A disturbing article!

[Teegate]

All,

If you read the Courier Post you may have read this article and not realized how important it is. I was going to put it in the Newspaper Forum but it deserves much more than that. Read the article and then my post.

This article was brought to my attention at work today by Rob who you may remember I have hiked with before. He has an amazing ability to read the newspaper and work at the same time, and still kick ass in production and quality.

Anyway, after reading it I as usual went to the various people I work with who live in Woodland township, and asked where they thought this particular Sand Mine was located, or would be located at. Just by luck one of them said he had worked at one time for Winzinger and would check for me. He did say he remembers talk about Winzinger owning property in Woodland Township but did not know where.

So after waking up from a short nap at lunch, I was approached by him saying he made a phone call to someone who would know the answer. And the answer was that it is the property directly across from Coyle Field on 72.

It would be this property bordered by the Ocean County line, Route 72, Lauries Road, and the Greenwood Forest property to the NW.

http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=12&Z=18&X=685&Y=5510&W=1&qs=|chatsworth|nj|


Now I have no reason to believe that this information is not correct so we all should be concerned about this for various reasons.

First, this would impact DIRECTLY one of the possible historic stones we have discussed many time on this site. I will keep a watch on that.

Second, those of you who have been on the site for a while may remember the PBX hike we had called "Four Watershed in a Day" which bobpbx designed and executed. This hike took us to the beginnings of 4 watersheds with the Wading River starting just below the ground in this area. What impact will this have on those watersheds?? I am sure Bob will comment on that! If you want to see first hand how close that property is to a watershed, just zoom the map out. Look to the left and you can see the very beginnings of the Wading river. Better yet, here it is.

http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=13&Z=18&X=342&Y=2755&W=1&qs=|chatsworth|nj|

Third, this area has pigmy pines in them. Should they be disturbed?

Fourth, do you want to ride down 72 in the most scenic place along that road and come upon a Sand Mine?

I could go on and on. Hopefully, more information will make it's way to you and I and we can pin this property down for sure. In the mean time keep you eyes to the news for further developments.



Finally, here is the link to the 4 Watersheds hike but the photo links no longer work.

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/showthread.php?t=1473

Guy

 

[RednekF350]

Mining of sand and gravel is very much a part of the pines heritage and history.
The Pinelands Commission recognizes this and to anyone who works with the Pinelands Commission Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP), as I do in land use permitting, realizes that sand mining is a necessary part of the big picture.
If an applicant has a mining site in a zone recognized for that use (Resource Extraction) within the Pinelands, permitting is relatively straight forward and expedient. Generally, properties in the Agricultural Production Zones meet the criteria for resource extraction.
I did the permitting and bi-annual updates for a large operation in Hamilton Township off of Leipzig Avenue and I was amazed how easy it went with the Commission. These guys dredged and draglined sand. Their permit allowed dredging and dragging to depths in excess of 40' below the water table.
I suspect Winzinger's site is in the preservation area and as such, resource extraction would not be a permitted use unless grandfathered. Apparently they were able to prove the grandfather angle.
Everyone hates sand operations but everyone apparently loves to drink out of glass, walk on concrete, drive on paved roads (sand, oil and stone), build with concrete block, spread decorative stone around their homes and sand their woodworking.
Until all of that that changes, you will have mining in the pines.
Scott

 

[bobpbx]

This is terrible news Guy. Thanks for posting it. It definitely goes against the spirit of the Pinelands Master Plan. The Commission does not like it or think that it is a compatible use, or it would not have wound up in court. It is a loophole, pure and simple and they obviously (like I) wish there was more strength written into the original plan. I would like to see the State or someone else buy the property off the guy, but it may never happen. What is driving this is greed. He knows builders of the big trophy homes need sand to mix foundation cement and for sidewalks, and he will gouge the earth to a great and disgusting degree in order to supply it. It will line his pockets to allow him to purchase a trophy home himself, and live in the Bahamas and hide his money from the taxman. Greed, pure and simply put, greed.

 

[ebsi2001]

Greed and Sand Mining in South Jersey

Overbuilding in the area, the result of failed national, regional and local economies as well as unabated and pernicious greed by State and local officials, and "investment" increase and protection by "out--off--staters" aided by the real estate "carpetbaggers," not only directly threatens the water supply in South Jersey, it threatens the fragile ecosystem of the region, as well.

Action Supply, of Pleasantville, NJ (Pleasantville is one of those UEZ "cities") is a major supplier of building supplies in the area. There are few days one does not encounter one of their ready--mix trucks as they ply the streets of the area. Evidently, their sand supply is getting low...

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/6421364p-6277601c.html

...--- so they want to mine an area in Upper Township that they purchased in the mid--80s.

In a somewhat related story, the Ole Hansen & Sons company, which served South Jersey for many, many decades as bridge builders, now wants to gain permission for K. Hovnanian to build "...a 996--unit[,] age--restricted community on the current Blue Heron Pines East golf course." (Ole's people want to sell Blue Heron Pines to K. Hovnanian...)

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/6421360p-6277594c.html

and

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic/story/6423796p-6277481c.html

and

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic/story/6404582p-6260318c.html

and

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/atlantic/story/6421067p-6275097c.html

Projects of this size threaten to turn South Jersey into a series of mini--Levittowns, while various aspects of the detrimental impact on the area are hardly being discussed...

South Jersey provides one of the few wooded areas in the "megopolis" that extends from New York City to Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.: Are we going to let the carpetbaggers take that from us?

ebsi