TOM JOHNSON / NJ SPOTLIGHT – The state Department of Environmental Protection is refusing to withdraw a rule involving development in the New Jersey Highlands, a proposal lawmakers recently sought to invalidate.
In a letter to legislative leaders Friday, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said the Legislature acted outside its constitutional authority to abolish a rule governing septic tank density within the preservation area of the Highlands.
The letter may be moot because Martin will be replaced as commissioner of the department this week and a new commissioner is likely to move to repeal and change the regulations, although that process could take months given the constraints of changing state rules …
