Two grants to fund environmental work.
By: Josh Appelbaum
The Cranbury Environmental Commission will conduct an inventory of natural resources and test the water quality of Cedar Brook thanks to two grants.
The state Department of Environmental Protection approved a $2,500 grant to test the surface water quality of the brook and the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions approved $5,000 for the completion of an Environmental Resources Inventory.
Cranbury was notified of the DEP grant earlier this month.
The inventory project was initially expected to cost about $20,000. The Environmental Commission had requested $10,000 from ANJEC. ANJEC agreed to a $5,000 grant and showed the commission ways to save about $5,000 from the overall cost, bringing the expected total price tag down to $15,000.
The Township Committee initially said it would match any grant of up to $10,000. Cranbury Environmental Commission Chairman Peter Sibley plans to go before the Township Committee on Monday to seek $10,000 from the township to pay for the balance of inventory project.
"We want to make sure the township is comfortable providing more than half the cost of the project," Mr. Sibley said.
If the money is approved, the township plans to hire a consultant to help with the inventory. The review will designate wetlands areas and identify areas with hazardous waste problems. Mr. Sibley said it is important to catalog that information so the commission doesn’t have to start new environmental evaluations with every new Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment application.
Mr. Sibley said once an initial inventory has been completed, commission members will be charged with updating the information regularly.
The commission applied for both grants in March.
Mr. Sibley said the purpose of the project is to provide up-to-date information on environmental resources for township officials and residents.
"The new ERI will be a critical resource for the Environmental Commission," Mr. Sibley said. "We will use it in evaluating proposals for development to determine whether environmental resources are present in the area of proposed development, and to evaluate what protection should be applied to those resources."
He said the ERI will be available on the township Web site so residents can learn about the resources, how to protect them and even how some lands may be used for recreation.
With the DEP grant, the Environmental Commission will continue testing the water quality of lakes and streams in the township by examining Cedar Brook’s surface water quality in wet-weather sampling.
The commission has previously conducted water quality tests on Brainerd Lake and Cranbury Brook. Last year, the commission looked at the effect of storm water run-off on the lake’s water quality.
Mr. Sibley said the commission will discuss how to proceed with the water testing project at its June 20 meeting. He said the funds will be available to the group July 1.

