Bill Text: NJ S2041 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes four-year pilot program, and creates Triploid Grass Carp Commission, to study use of triploid grass carp in freshwater lakes for weed control; appropriates $150,000.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [S2041 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S2041-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes four-year pilot program, and creates Triploid Grass Carp Commission, to study use of triploid grass carp in freshwater lakes for weed control; appropriates $150,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act establishing a pilot program concerning the use of triploid grass carp in freshwater lakes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No later than 120 days after the effective date of this act, the Department of Environmental Protection shall establish a four-year pilot program to evaluate the use of triploid grass carp as an alternative to the use of herbicide in freshwater lakes, while ensuring the protection of native plants and aquatic ecosystems. The pilot program shall provide matching grants to three qualified lake management organizations for the purchase of triploid grass carp and the construction of the containment barriers necessary to introduce the carp into a freshwater lake. To be eligible for a grant pursuant to this program, the lake shall be between 10 and 25 acres in size.
b. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall develop an application by which a lake management organization may apply for a grant pursuant to this section, and the criteria to be used by the department to review applications received by the department. The commissioner shall provide notice of the availability of funding for this program, including the requirements necessary to qualify for funding, and shall make the application available on the department's Internet website.
c. From the applications received pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall select three lake management organizations to each receive a matching grant, not to exceed $50,000, for the purchase of triploid grass carp and the construction of the containment barriers necessary to introduce the carp into the lake.
2. a. There is established in the Department of Environmental Protection the Triploid Grass Carp Commission. The commission shall:
(1) consider the efficacy of using triploid grass carp as an alternative to herbicides for aquatic weed control in freshwater lakes;
(2) evaluate whether triploid grass carp may be safely used in the State without negatively impacting native fisheries or aquatic ecosystems;
(3) evaluate current laws, rules, and regulations in effect in other states, concerning the use of triploid grass carp, the effectiveness of the use of triploid grass carp in other states, and the protection of native fisheries and aquatic ecosystems; and
(4) at least annually during the term of the pilot program operations, evaluate the pilot program established pursuant to section 1 of this act, and at the conclusion of the pilot program, submit a written report pursuant to subsection f. of this section.
b. The commission shall consist of seven members, appointed by the Governor as follows:
(1) a representative of the Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring within the Division of Water Monitoring and Standards in the Department of Environmental Protection;
(2) a representative of the New Jersey Audubon Society;
(3) a representative of Rutgers, the State University, with expertise in freshwater fisheries and aquatic ecosystems;
(4) a representative of Rowan University, with expertise in freshwater fisheries and aquatic ecosystems; and
(5) three members, each of whom shall represent the lake management organizations selected to receive a grant pursuant to section 1 of this act.
c. All appointments to the commission shall be made no later than 180 days after the effective date of this act. Each member shall serve for the duration of the commission, and vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.
d. The commission shall organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members, and shall select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members, as well as a secretary who need not be a member of the commission. A majority of the membership of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of commission business. The commission may meet and hold hearings at the place or places the commission designates.
e. The Department of Environmental Protection shall provide staff support to the commission. The commission shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as the commission may require and as may be available to the commission for its purposes.
f. No later than 120 days after the conclusion of the four-year pilot program established pursuant to section 1 of this act, the commission shall prepare and submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature, a final report detailing the commission's findings, including any recommendations for legislative or regulatory action that the commission deems appropriate for the effective use of triploid grass carp as an alternative to the use of herbicide in freshwater lakes.
g. The commission shall
expire 30 days after submission of its final report pursuant to subsection f.
of this section.
3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection the sum of $150,000 for the purpose of awarding matching grants pursuant to section 1 of this act.
4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire 30 days after submission of the commission's final report pursuant to subsection f. of section 2 of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would establish a four-year pilot program and create a Triploid Grass Carp Commission (commission) in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to study use of triploid grass carp in freshwater lakes for weed control.
The purpose of the four-year pilot program is to evaluate the use of triploid grass carp as an alternative to the use of herbicide in freshwater lakes, while ensuring the protection of native plants and aquatic ecosystems. The pilot program would provide matching grants to three qualified lake management organizations for the purchase of triploid grass carp and the construction of the containment barriers necessary to introduce the carp into a freshwater lake. To be eligible for a grant pursuant to this program, a lake is required to be between 10 and 25 acres in size. The bill requires the DEP to develop criteria for the evaluation of applications.
The commission would be charged with: (1) considering the efficacy of using triploid grass carp as an alternative to herbicides for aquatic weed control in freshwater lakes; (2) evaluating whether triploid grass carp may be safely used in the State without negatively impacting native fisheries or aquatic ecosystems; (3) evaluating current laws, rules, and regulations in effect in other states concerning the use of triploid grass carp and the effectiveness of the use of triploid grass carp in other states and the protection of native fisheries and aquatic ecosystems; and (4) at least annually, evaluating the pilot program established pursuant to the bill. In addition, the commission would be required to submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature at the conclusion of the four-year pilot program.
The commission would be comprised of seven members appointed by the Governor, as follows: a representative of the DEP's Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring; a representative of the New Jersey Audubon Society; a representative of Rutgers, the State University, with expertise in freshwater fisheries and aquatic ecosystems; a representative of Rowan University, with expertise in freshwater fisheries and aquatic ecosystems; and a representative of each lake management organization selected to receive a grant pursuant to section 1 of the bill. The commission would expire 30 days after submission of its final report.
The bill would appropriate $150,000, from the General Fund, for the purposes of providing the matching grants to be issued by the pilot program established by the bill.
Grass carp are an aquatic plant-eating species of carp native to eastern Asia, and the "triploid" is a genetically altered form thereof which is unable to successfully spawn. Stocking triploid grass carp in certain bodies of water can substantially aid in managing vegetative growth and improve the overall health of the waterbody.
