PARK RIDGE—Mayor Keith Misciagna is especially grateful for a new law, effective immediately, that will enable the borough to construct water filtration systems on municipal properties where construction was not previously allowed.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed S-3444 co-sponsored by state Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-39) on July 20, freeing Park Ridge and other municipalities with public water utilities to add filtration systems by building the structures on land previously restricted from development under the state’s Open Space and Green Acres rules.
“This bill was introduced by Sen. Schepisi on behalf of Park Ridge and any other towns that might have the same issue,” Misciagna told us.
The measure permits municipal water systems, under certain scenarios, to use lands preserved for recreation and conservation for pre-existing water wells and associated treatment equipment or facilities.
It also allows a municipally owned and operated water utility to use a pre-existing well for the supply of drinking water and certain associated treatment vessels located on lands acquired, by a local government unit for recreation or conservation purposes.
Among the law stipulations: No other improvements shall be made to the land except as deemed reasonably necessary, and approved by the Department of Environmental Protection, to address the exceedance of a maximum contaminant level, and any such improvements shall be sited in a manner to minimize disturbance to the environment; and
The additional use of the lands and any improvements made pursuant to this section shall not substantially inhibit public access to the lands for recreation and conservation purposes or substantially harm the recreation and conservation purposes for which the lands were acquired, including public access to the land.
The bill was co-sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Joseph A. Lagana, 38th district.
Misciagna told us, “Prior to the passing of this bill we found ourselves in a ‘Catch 22’ with some of our wells needing additional filtration systems but not being able to do any construction on the site due to DEP regulations. Those regulations limited any construction, even though the state required us to filter any wells affected by PFAS.”
He said, “Without it we would not be able to do the required work to properly filter those chemicals out of those affected wells and those wells/pumps would remain offline permanently.” Thankfully we can now legally address the problem and filter those wells. This was without a doubt the right move by our Legislature and we are thankful to Holly and our governor for making it happen.
(See also $16.4M claw back sought for water system upgrades, Michael Olohan, June 4, 2022.)
After the signing, Schepisi said, “I’m proud that Gov. Murphy signed this much-needed legislation into law. Due to New Jersey’s strict regulations concerning forever chemicals, water companies in the state are required by the DEP to engage in mitigation measures when any water well exceeds, or is expected to exceed, the maximum contaminant level for PFAS.”
She added, “These measures can be extremely costly for small, municipally owned water companies and can impair the ability of those companies to provide an adequate supply of water to the communities they serve.”
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a member of the group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), used as a processing aid in the manufacture of fluoropolymers used in nonstick cookware and other products, as well as other commercial and industrial uses, due to its resistance to harsh chemicals and high temperatures.
In 2018, New Jersey became the first state to adopt a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for any PFAS, setting an MCL of 13 parts per trillion for perfluorononanoic acid, or PFNA.
In mid-November 2021, Park Ridge water wells 12, 14, and 18 were found to contain elevated PFOA levels and were immediately taken offline.