2. The Legislature finds and declares that the Rahway river is an important natural, recreational, and economic resource utilized and enjoyed by the citizens of the State; that the value of this resource is heavily dependent upon water quality, and poor water quality is a potential threat to the public health, safety, and welfare, and to the environment; that the river has suffered in the past, and continues to suffer, from abuse and neglect due to point and nonpoint source pollution discharges, stormwater runoff, illegal dumping of litter and other debris, and is subject to flooding conditions, creating a threat to people and property throughout the river system.

The Legislature therefore determines that it is appropriate for the municipalities and counties within which the Rahway river is located to form an intergovernmental cooperative working group to (1) develop recommended regional planning strategies and other regional policies, procedures, and model ordinances and resolutions, which would be implemented by each member municipality and county on a voluntary basis, (2) where appropriate, coordinate efforts of member municipalities and counties to clean up the Rahway river system or any tributary or watershed land thereof and to alleviate flooding conditions in that river system, (3) recommend appropriate State legislation and administrative action, and (4) advocate, and where appropriate, act as a coordinating, distributing, or recipient agency for, federal and State funding of environmental protection projects in river municipalities and river counties, all for the purpose of achieving the State goal of fully restoring, promoting, preserving, and maintaining the environmental health and water quality of the Rahway river system.

L.1997,c.342,s.2.