Letters to the editor

August 23, 2007

Group applauds town’s foresight

To the editor:
   
For the past six years, the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) has administered a grants program to help towns do land use planning that protects the environment.
   A year ago, Upper Freehold received a matching grant from ANJEC to hire a consultant planner to prepare a nitrate dilution study as part of the process of revising the township’s Master Plan. The study, which was completed this July, examined the capacity for septic systems in the municipality by examining their potential impacts on groundwater and receiving streams.
   Septic systems contribute a large share of nitrates that end up in our drinking water supplies. This is of concern because high levels of nitrates that get into the blood stream can interfere with the ability of red blood cells to transport oxygen. Infants who drink water high in nitrates may turn "bluish" and appear to have difficulty in breathing.
   Upper Freehold’s study, along with the natural resource inventory and the master plan goals, provides a sound basis for the township to plan its future development. Establishing a sound technical basis and reasonable policy objectives in the master plan will help if the town’s zoning is challenged, because courts examine the master plan to determine if the zoning is well thought out and documented by facts.
   ANJEC congratulates Upper Freehold on its foresight in doing the homework that will provide technically sound information for the Master Plan. The nitrate study is thorough and provides an outstanding tool for the Planning Board.

   

Sandy Batty,

Executive Director,

ANJEC