The
Pinelands National Reserve includes portions of seven southern New
Jersey counties, and encompasses over one-million acres of farms,
forests and wetlands. It contains 56 communities, from hamlets to
suburbs, with over 700,000 permanent residents. In 1978 it was
established by Congress as the country's first National Reserve -- a
Reserve being an area of nationally significant resources that are
protected through a program of local land use management supported by
federal financial and technical assistance.
In
the Pinelands, specific areas have been designated for environmental
protection, forestry and agriculture, with growth being directed and
encouraged in and around areas capable of accomodating further
development. As a United States Biosphere Reserve, the Pinelands also
serves as a laboratory for fostering a harmonious relationship between
humans and their environment through a program of research that
integrates the social, physical and biological sciences.
The
Pinelands is truly a special place. Its people are distinguished by a
unique relationship with their environment, and the environment is
distinguished by being habitat for over a thousand species of plants and
animals--almost 100 of which are threatened or endangered.
The
New Jersey Pinelands Commission has recognized the need for
environmentally friendly wastewater treatment solutions for this area,
and has actively sought those technologies capable.
Ashco-A-Corporation's RFSIII was the first technology
certified to be used within the Pinelands under the pilot program.