32:18-1. Appointment of commissioners; preamble

1. The governor shall, within thirty days after this act becomes a law, appoint five persons, one of whom shall be a member of the state department of health, one of whom shall be a member of the state board of conservation and development, one of whom shall be a member of the state board of commerce and navigation and two members from the state at large, all of whom shall be residents of New Jersey, to act as commissioners upon the part of the state of New Jersey for the purpose of entering into and are hereby authorized as such commissioners to enter into an agreement or compact with the state of New York, by and through the commissioners appointed or who may be appointed under or by virtue of a law of the legislature of the state of New York, in the form following, that is to say:

TRI-STATE COMPACT.

Whereas, The tremendous growth of population and the development of the territory surrounding and adjacent to the harbor of New York has resulted in recent years in an increasingly serious pollution of the harbor, coastal and tidal waters in such area and the tributary waters therein; and

Whereas, Such pollution constitutes a grave menace to the health, welfare and recreational facilities of the people living in such area and is occasioning great economic loss; and

Whereas, The control of future pollution and the abatement of existing pollution in the waters in such area is of prime importance to the people living in such area and can best be accomplished through the co-operation of the states of New Jersey and New York and Connecticut by and through a joint or common agency; now therefore,

The state of New York and the state of New Jersey and the state of Connecticut do agree and are bound as follows: