a. The Legislature finds that the people of the State have a paramount interest in the restoration, maintenance and preservation of the quality of the waters of the State for the protection and preservation of public health and welfare, food supplies, public water supplies, propagation of fish and wildlife, agricultural and industrial uses, aesthetic satisfaction, recreation, and other beneficial uses; and that the severity of the water pollution problem in the State necessitates continuing water quality management planning in order to develop and implement water quality programs in concert with other social and economic objectives. The Legislature further finds that water quality is dependent upon factors of topography, hydrology, population concentration, industrial and commercial development, agricultural uses, transportation and other such factors which vary among and within watersheds and other regions of the State and that pollution abatement programs should consider these natural and man-made conditions that influence water quality. The Legislature further finds that the State’s groundwaters are a precious and vulnerable resource.

b. The Legislature declares that the objective of this act is, wherever attainable, to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the State, including groundwaters, and the public trust therein; and that areawide waste treatment management planning processes should be developed and implemented in order to achieve this objective and to assure adequate control of sources of water pollutants in the State. The Legislature further declares that wherever practicable and feasible waste treatment management planning areas shall be coterminous with county boundaries, and that wherever appropriate county governments shall perform such areawide waste treatment management planning; that the Department of Environmental Protection shall conduct areawide waste treatment management planning for all areas of the State without a designated planning agency, and that said Department of Environmental Protection shall establish a continuing planning process which will encourage, direct, supervise and aid areawide planning and which will also incorporate water quality management plans into a comprehensive and cohesive Statewide program directed toward the achievement of water quality objectives; that the Department of Environmental Protection through the continuing planning process and the planning agencies through the areawide planning process shall coordinate and integrate water quality management plans with related Federal, State, regional and local comprehensive land use, functional and other relevant planning activities, programs and policies; and that opportunities for meaningful public participation shall be provided during all phases of the water quality planning management process.

L.1977, c. 75, s. 2, eff. April 25, 1977.