In 1985, the Department amended the Surface Water Quality Standards (SWQS) at N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15 to upgrade certain surface waters of the State to Category One based on parks, wildlife management areas, and trout production waters. Between 1985 and 2002, the Department designated more surface waters of the State as Category One. These upgrades were based on their value as trout production (FW2-TP) waters.

Since 2002, the Department has promulgated several amendments to the SWQS to upgrade the stream classification and antidegradation designations of additional waters of the State based on exceptional ecological significance or exceptional water supply significance. Links to proposed and adopted rule amendments from 2002 through the present are provided in the table below, along with maps of the stream classifications corresponding to each change to the stream classifications.

Round 1 Category One Proposal November 18, 2002	Round 1 Category One Adoption May 19, 2003	View Map
Round 2 Trout Proposal January 6, 2003	Round 2 Trout Adoption November 3, 2003	View Map
Round 3 Category One Proposal November 3, 2003	Round 3 Category One Adoption July 10, 2004	View Map
Round 4 Category One Proposal December 20, 2004	Round 4 Category One Adoption June 20, 2005	View Map
SWQS Proposed Amendments September 19, 2005	SWQS Adopted Amendments September 8, 2006	View Map
Round 5 Category One Proposal May 21, 2007	Round 5 Category One Adoption June 16, 2008	View Map
Proposed Readoption with Amendments April 9 , 2009	Readoption with Amendments December 21, 2009	n/a

For more information, please contact the Bureau of Water Quality Standards and Assessment at (609) 777-1753.