Found this today and thought it was interesting.
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ss...ity_down_the_toilet.html#incart_river_default
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ss...ity_down_the_toilet.html#incart_river_default
Quality Drinking Water at Risk?
- Thread starter PINEY MIKE
- Start date
I had heard the Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP) was in tatters. While the WQMP was a good thing for the rest of the State, in its last iteration it would have designated all 47 Pinelands Villages as priority investment sewer zones. The Pinelands Commission staff pushed hard for its passage. In response, Carleton Montgomery of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance wrote this warning to our municipality:
S-M
It is clear the Commission would prefer to see all Villages be designated as sewer service areas, but this is just its preference – not a mandate. The Commission staff was mistaken in previous communications suggesting townships had to agree to this change. Ms. Wittenberg’s August 27 letter does not repeat that mistake.
Our view, which I believe most residents in your town also hold, is that sewering of Villages should be decided on a case-by-case basis in light of the character of each Village and your vision for its future. The Pinelands rules permit you to sewer your Villages, but do not require you to do so. In this case, it’s up to your township to decide.
We also believe it would be a mistake to include a Village in a new sewer service area just in case the township decides it wants sewers there sometime in the future. The very inclusion in a sewer service area could give developers vested rights, and many will certainly treat it as doing so, making it very difficult for the township to prevent sewering, and the intensive development it can bring, after the fact. The prudent course is to agree to sewer service area designation after the township has thought through and adopted a vision for a Village that includes sewers and the development sewers would facilitate.
Our view, which I believe most residents in your town also hold, is that sewering of Villages should be decided on a case-by-case basis in light of the character of each Village and your vision for its future. The Pinelands rules permit you to sewer your Villages, but do not require you to do so. In this case, it’s up to your township to decide.
We also believe it would be a mistake to include a Village in a new sewer service area just in case the township decides it wants sewers there sometime in the future. The very inclusion in a sewer service area could give developers vested rights, and many will certainly treat it as doing so, making it very difficult for the township to prevent sewering, and the intensive development it can bring, after the fact. The prudent course is to agree to sewer service area designation after the township has thought through and adopted a vision for a Village that includes sewers and the development sewers would facilitate.
(excerpt, letter from C. Montgomery, Executive Director Pinelands Preservation Alliance, to P. Bylone, Mayor Buena Vista Township dated September 11, 2012).
Bullet dodged for now, but is sure to be fired again in the near future. By the way, last year our Township rescinded Richland Village redevelopment and sold off the two sewer properties. This year the ex-mayor who started Richland redevelopment is back in and is aggressively attempting to resurrect redevelopment by simply rescinding the 2013 rescission – essentially putting the toothpaste back in the tube after it has all been squeezed out. Without sewer, I don't think he'll be able to turn us into the Disneyland he wanted even if redevelopment is somehow reinstated. S-M