Bill A4344 (Session 2022-2023) - NOW IN PILOT FOR GIBBSTOWN
Co-Authored by Carmen Zampaglione
This bill has been converted to a pilot program solely for Gibbstown. The bill is currently being amended to address Gibbstown's need to focus on a 40-year lack of unmaintained ditches, which has had a direct negative impact on the tributary water that flows freely to the sluice gates which empties into the Delaware River. The bill sets parameters for funding Gibbstown focused on clearing obstructions such as debris from falling trees, damming, and ponding caused by increases in beaver population, which ultimately results in increased number of mosquito larvae.
This bill would require, no later than one year after the bill’s effective date the board of county commissioners of each county within the State, that does not currently have a county mosquito control commission, to establish a county mosquito control commission for the county and appoint members pursuant to R.S.26:9-14 et seq. Currently, there are four counties within the State that have mosquito control commissions: Camden County; Middlesex County; Ocean County; and Warren County. This bill would require all other counties within the State to establish a mosquito control commission.
The bill also expands the authorized use of State aid appropriations for mosquito extermination and control to include airplane spraying for mosquito extermination in all State counties. The bill would remove the current restriction that authorizes the use of State aid appropriations for airplane spraying for mosquito extermination only in counties bordering the Atlantic Ocean.
The bill would also require each county mosquito control commission to submit, on or before the first of November in each year, a report to the State Mosquito Control Commission, the Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, and to the board of county commissioners of the county concerning the commission’s mosquito control activities during the previous year. The report would be required to include, at a minimum: (1) a list of all mosquito control and extermination activities utilized during the year including the location where the mosquito control activity took place and the method of mosquito control utilized; (2) a description of the source reduction methods utilized to control mosquito populations within the county during the previous year; (3) a description of the biological control methods utilized to control mosquito populations within the county during the previous year; (4) a description of the chemical control methods utilized to control mosquito populations within the county during the previous year; (5) data gathered during the previous year through the surveillance of mosquito populations and an explanation on how this surveillance information was utilized to determine the appropriate method of mosquito control to be used during mosquito control activities; (6) the approximate cost of each mosquito control activity during the previous year; and (7) any other information that the county mosquito control commission determines necessary.
The bill would also require, no later than two years after the bill’s effective date, the State Mosquito Control Commission, in consultation with the Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, to establish mosquito control guidelines to assist county mosquito control commissions in mosquito control and extermination activities. The guidelines would be required to include, at a minimum: (1) best management practices for mosquito control activities within the State; (2) information on pressing mosquito control problems within the State including specific references to certain counties where the problem exits; (3) information on mosquito control techniques including, but not limited to, surveillance, source reduction, chemical control, biological control, and water management; (4) information on the importance of properly maintaining bodies of water within the State to improve water flow and drainage; (5) Statewide criteria on when mosquito control action is required; and (6) information on the services that are available by the State Mosquito Control Commission to support county mosquito control commissions.
In developing the guidelines, the State Mosquito Control Commission would be required to utilize the reports submitted by the county mosquito control commissions pursuant to the bill. The guidelines established pursuant to the bill would be required to be published on the Internet website of the State Mosquito Control Commission and updated annually to reflect new mosquito control research and best practices as well as the information received in the annual reports submitted to the State Mosquito Control Commission by county mosquito control commissions.
This bill also amends current law to replace the name “county mosquito extermination commission” with “county mosquito control commission.” In addition, the bill amends various sections of law, as related to State and county mosquito control commissions, to remove references to the terms “board of chosen freeholders” and “chosen freeholder” and replace the terms with “board of county commissioners” and “county commissioner” respectively, as required pursuant to P.L.2020, c.67.
Finally, the bill would repeal P.L.1948, c.383 (C.26:9-13.1), which referred to the term of office of original county mosquito extermination commission members at the time the law took effect in 1948.
Increased mosquito control efforts are required within counties throughout the State. In addition, tributaries of watersheds, including, but not limited to, rivers, streams, creeks, or ditches, require greater maintenance in order to improve water flow and drainage. Water flow drainage can be impeded due to lack of maintenance of uncleared debris, such as fallen trees, litter, and natural beaver dam habitats, and due to extreme weather conditions causing obstruction and improper function of the opening or closing of sluice gates. Inadequate water movement and stagnant water creates larger breeding ponds for larvae growth with increased health risk to the surrounding areas and or communities.
This bill would strengthen mosquito control efforts within the State by requiring the establishment of a mosquito control commission within each county, requiring greater, more specific annual reporting requirements of county mosquito control activities, and requiring the State Mosquito Control Commission to provide guidelines to aid county mosquito control commissions.
