Bill Text: NJ A1298 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Allocates at least $100 million from Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for coastal and inland Blue Acres land acquisition projects in flood-prone areas.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee [A1298 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A1298-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DAVID W. WOLFE
District 10 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Allocates at least $100 million from Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for coastal and inland Blue Acres land acquisition projects in flood-prone areas.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act allocating not less than $100,000,000 from the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for coastal and inland Blue Acres projects to acquire flood-prone lands for recreation and conservation purposes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any provision of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et seq.) to the contrary, of the monies deposited into the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund in State fiscal years 2000 through 2009, the Department of Environmental Protection shall allocate a total of not less than $50,000,000 for the funding of coastal Blue Acres projects, and a total of not less than $50,000,000 for the funding of inland Blue Acres projects, undertaken by the State, local government units, or qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organizations. The monies so allocated pursuant to this section shall be appropriated in accordance with the procedures established by section 23 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-23).
b. For the purposes of this section:
"Coastal area" means the area defined and delineated pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-4);
"Coastal Blue Acres project" means the acquisition, for recreation and conservation purposes, of lands in the coastal area that have been damaged by, or may be prone to incurring damage caused by, storms or storm-related flooding, or that may buffer or protect other lands from such damage;
"Inland area" means that portion of the State located outside of the coastal area; and
"Inland Blue Acres project" means the acquisition, for recreation and conservation purposes, of lands in the inland area that have been damaged by, or may be prone to incurring damage caused by, storms or storm-related flooding, or that may buffer or protect other lands from such damage.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would allocate at least $100,000,000 from the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund over the next decade to acquire flood-prone lands in the State for recreation and conservation purposes. In essence, this bill would expand upon the general idea and purposes of the coastal and inland Blue Acres programs created in a 1995 Green Acres bond act, although it does not require the Department of Environmental Protection to follow any of the requirements and provisions of those existing programs. Instead, the bill uses the general framework established by the "Garden State Preservation Trust Act," P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et seq.) for expenditures from the "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund" established by that act. The Blue Acres funding would be provided to the State, local government units, and qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organizations and would be divided as follows: at least $50 million to be spent in the coastal area and at least $50 million to be spent in the inland area of the State. Also, unlike the 1995 Green Acres bond act, "inland area" as used in this bill would include not just the Passaic river basin but everywhere in the State outside of the coastal area. The actual appropriation of these monies for the specific acquisition projects would be conducted according to the procedures already established by law for appropriations from the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund.
Recent severe flooding due to Tropical Storm Floyd has reemphasized the importance of preserving floodplains as open space. This bill would help provide the means to do so.
