimination of funding, two local officials make case in Trenton, By Amy Stanfield Hardyston — Gov. Chris Christie’s latest budget proposal eliminates funds to help towns protect state-designated watershed areas. Because those communities are obligated to protect the watershed, they’d been receiving money through Watershed Moratorium Offset Aid. Now that money is threatened and that leaves townships like Hardyston — which last year received nearly $195,000 for this purpose — in a tough position financially. “We’re going to battle to the end for it,” Hardyston Township Manager Marianne Smith said. Smith, and West Milford’s Mayor Bettina Bieri got together to bring their concerns before two state budgeting committees recently. They were acting as representatives for the five most affected watershed communities: Jefferson, Rockaway, Vernon, Hardyston and West Milford. On April 19 they addressed the five municipalities’ concerns in Trenton to the Assembly Budget Appropriations Committee and on April 28 to the Senate Budget Appropriations Committee in Atlantic City. There’s been no word yet from the governor’s office on whether their comments have made an impact. They want the money returned. “It is our intent to continue to aggressively pursue our efforts to have the aid legislatively restored in the final budget,” Smith said. In their testimonies to both committees, Bieri and Smith explained how the lack of this money would affect their towns. Watershed Offset Aid was initially put in place by the Highlands Act, enacted in 2004. Statewide, towns face about a 20 percent cut in aid, but communities that get Watershed offset aid could see cuts as deep as 37 percent. Unfair burden “We understand and accept the cuts to our municipal aid, as these losses are shared by all municipalities throughout the state and are based on a state-calculated formula,” Bieri said in her testimony. “However, the proposed 100 percent cut to the Watershed Aid places an unjust burden on specific watershed communities.” This aid offsets the diminished valuations of protected lands and the development constraints placed on watershed communities as well as helps them stay in compliance with the mandated requirement to protect the water supply. “Our municipalities are the stewards of the water — we supply water to over one half of New Jersey’s population, over 5.4 million New Jersey residents, amounting to over 379 million gallons of water per day,” Bieri said in her statement. Smith explained that water purveyors and residents in the state benefit from the water, but host communities are burdened with the cost of maintaining that water supply. Highlands Act rules Many municipalities are left to live within the constraints of being a watershed community. For one thing, this designation can put a limit on public projects because the Highlands Acts restricts water allocation.

By the numbers Hardyston to lose about: $194,000
Jefferson to lose: $192,000
Rockaway to lose: $174,000
Vernon to lose: $294,000
West Milford to lose about: $758,000
56 municipalities had received watershed offset aid totaling: $2.2 million