WHEREAS, the Water Quality Planning Act, N.J.S.A. 58:11A-1 et seq., requires that the Governor adopt each areawide water quality management plan developed by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) or by planning agencies designated by the Governor; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act), 33 U.S.C.A. 1251 et seq., as amended by Pub. L. 92-500 (1972), and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto by the United States Environmenal Protection Agency (USEPA) require that the Governor of each state certify water quality management plans for submission to the USEPA and designate management agencies to carry out such plan; and

WHEREAS, to further the water quality management planning process, the Clean Water Act was amended in 1987 to require that the Governor of each state submit assessment reports and management programs for nonpoint sources of water pollution to the USEPA; and

WHEREAS, the DEP has been and will continue to be the lead State agency in administering and supervising Statewide efforts toward adopting comprehensive water quality management plans including, but not limited to, the designation of the management agencies to implement such plans and the preparation of assessment reports and management programs for nonpoint sources of water pollution; and

WHEREAS, it is desirable for the Commissioner of Environmental Protection to be authorized to act on behalf of the Governor in the adoption and submission of water quality management planning documents as required by both Federal and State laws;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES J. FLORIO, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

1. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection is designated to act on behalf of the Governor in the proposal and adoption of areawide water quality management plans and amendments thereto under the Water Quality Planning Act, N.J.S.A. 58:11A-1 et seq.

2. The Commissioner is designated to act on behalf of the Governor in the certification of water quality management plans and amendments thereto and the designation of management agencies to carry out such plans as required under the Clean Water Act.

3. The Commissioner is designated to act on behalf of the Governor in the submission of assessment reports and management programs to the USEPA for nonpoint sources of water pollution as required under the Clean Water Act.

4. The Commissioner may delegate to the Director of the Division of Water Resources the authority received from the Governor pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Executive Order to propose and adopt areawide water quality management plans and amendments thereto, to designate management agencies and to certify the adoption of water quality management plans and amendments.

5. This Order shall take effect immediately and shall be retroactive to the extent necessary to ratify any actions taken by the Department pertaining to the certification, proposal or adoption of water quality management plans and amendments thereto or the designation of management agencies to carry out such plans prior to the date of this Order.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal
this 26th day of January in the Year
of Our Lord, one thousand nine hundred
and ninety, and of the Independence
of the United States, the two hundred
and fourteenth.

/s/ James J. Florio
GOVERNOR

Attest:

/s/ John A. Sweeney
Counsel to the Governor