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Posted by Resident on 10/25/2009 09:39: IP: pool-173-70-219-33.nwrknj.fios.verizon.net

State forces Spotswood to address wetlands issue
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

http://ebs.gmnews.com/news/2009/1022/front_page/067.html

SPOTSWOOD — The borough will be required to remediate an area of wetlands as a penalty for disturbing an environmentally sensitive area elsewhere.

Council President Curtis Stollen, who feels strongly that the punishment is unwarranted, said the borough really caused no problems when it dug up an area of Willard Clark Circle to install a new water pipe. The area included wetlands, and the town also went within 150 feet of a stream encroachment.

Stollen said the project was considered an emergency and was necessary, but the state will force the town to enhance wetlands on the other side of the stream in exchange for the disturbance. The cost for this work will be $35,000, he said.

The problem began when the borough experienced near-daily water main breaks in the area of Willard Clark Circle. The soil was acidic and causing the old pipe to rot and break frequently. Officials made the decision to take emergency action and replace 400 feet of water piping. The state does allow towns to take such actions before they are authorized, but with higher permit fees.




The project cost the borough between $140,000 and $160,000, and going into the stream encroachment zone constituted only about 20 percent of the total price, Stollen said. The town replaced 400 feet of 10-inch water main, with labor costs alone running nearly $30,000.

Stollen said the pipe ran through the encroachment zone, so the town could not stop its work there.

The state Department of Environmental Protection's policy is that if a party disturbs one area of wetlands, it must compensate by remediating another. That also applies to developers who disturb or fill in wetlands. The DEP told Spotswood to come up with a proposal on how it was going to make amends for the disturbance. Borough Engineer Bruce Koch came up with the proposal to enhance wetlands on the other side of the stream, and the state has accepted that.

The enhancement will include planting some wetlands-appropriate vegetation, as well as other improvements, at a cost of about $12,500, in addition to flood hazard area restoration that will cost $11,000, and another $11,000 to obtain permits.

"It is absolutely ridiculous," Councilwoman Marge Drozd said of the mandate. She said the disruption the borough caused was minor in nature.

"This is really an egregious use of power," Drozd said.

Stollen noted that towns can act before receiving its approvals if the work is an emergency. He said the borough went out of its way to keep the same soil in place during the project on Willard Clark Circle. The piping was originally installed in the 1970s, he said, explaining that the town did not disturb virgin soil.

Funding for the work now being demanded by the DEP will come from the bond ordinance that provided for the initial work. Officials had hoped to use the leftover money for other work to improve the water pipes.

Stollen said the state should not be preoccupied with what he described as a minor disturbance. The result, he said, is a waste of valuable resources.



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"This is really an egregious use of power," Drozd said.

Stollen noted that towns can act before receiving its approvals if the work is an emergency. He said the borough went out of its way to keep the same soil in place during the project on Willard Clark Circle. The piping was originally installed in the 1970s, he said, explaining that the town did not disturb virgin soil.

Funding for the work now being demanded by the DEP will come from the bond ordinance that provided for the initial work. Officials had hoped to use the leftover money for other work to improve the water pipes.

Stollen said the state should not be preoccupied with what he described as a minor disturbance. The result, he said, is a waste of valuable resources.

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