N.J. Stat. § 58:4-9
Where a reservoir or dam has been in existence 20 years and the owners of land along the shores above the dam or on the reservoir have made or shall have made permanent improvements on the land or where the shores have become a populated community, depending upon the permanency of the condition created, or where the reservoir or dam has become a valuable resource for the quality of life in the municipality in which the reservoir or dam is located, and a petition signed by a majority of the landowners along the shore of any pond formed by the reservoir or dam, or by any number of residents of the municipality in which the reservoir or dam is located, or by the governing body of the municipality, protesting against the removal of the reservoir, water or dam or the decommissioning of the reservoir or dam has been filed with the commissioner, the owner or owners of the reservoir or dam shall not, without the consent of the commissioner, tear down, destroy or abandon the reservoir or dam, or, except for the purpose of making necessary repairs, withdraw the water below the usual low-water mark, or maintain the water at the reduced level.
N.J.S. § 58:4-9