The proposed Department of Agriculture amendments and Secretary of Agriculture Charles Kuperus's testimony at the final public Highlands hearing held by the two legislative environmental panels, address the concerns of farmers. Farming is the lifeblood of rural northwestern New Jersey, and the new agricultural amendments clarify that while water preservation is the goal of this important legislation an unfair burden will not be placed on the backs of farmers in the Highlands.

The "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act" (S-1 / A-2635), restricts major development in a core area of environmentally-sensitive land in the Highlands region -- an area in Northwest New Jersey that provides water for more than half of the 9 million people residing in the State. Due to ambiguities in the original bill, many farmers felt that they were being restricted from farming in the Highlands, which was never intended by the legislative sponsors, Senators Smith and Robert Martin, and Assemblyman McKeon.

The agricultural amendments exempt agriculture and horticulture from many of the restrictions in the original bill. They also include provisions that allow farmers to expand past the 3% restriction on impervious cover for agricultural development, provided that the farmers follow water conservation plans already established under the Department of Agriculture.

Click here to download the Proposed Agricultural Amendments document in PDF format.