The Headwaters Guardian Act

Protecting New Jersey’s Drinking Water at Its Source

Clean drinking water doesn’t begin at the tap—it begins in our headwaters. These upstream areas feed rivers, reservoirs, and aquifers that supply millions of New Jersey residents. When development pressure reaches these sensitive areas, the consequences can travel far beyond the host community.

The Headwaters Guardian Act is a targeted, bipartisan solution designed to strengthen environmental diligence where it matters most: at the source of our water.

In the 2026 legislative session, the Act is being reintroduced as identical bills in both the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly by Senator Anthony Bucco and Assemblywoman Aura Dunn, reflecting continued bipartisan leadership and momentum.

The Problem: A Hidden Gap in Environmental Review

Most people assume that large developments proposed near drinking-water sources undergo rigorous, science-based review before permits are issued. In practice, that isn’t always the case. Recent experience in Mendham Borough revealed a procedural gap in New Jersey’s land-use and environmental review system—especially when Builder’s Remedy lawsuits intersect with environmentally sensitive headwater areas.

Under current rules:

Critical technical assumptions about soil conditions, groundwater levels, and stormwater systems may not be fully verified before state permits are issued.
Once a permit is granted, municipalities face severe procedural barriers to challenging incomplete or flawed assumptions.
Appeals are limited, costly, and rarely allow meaningful scientific fact-finding.
Small towns are often forced to choose between expensive litigation or accepting unresolved environmental risk.
This gap does not reflect bad faith by towns or developers. It reflects a system design problem—one that puts drinking-water sources at risk.

Why Headwaters Are Different

Headwater areas are uniquely vulnerable:

They are often hydrologically complex, with shallow groundwater and saturated soils.
Stormwater systems that rely on infiltration (such as permeable pavement) can fail if conditions are misunderstood.
Errors or oversights at the headwaters don’t stay local—they flow downstream, affecting water quality for entire regions.

Yet current review processes do not consistently require early, state-level verification of these conditions before approvals are granted.

The Solution: The Headwaters Guardian Act

The Headwaters Guardian Act (S-4897 / A-6093) directly addresses this gap with a practical, narrowly tailored fix.In the upcoming legislative session, Senator Bucco and Assemblywoman Dunn are reintroducing identical Senate and Assembly versions of the bill, reaffirming its bipartisan foundation and statewide relevance. [Link to Bill Summary & Bill]

What the Act Does

Identifies municipalities that contain critical drinking-water headwaters
Requires enhanced NJDEP diligence for development proposals near those headwaters
Ensures key environmental assumptions are verified early, before permits are issued
Allows a 30-day public comment period before headwater designations are finalized
Authorizes—but does not mandate—DEP technical assistance or grant support

What the Act Does Not Do

❌ Create new environmental regulations

❌ Impose mandates on municipalities

❌ Require zoning changes

❌ Create unfunded obligations

The Act relies exclusively on existing environmental laws, applied with greater care in the most sensitive locations.

MAPC's Role

The Mendham Alliance for Preservation & Conservation (MAPC) emerged from direct, on-the-ground experience with the consequences of this procedural gap.

During a proposed large-scale development in Mendham Borough’s headwaters, MAPC:

Identified unresolved technical issues related to soil hydrology and stormwater feasibility
Witnessed how state permitting limited meaningful local review
Saw firsthand how procedural barriers left municipalities with few realistic options. MAPC’s advocacy helped elevate this issue beyond Mendham, informing the development and refinement of the Headwaters Guardian Act now being reintroduced in the Legislature.

Today, MAPC:

Actively supports the Headwaters Guardian Act
Provides real-world case insight to legislators and agencies
Engages municipalities, environmental organizations, and residents
Works to ensure the legislation remains legally sound, practical, and bipartisan

Why This Matters Statewide

Without a procedural fix:

Headwater communities remain vulnerable
Environmental review remains uneven
Litigation becomes the default enforcement mechanism

Drinking-water protection depends on a town’s ability to afford legal risk

By reintroducing identical bills in both chambers, legislative sponsors are signaling that this issue is ripe for action and consensus. [Link to Bill Summary & Bill PDF]

The Headwaters Guardian Act moves diligence upstream in the process, where it is most effective, least costly, and most protective of public resources.