Engineer explains new storm-water regulations
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD — Township Engineer Glenn Gerken explained the new state storm-water management regulations last week.

At the March 22 Planning Board meeting, Gerken said all municipalities in New Jersey must adopt the “goals” and “objectives” sections of the state’s new storm-water management plan into their master plans by April 1. The rules come mandated by the new federal Clean Water Act.

The management plan, according to Gerken, aims to provide flood control, reduce soil erosion and non-point source pollution, and to clean up streams, tributaries and reservoirs. The ordinances seek to control the amount of runoff discharged from properties and the minimal amount of recharge required.

Over the next year, the township will have to adopt other effectuating ordinances in order to meet state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations.

As required, the township has sent its storm-water management plan to the Monmouth County Planning Board (MCPB), but Gerken said he had not yet received comments from the county.

The MCPB must review all storm-water management plans for municipalities before they are sent on to the state, according to Gerken.

Gerken said he anticipated comments from the county about the plan and that the plan may have to be amended before it proceeds to the state level.

The township, he said, would have to advertise any amendments and hold a public hearing on the matter.

Gerken said the state will most likely have to conduct more studies on local streams that focus on Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) into streams, particularly phosphorus, nitrogen and suspended solids.

The goal of the plan is to reduce total suspended solids by 80 percent, Gerken said.

Local stream and watershed areas such as the Assunpink, Crosswicks Creek, Lahaway Creek and Miry Run are already being tested regularly.

Gerken said that the Assunpink Creek TMDL tested high for phosphorus and must be ameliorated by 2006.

Developers will have to fit their projects into the new storm-water management criteria and only build what a stream could accept, according to Gerken.

The idea, Gerken said, is to protect public safety by proper design. For example, he said, water runoff should be in flat areas or swales should be built in order to avoid having water run off steep slopes or paved areas.

The ordinances would include maintenance responsibility for detention and retention basins. The township would collect fees and put the money into a general storm-water management account to cover daily inspection, reporting and maintenance.

The new regulations could also mean less curbing and smaller-width roadways in the township, Gerken said, to keep runoff to a minimum.

More drainage swales may be constructed to avoid direct runoff onto blacktop.

In addition, the township will have to conduct a land-cover analysis based on zoning and maximum impervious coverage.

The analysis must be done based on the impervious coverage of a maximum build-out, Gerken said, and must figure in the amount of suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus. For example, the agricultural-residential zone is permitted 15 percent impervious coverage, while the community commercial zone is allowed 50 percent coverage.

Gerken said land such as the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area would not be included in the considerations, but preserved farmland would be because farmers may construct buildings such as greenhouses on their land.

Under the new regulations, the township will have to label all storm drains within five years.

Officials will also have to send information to residents about storm-water management and hold an event to disseminate information. Gerken said a booth at the annual Community Day could meet that requirement.

Under the new plan, there is a mitigation factor, but with new development, according to Gerken, there is no practical reason the standards cannot be met.

Gerken emphasized that the storm-water management regulations will be a living document, like the master plan.

“Once approved, it’s not etched in stone for life,” he said.

Board member Joe Toscano asked if a zoning change would affect the storm-water management plan.

If an area were rezoned from residential to industrial, there would be a dramatic change, but if residential zoning went from 3 to 5 acres, for example, Gerken said, “You could look at the plan on an annual basis if there are zone changes.”

Board member Stephen Fleischacker asked if, due to stream restrictions, potential developments could be faced with building restrictions.

When Gerken said there would be more restrictions with the new regulations, Fleischacker said these new regulations demonstrate that environmental constraints would govern where development may occur.

Gerken praised the township Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) for its review of the storm-water management plan.

EAC member Jennifer Coffey thanked Gerken, the Planning Board and the Township Committee for working so hard to comply with the new regulations.

“It’s not easy,” Coffey said.