Surprises at the Feb. 13 County ARC Meeting

The seven Holmdel residents at the February 13 meeting of the Monmouth County Planning Board's Amendment Review Committee (ARC) witnessed several surprises during consideration of the agenda item “Water Quality Management Plan for Monmouth County Future Wastewater Service Area Map ...”

First, no member of this ARC could say whether or not an independent and objective Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was submitted that concludes the cumulative drinking water impacts of expanding Holmdel Township's Sewer Service Area is better for the Swimming River Reservoir Watershed. Recall the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection proposed in April 2011 expanding Holmdel's Sewer Service Area to include all portions of the two Alcatel-Lucent tracts, the roughly 700 acres in Holmdel owned by the NJ Turnpike Authority, and most of Holmdel's Public Parks and Open Space areas.

If in fact no such independent and objective EIS exists, then the proposed amendment to expand Holmdel's Sewer Service Area (SSA) is probably not in minimal compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act.

Second, those at this Feb. 13 meeting learned that Holmdel's Township Committee has completely reversed its previous position of opposing such drastic expansion of Holmdel's SSA in a letter sent this January to the designated County staff person. This letter transmits a Township Committee resolution accepting without reservation the NJDEP's proposed expansion of Holmdel's SSA.

Contrast this with the 23 May 2011 Patch article by Mayor Impreveduto titled “DEP's Sewering Plan for Holmdel Could Affect Water Supply,” which does a nice job of explaining why NJDEP's sewering plan is undesirable, and also requesting Holmdel citizens' support of a petition drive against NJDEP's sewering plan.

Holmdel's Township Committee owes Holmdel residents an explanation for its 180 degree turn on this key subject.

-Anthony Cooper

President of the CILU