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Conservation groups and residents urge caution as DEP moves on expanded water allocations in Pinelands
Summary
Public commenters at the Jan. 10 finance commission meeting warned that proposed increases in groundwater pumping risk damage to Pinelands streams and ecosystems; commenters pointed to a winslow-area application seeking a roughly 225% increase and urged that the commission coordinate with the DEP and municipalities.
Several conservation advocates used public comment at the Pinelands Commission finance commission meeting on Jan. 10, 2025, to press regulators to scrutinize proposed groundwater-allocation increases and to ask the commission to offer technical guidance to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
"The DEP Division of Water Resource Management released the 2024 New Jersey Statewide Water Supply Plan," said Fred Agers of the Great Urban Watershed Association, noting the plan documents stressed groundwater concerns in parts of the Pinelands. Agers said a pending application in Winslow Township by Rothfors seeks a 225% increase in pumping allocation and warned that widespread increases in allocations could be "devastating for the Pine Land Stream Ecology" during drought conditions.
Pinelands Preservation Alliance representative Heidi Yeh told commissioners she shared those concerns and argued that permitting higher seasonal pumping—even if justified as "no net increase" annually—would harm ecosystems when late-summer and fall droughts occur. "If there's some way that the finance commission can lend their expertise to the DEP in this way, then we would really appreciate that," Yeh said.
Commission staff and other speakers framed the issue as one that crosses agencies. The transcript records callers and staff noting the commission adopted recent Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) amendments to strengthen groundwater protections, and speakers urged better interagency coordination among municipalities, the DEP, and commission staff before authorizations that increase pumping are finalized.
The meeting did not include a formal commission action on the Winslow/Rothfors application; commenters requested the commission use its technical role to advise or coordinate with DEP to prevent localized harm. Several speakers cited historical problems when well fields caused surface-water drawdown and noted that mistakes in hydrologic calculations can have long-term consequences.
Stacy, a commission staff member, separately reported that the commission and DEP joined to file litigation over a long-running violation of a deed-of-conservation-restriction on a South Hampton parcel; Stacy said the property owner has been served and an answer is due in February. That enforcement action was presented as an example of the commission pursuing legal remedies where voluntary compliance has failed.
The commission did not vote on new groundwater rules at the Jan. 10 meeting. Public commenters asked the commission to amplify technical concerns to the DEP and stressed a conservative approach to issuing increased allocations as drought frequency and severity rise.
