A joint effort by lawmakers in New Jersey and New York to curb flooding along the Hackensack River and its tributaries, including in the Pascack Valley, was nixed by a veto from Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week, lohud.com reported.



The Rockland-Bergen Bi-State Watershed Commission would have assessed land use and environmental clean-ups in both counties in relation to impacts on flooding. A New Jersey law to create the commission was signed by Gov. Chris Christie last year.



Cuomo wrote that he was concerned about the estimated $600,000 annual cost of operating the commission, according to the report.