Morning sky at Black Run by Catherine Floyd
Policy Notes: April 2025
Policy Notes are designed to update the public on the activities of the Pinelands Commission, which have been summarized by Pinelands Preservation Alliance staff who attend all public meetings of the Commission.
Slow and Bureaucratic Wins the Race: The Saga of a CMP Amendment
After months of delays, the CMP amendments to protect the headwaters of the Black Run Preserve have finally been proposed by the Pinelands Commission! This milestone was marked at the April 11 meeting of the Pinelands Commission. This is a huge moment and a hard-won step forward for the many advocates, community members, and environmental stewards who refused to let this issue slide into obscurity.
Protecting the headwaters of the Black Run Preserve is vital because these uppermost streams and wetlands play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological health of the area. When forests surrounding the headwaters are cleared or developed, it can lead to increased stormwater runoff, erosion, and pollution. This, in turn, degrades water quality downstream and disrupts fragile habitats. Limiting development in the surrounding area helps preserve nature’s filtration systems, maintain groundwater recharge, and protect the unique Pine Barrens ecosystems that rely on clean, consistent water flows.
But the fight isn’t over. We’ll need your help to make sure these protections make it across the finish line. When the rule proposal is published in the June 16 edition of the New Jersey Register, this will open a 60-day public comment period. We’ll be rallying our members to show their support. Then, in September 2025, the Policy & Implementation (P&I) Committee can consider recommending the rules to the full commission for adoption.
The proposed amendment redesignates 2,440 acres of the Black Run Watershed Management Area in Evesham Township from Rural Development Area unit to Forest Area. This has been proposed together with other rules as a ‘package’ to reduce the paperwork and bureaucratic hurdles that would be required to propose each part separately. Other proposed amendments include changes to application fees, setting expiration dates for various waivers and certificates, and making some changes to the Pinelands Development Credit (PDC) Program.
The Pines Can’t Speak for Themselves—But You Can
Before the Pinelands Commission takes a vote on whether or not to approve an application, they solicit community input in the form of public comments. This input can be helpful to gauge public sentiment on a topic or bring attention to aspects that Commission staff may not have considered. You can see what applications are up for public comment by checking the agenda (like this one for the upcoming meeting on May 9, 2025), for which “the Record is Not Closed”.
Members of the public will have the opportunity to comment on two interesting applications at the upcoming May 9 meeting:
- Burlington County is planning to demolish four structures at the former Burlington County College in Pemberton Township. NJ.com reported on vandalism that had beset the property, including a fire in early 2023. When seeking to demolish a building that is 50 years or older, landowners are required to apply to the Pinelands Commission, which will investigate whether there are important historical/cultural resources that are potentially threatened by demolition plans.
- Hamilton Township is planning to cap its existing municipal landfill. This is part of the trend of the last few years of Pinelands town finally capping its abandoned landfills to facilitate the installation of community solar farms.
You can review the applications yourself by contacting the Pinelands Commission by email (appinfo@pinelands.nj.gov) or phone (609-894-7300). The final opportunity for oral public comment will occur at the 5/9/2025 Commission meeting. Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. that day or the close of the Commission meeting, whichever is later.
Rubberstamping More Rubber and Artificial Turf?
A development application has been submitted for the construction of an artificial turf athletic field, running track, and spectator facilities at the Atlantic County Institute of Technology in Hamilton Township.
At the April 11, 2025 Pinelands Commission meeting, PPA staff raised concerns about the environmental and health risks posed by artificial turf, particularly the presence of contaminants such as heavy metals. In response, Commission staff deflected responsibility, stating that the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) does not regulate the composition of construction materials. However, we know that this is not the case in our experience planning accessible trails around wetlands, the materials for which were subjected to a high level of scrutiny, as they should be. The claim that the Pinelands Commission lacks authority to act is not just a technicality; it’s a choice to prioritize procedural convenience over environmental protection.
This case underscores a troubling pattern: the Pinelands Commission continues to approve projects that introduce potentially hazardous materials into one of New Jersey’s most sensitive ecological regions, all while claiming their hands are tied.
Approving artificial turf fields—known sources of contamination, especially to groundwater—is fundamentally incompatible with the Commission’s mandate to safeguard the unique ecology of the Pinelands. Until the Commission begins proactively modernizing its rules to account for contemporary environmental risks, it will continue to fail in its core responsibility: protecting the Pinelands from irreversible harm.
Learn more about the issue of artificial turf in the Pinelands on our website. We also highly recommend two recent webinars that PPA cosponsored with the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club: the first webinar provides an overview, and the second webinar features an award-winning athletic field manager explaining how natural grass can be used to achieve better outcomes.
Pinelands Municipal Council Watch
Months since the council last met: 29