Dear Editor: I care - and you should too. Let me tell you why. Soap suds run down your drain. Your neighbor’s lawn fertilizer seeps into the soil. Motor oil traces wash down the storm sewer in the next town. These are everyday happenings in the Garden State - and the rest of the nation - that we don’t think about, but we should. Because as part of the same watershed, they may all affect a common water source. We live in the most densely populated state in the nation where the loss of open land to development over the years in New Jersey has impacted the quality of our water resources. Last summer’s drought only further emphasized the urgency of protecting our state’s water quality and water sources. Watersheds are considered nature’s boundaries - areas of land with common water sources that feed into each other. A watershed generally includes its lakes, rivers, estuaries, wetlands, streams and the surrounding landscape; groundwater resources are also included when they are linked to the surface water system. Watershed management plans are created to protect water resources by maintaining high water quality and improving or restoring impaired water sources. Such citizen-based plans lead to smart growth by encouraging development in areas with existing or already-planned infrastructure. In New Jersey, watershed - and watershed management - are not new words. The Garden State ranks as a national leader in watershed management, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and other states now moving to a watershed approach to protect the nation’s water resources. Nevertheless while New Jersey has 20 watershed management areas and we all live in one., only 11 have currently instituted protective plans or have begun project development. But as I said in my State of the State Address in January, the watershed management process is going to change shortly on a positive note for New Jersey. I unveiled at the time an increase in funding for watershed management planning throughout the state by dedicating $8.85 million in my next budget for Fiscal Year 2001. Consequently, the planning process will be accelerated by four years enabling every watershed management area to now start its planning process by September 2000. (Keep in mind that the state’s watershed management planning program benefitted from an added $3 million in the current fiscal year, which was transferred from the Corporate Business Tax Fund, and increased its total budget to $8.85 million.) Back in January, I also signed Executive Order 109 requiring comprehensive environmental assessments before the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) can approve any major new or amended Wastewater Management Plans submitted by a governmental agency or private entity. This initiative applies to pending and new applications that directly affect 100 or more acres of land or the use of 20,000 gallons of water or more per day. For applications submitted before this Executive Order, DEP will require an assessment where there are significant water resource issues. Importantly, DEP has a 120-day turnaround on these documents. In short, the Executive Order protects both our surface and groundwater supplied through smart growth - by assuring that new development will only be approved where the natural resource can support it. I believe that coordination and compatibility will be improved benefitting the entire system, ranging from infrastructure approvals and watershed management, to open space protection and municipal planning efforts. To further protect New Jersey’s environment, I also signed in January two more pieces of environmental legislation that have an impact on our watershed. One bill grants an income tax deduction to anyone who contributes open space to a public or non-profit conservation organization. The other piece of legislation appropriates $600,000 from the state budget for soil and water conservation projects. It’s clear that water conservation boils down to keeping our drinking water safe and plentiful for everyone who refers to the Garden State as home. As we decide to where to put our sewers, roads and new buildings, we need to recognize the impact that they will have on an entire watershed. We simply must protect our watersheds - just as we must preserve our million acres of open space and farmland to make New Jersey the best place to live, work and raise a family. Gov. Christie Whitman