The Legislature finds and declares that: a. The Delaware and Raritan Canal is a vital source of water supply and is of historic, ecological, and recreational value to the citizens of New Jersey; that the canal and the narrow band of land along the canal banks owned by the State are also an extremely attractive and lucrative asset to the State; that the quantity and quality of surface water runoff, flooding potential, esthetic surroundings, and even the structural integrity of the canal, can all be adversely affected by surrounding developments; that within the State Government, decisions which affect the canal and the State owned land appertaining thereto are often made separately by different State agencies and local governing bodies; that the surrounding properties are private and public
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The Legislature finds and declares that: a. The Delaware and Raritan Canal is a vital source of water supply and is of historic, ecological, and recreational value to the citizens of New Jersey; that the canal and the narrow band of land along the canal banks owned by the State are also an extremely attractive and lucrative asset to the State; that the quantity and quality of surface water runoff, flooding potential, esthetic surroundings, and even the structural integrity of the canal, can all be adversely affected by surrounding developments; that within the State Government, decisions which affect the canal and the State owned land appertaining thereto are often made separately by different State agencies and local governing bodies; that the surrounding properties are private and public portions of 17 municipalities in four counties, each with its own planning and zoning authority; that, in general, the decisions which are made often reflect local expediencies rather than a coherent plan. b. The State of New Jersey must act immediately and thereafter to preserve, locate, survey, and acquire such lands as are now available for public recreation and the conservation of natural resources, in order to promote the public health, prosperity, and general welfare, as a proper responsibility of government; that the enactment of the provisions set forth in this act would create a Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park to be maintained and operated under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Protection, which shall have the power, with the approval of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission, as hereafter provided, to take such measures as may be necessary to preserve, maintain, improve, and enlarge the park, if funds for these purposes are made available from time to time; that a Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission be established to prepare, adopt, and implement a master plan for the physical development of the park, and to review State and local actions that impact on the park to insure that these actions conform as nearly as possible to the commission's master plan; that funds will be appropriated in this act to the Department of Environmental Protection for the purposes of locating, surveying, and selecting necessary land sites appertaining to the canal, immediately and thereafter, which information shall be reported to the Legislature for its consideration, and for the use of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission in the performance of its powers and duties pursuant to this act, and that funds will be appropriated for the use of the commission in the performance of its powers and duties pursuant to this act. L.1974, c. 118, s. 2, eff. Oct. 10, 1974.