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Politics & Government

Environmentalists: Gov's Dismantling Highlands Act

But Morristown mayor joins council with no opposition.

The Christie administration on Thursday began its makeover of the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council, having three of its nominees approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee despite heated opposition to two of them from several environmental groups.

At the same time, Morristown Mayor Timothy Dougherty was approved as a new member with no opposition.

The approvals, coming late in the afternoon after a day of intense lobbying by the administration, mark the first step in what might be the replacement of 10 of the 15 members of the council by the governor, who has been highly critical of the law creating protections for the New Jersey Highlands.

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It was a crushing setback to conservation groups, who fear the governor’s nominees will allow him to dismantle from within controversial aspects of the 2004 law creating the Highlands Council, instead of obtaining the changes he seeks from a Democratic-controlled legislature, a point Gov. Chris Christie has conceded will not occur at town hall meetings.

The 1,343-square-mile region in the northwest part of the state provides drinking water to more than 5 million of the state’s residents. After years of lobbying, New Jersey moved to protect the Highlands (which runs through 90 of the state’s municipalities), dividing it into two sections: roughly 415,000 acres for preservation and 444,000 for a planning area that must conform to the region’s master development plan.

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