Client Alert Newsletter

New C-1 Waters Designated by NJDEP

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection ("NJDEP") recently published its latest update to the list of Category One (C-1) waters—those waters targeted for no measurable change in water quality under the surface water quality standards. The update also added definitions to the criteria characterizing C-1 waterways, which are to be determined based on their "clarity, color, scenic setting, other characteristics of aesthetic value, exceptional ecological significance, exceptional recreational significance, exceptional water supply significance, or exceptional fisheries resources." The regulatory impact of being designated as a C-1 surface water includes triggering of 300-foot riparian buffer areas on either side of the waterway and its tributaries in which development is either prohibited or greatly restricted under the NJDEP's flood hazard area or stormwater regulations. The latest update to the C-1 list added 686 linear stream miles (over 900 miles were proposed), including streams in Burlington, Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem counties in South Jersey.