Bill Text: NJ A3852 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DEP to designate municipalities with critical headwaters as headwater guardians.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-01-13 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [A3852 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A3852-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DEP to designate municipalities with critical headwaters as headwater guardians.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning critical headwaters and supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Critical headwater" means a headwater that is designated by the Department of Environmental Protection as a critical headwater pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
"Highlands Region" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-3).
"Pinelands area" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-3).
b. Within one year of the effective date of this section, the Department of Environmental Protection shall develop a process to identify and designate municipalities within the State where critical headwaters are located as headwater guardians. The designation of a municipality as a headwater guardian shall signal the role of a municipality's critical headwater in providing clean drinking water to residents of the State and ensure any environmental protections that may be necessary to protect the continued, effective environmental functioning of the critical headwater. In developing this process, the department shall locate headwaters in municipalities of the State and designate certain headwaters as critical headwaters if the headwater provides a primary source of drinking water for a population of at least 1,000,000 New Jersey residents according to the most recent federal decennial census. In designating critical headwaters, the department shall:
(1) consider watershed significance, water quality designation, wetland and riparian buffer presence, and location within the Highlands Region, pinelands area, or other environmentally sensitive planning areas using verified data from the United States Geological Survey, the New Jersey Water Quality Monitoring Network, and other scientifically recognized sources; and
(2) ensure that the designation process and any subsequent protective measures align with:
(a) any applicable standards adopted pursuant to any law, rule, or regulation concerning flood hazard areas, stormwater management, and wetlands protection;
(b) the New Jersey Statewide Water Supply Plans prepared and adopted by the department pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1981, c.262 (C.58:1A-13); and
(c) the Integrated Water Quality Assessment reports prepared by the department and submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the federal "Clean Water Act" (33 U.S.C. s.1251 et seq.); and
(3) provide complete information about the department's process in designating critical headwaters to the public, including making publicly available any geographic information system data or other data used.
c. No later than 30 days after the establishment of the identification and designation process pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the department shall designate any municipality within the State where a critical headwater is located as a headwater guardian. The department shall publish the list of municipalities that are designated headwater guardians on the department's Internet website and shall update the list as necessary.
d. Within six months of the designation of a municipality as a headwater guardian, the department shall make a determination as to whether any environmental protections, which protections may include, but are not limited to, enhanced stormwater management requirements, groundwater recharge standards, impervious cover limits, or vegetative buffer maintenance, are required to be implemented to protect a municipality's critical headwater's ability to provide clean drinking water to residents of this State. In making this determination, the department shall also consider the municipality's role in enhancing climate resilience through natural resource conservation, groundwater recharge, flood mitigation and control, and drought protection. If the department determines that environmental protections are necessary, the department shall publish information related to the environmental protections on the department's Internet website.
e. All designations of headwater guardians pursuant to subsection c. of this section and environmental protection determinations pursuant to subsection d. of this section shall be subject to a public comment period of not less than 30 days.
f. Any considerations, benefits, or protections allowed for a headwater, critical headwater, or headwater guardian pursuant to any law, rule, or regulation shall apply to a municipality that is designated by the department as a headwater guardian pursuant to this section. A headwater guardian designation shall be recognized as a material planning factor under the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.) and under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, required pursuant to the "State Planning Act," P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et seq.).
g. The department may establish a program, in a form and manner determined by the department, to highlight certain municipalities that have been designated as headwater guardians pursuant to subsection c. of this section and that have demonstrated exemplary watershed stewardship.
h. The department may make grants or technical assistance available to municipalities that are designated as headwater guardians to support watershed protection measures.
i. No later than two years after the effective date of this section, and annually thereafter, the department shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), that includes, at a minimum, information concerning:
(1) all headwater guardian designations;
(2) any environmental protections required for headwater guardians;
(3) recommendations for improving the headwater guardian designation process;
(4) recommendations for interagency coordination, including, at a minimum, interagency coordination with the Board of Public Utilities, Department of Transportation, and Department of Community Affairs; and
(5) measurable outcomes, such as reductions in pollutant loadings, flood damage avoided, or acres of riparian buffers preserved.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require, within one year of the bill's effective date, the Department of Environmental Protection (department) to develop a process to identify and designate municipalities within the State where critical headwaters are located as headwater guardians. The designation of a municipality as a headwater guardian would signal the role of a municipality's critical headwater in providing clean drinking water to residents of the State and ensure any environmental protections that may be necessary to protect the continued, effective environmental functioning of the critical headwater. In developing this process, the department would be required to locate headwaters in municipalities of the State and designate certain headwaters as critical headwaters if the headwater provides a primary source of drinking water for a population of at least 1,000,000 New Jersey residents according to the most recent federal decennial census.
No later than 30 days after the establishment of the identification and designation process, the department would be required to designate any municipality within the State where a critical headwater is located as a headwater guardian. The department would be required to publish the list of municipalities that are designated headwater guardians on the department's Internet website and update the list as necessary.
Within six months of the designation of a municipality as a headwater guardian, the department would be required to make a determination as to whether any environmental protections are required to be implemented to protect a municipality's critical headwater's ability to provide clean drinking water to residents of this State. If the department determines that environmental protections are necessary, the department would be required to publish information related to the environmental protections on the department's Internet website. All designations of headwater guardians and environmental protection determinations would be required to be subject to a public comment period of not less than 30 days.
The bill also provides that any considerations, benefits, or protections allowed for a headwater, critical headwater, or headwater guardian pursuant to any law, rule, or regulation would apply to a municipality that is designated by the department as a headwater guardian.
Under the bill, the department may establish a program, in a form and manner determined by the department, to highlight certain municipalities that have been designated as headwater guardians and that have demonstrated exemplary watershed stewardship.
Finally, no later than two years after the bill's effective date, and annually thereafter, the department would be required to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature that includes, at a minimum, information concerning: (1) all headwater guardian designations; (2) any environmental protections required for headwater guardians; (3) recommendations for improving the headwater guardian designation process; (4) recommendations for interagency coordination, including, at a minimum, interagency coordination with the Board of Public Utilities, Department of Transportation, and Department of Community Affairs; and (5) measurable outcomes, such as reductions in pollutant loadings, flood damage avoided, or acres of riparian buffers preserved.
This bill would provide cost-savings for municipalities and the State through avoided flood damages, improved resilience, and reduced long-term infrastructure costs. The intent of the bill is not to impose any new mandates, but rather to elevate municipalities that are already protecting their headwaters, while allowing the department to tailor protections as necessary.
