Watershed Property Review Board<\/strong><\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n
![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/greenacres\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/images\/watershed-300x192.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Requests for Public Comment
\n<\/strong>February 2026 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nApril 2025 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nSeptember 2024 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nMarch 2024 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nFebruary 2024 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nMay 2023 Public Comment Notice<\/a><\/p>\nMeeting Notices<\/strong>
\nApril 28, 2026<\/a>
\nOctober 29, 2026<\/a>
\nMay 20, 2025<\/a>
\nOctober 30, 2025<\/a>—CANCELED<\/strong>
\nMarch 26, 2024<\/a>
\nMay 1, 2024<\/a>
\nOctober 24, 2024<\/a>
\nMay 11, 2023<\/a>—POSTPONED<\/strong>
\nJuly 11, 2023<\/a>
\nOctober 26, 2023<\/a>—POSTPONED
\n<\/strong>February 24, 2022
\nOctober 27, 2022<\/a>
\nApril 20, 2021<\/a>
\nOctober 21, 2021<\/a>—CANCELED
\n<\/strong>April 21, 2020<\/a>
\n<\/strong>October 22, 2020<\/a><\/p>\nMeeting Agendas
\n<\/strong>May 20, 2025<\/a>
\nOctober 24, 2024<\/a>
\nMay 1, 2024<\/a>
\nMarch 26, 2024<\/a>
\nJuly 11, 2023<\/a>
\nOctober 27, 2022<\/a>
\nFebruary 24, 2022<\/a>
\nApril 20, 2021<\/a>
\nApril 21, 2020<\/a>
\nOctober 15, 2019<\/a>
\nApril 2, 2019<\/a>
\nNovember 30, 2018<\/a>
\nSeptember 10, 2018<\/a>
\nMay 18, 2017<\/a>
\nAugust 14, 2014<\/a>
\nMay 9, 2014<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nMeeting Minutes<\/strong>
\nMay 20, 2025<\/a>
\nOctober 24, 2024<\/a>
\nMay 1, 2024<\/a>
\nMarch 26, 2024<\/a>
\nJuly 11, 2023<\/a>
\nOctober 27, 2022<\/a>
\nFebruary 24, 2022<\/a>
\nApril 20, 2021<\/a>
\nApril 21, 2020<\/a>
\nOctober 15, 2019<\/a>
\nApril 2, 2019<\/a>
\nNovember 30, 2018<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\nIn 1988, the Watershed Protection and Moratorium Act, P.L. 1988, c. 163<\/a>, as amended by P.L. 1990, c. 19<\/a>, suspended all transfer of watershed properties to allow the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) time to establish rules and regulations for the protection of watershed property throughout the state. This moratorium, which continues to be in effect, prohibits municipalities, municipal utilities authorities and public utilities from conveying any land that is used for the protection of a public water supply.<\/p>\nThe same legislation established a Watershed Property Review Board (WPRB) to review requests from regulated parties for exemptions from the moratorium. The Board is comprised of the Commissioner of the NJDEP, the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the President of the Board of Public Utilities (BPU). Members of the Board convene to address exemption requests as they arise. The Board is authorized to exempt the conveyance of watershed property from the Act if it can be demonstrated that there is a compelling public need for the conveyance of the property, denial of the exemption would result in extraordinary hardship, or that the sale or development of the watershed property is otherwise consistent with the purposes of the Act, which are to protect water quality and encourage open space preservation.<\/p>\n
Any person applying for an exemption or requesting a jurisdictional determination from the Board should first contact Board Staff.<\/a> Please see Board Staff Guidance<\/a> for more information regarding submissions to the Board.<\/p>\nBoard Members<\/strong><\/p>\nEd Potosnak, Acting Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection
\nChristine Guhl-Sadovy, President, Board of Public Utilities
\nJacquelyn A. Su\u00e1rez, Commissioner, Department of Community Affairs<\/p>\n
Board Attorneys<\/strong><\/p>\nGeoffrey Gersten, Deputy Attorney General for the Board
\n609-696-5365\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Geoffrey.Gersten@law.njoag.gov<\/a><\/p>\nTerel L. Klein, Deputy Attorney General for the Board
\n609-815-2645\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Terel.Klein@law.njoag.gov<\/a><\/p>\nBoard Staff<\/strong><\/p>\nJessica Patterson, DEP, Office of Transactions and Public Land Administration
\n609-940-7064\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jessica.Patterson@deptest.nj.gov<\/a><\/p>\nDean Taklif, BPU, Director, Division of Engineering
\n609-913-6293\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dean.Taklif@bpu.nj.gov<\/a><\/p>\nJohn Masiello, BPU, Deputy Director, Division of Engineering
\n609-322-9628\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0John.Masiello@bpu.nj.gov<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
PLEASE NOTE:<\/strong> The Watershed Property Review Board is an independent Board and is not a division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
\nBoard Exemption Orders<\/strong><\/p>\nMay 20, 2025
\nManalapan-Veolia Order<\/a>
\nVeolia – Bergen County – Schraalenburgh Road Order<\/a><\/p>\nOctober 24, 2024
\nVeolia-Bergen County – Woodcliff Lake Order<\/a><\/p>\nMay 1, 2024
\nCity of Salem – NJAW Order<\/a><\/p>\nMarch 26, 2024
\nNJAW–Monmouth County Phalanx Road–Colts Neck<\/a>
\nNJAW–Woodmont Properties–Millburn<\/a><\/p>\nJuly 11, 2023
\nNewark Watershed–Route 23 Order<\/a>
\nButler Order<\/a><\/p>\nOctober 27, 2022
\nBoonton Reservoir Trail Order<\/a><\/p>\nFebruary 24, 2022
\nOld Tappan Road Order<\/a><\/p>\nApril 20, 2021
\nCloster and Norwood Order<\/a><\/p>\nApril 21, 2020
\nLong Hill Township &<\/a>
\nNJ American Water Co. Order<\/a><\/p>\nOctober 15, 2019
\nHardyston Order<\/a>
\nNeptune Order<\/a><\/p>\nNovember 30, 2018
\nEmerson, Oradell, and River Vale<\/a><\/p>\nSeptember 10, 2018
\nWest Milford Order<\/a>
\nIndependence Township Order<\/a><\/p>\nMay 18, 2017
\nHarrington Park Order<\/a>
\nCloster\/Harrington Park Order<\/a><\/p>\nAugust 14, 2014
\nClinton<\/a><\/p>\nMay 9, 2014
\nRiver Vale<\/a>
\nJersey City<\/a>
\nIn Memory of Mark Becker<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column width=”2\/5″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/5″][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text] Watershed Property Review Board [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=””] Requests for Public Comment February 2026 Public Comment Notice April 2025 Public Comment Notice September 2024 Public Comment Notice March 2024 Public Comment Notice February 2024 Public Comment Notice May 2023 Public Comment Notice Meeting Notices April 28, 2026 October 29, 2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3991","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3991"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8191,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3991\/revisions\/8191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n\n<\/strong>February 2026 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nApril 2025 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nSeptember 2024 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nMarch 2024 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nFebruary 2024 Public Comment Notice<\/a>
\nMay 2023 Public Comment Notice<\/a><\/p>\n
Meeting Notices<\/strong> Meeting Agendas Meeting Minutes<\/strong> In 1988, the Watershed Protection and Moratorium Act, P.L. 1988, c. 163<\/a>, as amended by P.L. 1990, c. 19<\/a>, suspended all transfer of watershed properties to allow the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) time to establish rules and regulations for the protection of watershed property throughout the state. This moratorium, which continues to be in effect, prohibits municipalities, municipal utilities authorities and public utilities from conveying any land that is used for the protection of a public water supply.<\/p>\n The same legislation established a Watershed Property Review Board (WPRB) to review requests from regulated parties for exemptions from the moratorium. The Board is comprised of the Commissioner of the NJDEP, the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the President of the Board of Public Utilities (BPU). Members of the Board convene to address exemption requests as they arise. The Board is authorized to exempt the conveyance of watershed property from the Act if it can be demonstrated that there is a compelling public need for the conveyance of the property, denial of the exemption would result in extraordinary hardship, or that the sale or development of the watershed property is otherwise consistent with the purposes of the Act, which are to protect water quality and encourage open space preservation.<\/p>\n Any person applying for an exemption or requesting a jurisdictional determination from the Board should first contact Board Staff.<\/a> Please see Board Staff Guidance<\/a> for more information regarding submissions to the Board.<\/p>\n Board Members<\/strong><\/p>\n Ed Potosnak, Acting Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection Board Attorneys<\/strong><\/p>\n Geoffrey Gersten, Deputy Attorney General for the Board Terel L. Klein, Deputy Attorney General for the Board Board Staff<\/strong><\/p>\n Jessica Patterson, DEP, Office of Transactions and Public Land Administration Dean Taklif, BPU, Director, Division of Engineering John Masiello, BPU, Deputy Director, Division of Engineering <\/p>\n PLEASE NOTE:<\/strong> The Watershed Property Review Board is an independent Board and is not a division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Board Exemption Orders<\/strong><\/p>\n May 20, 2025 October 24, 2024 May 1, 2024 March 26, 2024 July 11, 2023 October 27, 2022 February 24, 2022 April 20, 2021 April 21, 2020 October 15, 2019 November 30, 2018 September 10, 2018 May 18, 2017 August 14, 2014 May 9, 2014 [vc_row][vc_column width=”2\/5″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/5″][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text] Watershed Property Review Board [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=””] Requests for Public Comment February 2026 Public Comment Notice April 2025 Public Comment Notice September 2024 Public Comment Notice March 2024 Public Comment Notice February 2024 Public Comment Notice May 2023 Public Comment Notice Meeting Notices April 28, 2026 October 29, 2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3991","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3991"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8191,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3991\/revisions\/8191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/otpla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nApril 28, 2026<\/a>
\nOctober 29, 2026<\/a>
\nMay 20, 2025<\/a>
\nOctober 30, 2025<\/a>—CANCELED<\/strong>
\nMarch 26, 2024<\/a>
\nMay 1, 2024<\/a>
\nOctober 24, 2024<\/a>
\nMay 11, 2023<\/a>—POSTPONED<\/strong>
\nJuly 11, 2023<\/a>
\nOctober 26, 2023<\/a>—POSTPONED
\n<\/strong>February 24, 2022
\nOctober 27, 2022<\/a>
\nApril 20, 2021<\/a>
\nOctober 21, 2021<\/a>—CANCELED
\n<\/strong>April 21, 2020<\/a>
\n<\/strong>October 22, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>May 20, 2025<\/a>
\nOctober 24, 2024<\/a>
\nMay 1, 2024<\/a>
\nMarch 26, 2024<\/a>
\nJuly 11, 2023<\/a>
\nOctober 27, 2022<\/a>
\nFebruary 24, 2022<\/a>
\nApril 20, 2021<\/a>
\nApril 21, 2020<\/a>
\nOctober 15, 2019<\/a>
\nApril 2, 2019<\/a>
\nNovember 30, 2018<\/a>
\nSeptember 10, 2018<\/a>
\nMay 18, 2017<\/a>
\nAugust 14, 2014<\/a>
\nMay 9, 2014<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMay 20, 2025<\/a>
\nOctober 24, 2024<\/a>
\nMay 1, 2024<\/a>
\nMarch 26, 2024<\/a>
\nJuly 11, 2023<\/a>
\nOctober 27, 2022<\/a>
\nFebruary 24, 2022<\/a>
\nApril 20, 2021<\/a>
\nApril 21, 2020<\/a>
\nOctober 15, 2019<\/a>
\nApril 2, 2019<\/a>
\nNovember 30, 2018<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n
\nChristine Guhl-Sadovy, President, Board of Public Utilities
\nJacquelyn A. Su\u00e1rez, Commissioner, Department of Community Affairs<\/p>\n
\n609-696-5365\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Geoffrey.Gersten@law.njoag.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
\n609-815-2645\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Terel.Klein@law.njoag.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
\n609-940-7064\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jessica.Patterson@deptest.nj.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
\n609-913-6293\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dean.Taklif@bpu.nj.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
\n609-322-9628\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0John.Masiello@bpu.nj.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
\n
\nManalapan-Veolia Order<\/a>
\nVeolia – Bergen County – Schraalenburgh Road Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nVeolia-Bergen County – Woodcliff Lake Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nCity of Salem – NJAW Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNJAW–Monmouth County Phalanx Road–Colts Neck<\/a>
\nNJAW–Woodmont Properties–Millburn<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNewark Watershed–Route 23 Order<\/a>
\nButler Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nBoonton Reservoir Trail Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nOld Tappan Road Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nCloster and Norwood Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nLong Hill Township &<\/a>
\nNJ American Water Co. Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nHardyston Order<\/a>
\nNeptune Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nEmerson, Oradell, and River Vale<\/a><\/p>\n
\nWest Milford Order<\/a>
\nIndependence Township Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nHarrington Park Order<\/a>
\nCloster\/Harrington Park Order<\/a><\/p>\n
\nClinton<\/a><\/p>\n
\nRiver Vale<\/a>
\nJersey City<\/a>
\nIn Memory of Mark Becker<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"