Category One Protections: Another Hackensack River Victory

Adoption of C-1 status helps make 2004 a banner year for our watershed

 

By Hugh M. Carola

 

On July 9, the State of New Jersey officially declared the entire upper Hackensack River and all of its tributaries, from the New York border to Oradell Dam, Category One (C-1) waterways.

“Seeing the entire upper Hackensack declared a C-1 waterway is a goal we have worked toward from the beginning,” said Captain Bill Sheehan, executive director of Hackensack Riverkeeper. “Without question, this is a real victory for clean water and for the one million people in New Jersey who rely on the Hackensack River for their drinking water.”

 

Prior to the present administration in Trenton, C-1 protections were only available for trout-production waters, with no protection against development along the shores of reservoirs and their feeder streams. Among other restrictions, new construction is prohibited within three hundred feet of a C-1 designated waterway. Already, some developers are scrambling to alter plans to comply with the new protections. In addition to the upper Hackensack, several other watersheds in the state have also received C-1 designations.   “Of course there will be challenges and litigation over C-1,” said Captain Bill. “But I defy anyone to stand up and say with a straight face that it’s possible for our drinking water to be ‘too safe.’”   The Category One protections for the upper Hackensack River came just six months after the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) unanimously adopted its new Master Plan for the New Jersey Meadowlands. The Plan – the first significant conservation blueprint for the region since the 1970s – places all wetlands and waterways within the 32-square mile Meadowlands District off limits to development.

After so many years of losing wetlands, woodlands and open space,the people of the Hackensack River watershed are finally catching a break, thanks to Category One protections.

 

“The Master Plan, with its ultimate goal of creating the Meadowlands Estuary Preserve, dovetails perfectly with the C-1 protections upriver,” explained Captain Bill. “After so many years of losing wetlands, woodlands and open space, the people of our watershed are finally catching a break.”

 

Each preservation initiative will bring lasting benefits to the region; not the least of which is the protection of clean potable water – a renewable yet finite resource – for most of the residents in eastern Bergen and Hudson Counties. This is particularly true of the Hackensack River watershed, which contains one of New Jersey’s most urbanized water supplies.

 

“Without a doubt, the best and most cost-effective way of preserving the quality of drinking water is to preserve the lands that surround it,” said Captain Bill. “It was a long time coming, but Category One will ensure that quality for the foreseeable future.”