Advocating for Publicly Owned Utilities

AEA is a 40-year-old association of public water, wastewater, solid waste and recycling service providers in New Jersey, primarily utilities authorities, and also including municipal utilities departments and vendors in the public utility sector. Our focus is utility management, long-range planning, leadership and public policy.

What are utilities authorities?

Utilities authorities are public entities—regional, county-wide or created by one or more municipalities—dedicated to providing the single most important need our citizens have: clean water. They provide services to millions of New Jerseyans. They represent public ownership and public control of these vital services. There are approximately 90 utilities authorities in New Jersey. Most belong to AEA.

Utilities authorities are accountable to the municipalities and counties that created them. They are also regulated by agencies that include the NJ Department of Community Affairs, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, and the NJ Board of Public Utilities.

Why do utilities authorities exist in New Jersey?

In the 1960s, the environmental movement focused attention on the poor condition of the nation's waterways – degraded rivers, lakes and oceans. Statutes establishing utilities authorities had been enacted starting 1946, but in the '60s and '70s people began to recognize the need for financing to improve facilities.

Communities relied on primary treatment of wastewater. Water supply, sewerage facilities & garbage disposal was a low priority. In those days, the "solution" to pollution was dilution. Enforcement of existing standards was lax and regional planning for water, wastewater, and solid waste was widely practiced. In NJ, there were 1,000 unlined landfills, wastewater treatment solids (sludge) and hazardous waste were accepted at landfills, and state regulations were ineffective. NJ was number one in the nation in identified Superfund sites.

Our nation began to understand that dirty water from poorly maintained facilities, industrial waste dumps, and other sources was a threat to public health and to the eco-system. In 1968, the NJ Department of Health issued cease and desist orders to all primary treatment plants, and in the years following the state's wastewater treatment plants moved to secondary treatment.

Real environmental progress has been made, creditable to a great degree to the public water and wastewater utilities. But more needs to be done as infrastructre ages. Today, NJDEP estimates that $4.4 billion is required to meet the water-quality objectives of long-term plans. The utilities authority model improves the likelihood that financial resources needed to maintain water quality will be there and will not be siphoned off for other purposes.

 
Advocating for Publicly Owned Utilities

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The Association of Environmental Authorities of NJ is a 40-year-old association of public water, wastewater, solid waste and recycling service providers in New Jersey, primarily utilities authorities, and also including municipal utilities departments and vendors in the public utility sector. Our focus is utility management, long-range planning, leadership and public policy.

What are utilities authorities?

Utilities authorities are public entities—regional, county-wide or created by one or more municipalities—dedicated to providing the single most important need our citizens have: clean water. They provide services to millions of New Jerseyans. They represent public ownership and public control of these vital services. There are approximately 90 utilities authorities in New Jersey. Most belong to AEA.

Utilities authorities are accountable to the municipalities and counties that created them. They are also regulated by agencies that include the NJ Department of Community Affairs, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, and the NJ Board of Public Utilities.

Why do utilities authorities exist in New Jersey?

In the 1960s, the environmental movement focused attention on the poor condition of the nation's waterways – degraded rivers, lakes and oceans. Statutes establishing utilities authorities had been enacted starting 1946, but in the '60s and '70s people began to recognize the need for financing to improve facilities.

Communities relied on primary treatment of wastewater. Water supply, sewerage facilities & garbage disposal was a low priority. In those days, the "solution" to pollution was dilution. Enforcement of existing standards was lax and regional planning for water, wastewater, and solid waste was widely practiced. In NJ, there were 1,000 unlined landfills, wastewater treatment solids (sludge) and hazardous waste were accepted at landfills, and state regulations were ineffective. NJ was number one in the nation in identified Superfund sites.

Our nation began to understand that dirty water from poorly maintained facilities, industrial waste dumps, and other sources was a threat to public health and to the eco-system. In 1968, the NJ Department of Health issued cease and desist orders to all primary treatment plants, and in the years following the state's wastewater treatment plants moved to secondary treatment.

Real environmental progress has been made, creditable to a great degree to the public water and wastewater utilities. But more needs to be done as infrastructre ages. Today, NJDEP estimates that $4.4 billion is required to meet the water-quality objectives of long-term plans. The utilities authority model improves the likelihood that financial resources needed to maintain water quality will be there and will not be siphoned off for other purposes.