Wetlands could sink planned crematorium
State DEP reviewing
effect facility will have on protected area
OCEANPORT — The hearings on a proposed crematorium at Woodbine Cemetery have been placed on hold for now.
At last week’s meeting, Planning Board Attorney Pasquale Menna announced the public hearings on the application would be adjourned until the state’s Department of Environmental Protection had an opportunity to review the effect the construction would have on protected wetlands in the area.
Woodbine Cemetery Association, Maple Avenue, has been before the board for several months seeking site approval for the proposed a crematorium.
Those representing the cemetery have said, in addition to maintaining the safety of such a facility, Woodbine is permitted by state statute to construct the crematorium.
Gregg Kunkowski, president of Woodbine Cemetery Association, said this week, hearings will be postponed until receiving a letter of interpretation from the DEP.
Woodbine is required to survey the area of the 22.3-acre cemetery where the facility would be built to delineate the limits of the protected wetlands.
Woodbine, though, has received a license from the DEP to construct the crematorium, contingent on wetlands determination. Woodbine also has a certificate of authority from the state to operate a cemetery, and with that, Kunkowski explained, comes permission to construct mausoleums and crematoria, pending local approval.
Woodbine also has received approval from the state’s Department of Community Affairs for the crematorium, Kunkowski said.
None of this, though, has done anything to alleviate the worries of residents who are opposing this application.
Mary Kinslow, Locust Avenue, West Long Branch, who opposes the crematorium, sees the presence of wetlands as the greatest obstacle to the Woodbine plan.
"We’re hopeful the DEP will recognize that there is a flood plain there," Kinslow noted. In addition to protected wetlands, there also are some concerns for protected endangered species, such as the great blue heron and osprey. The area also is very susceptible to flooding, she said.
But her main concerns, she said, are over what compounds, such as mercury, would be emitted by such a facility.
"My worries are for the people, the children in the area," she said, noting she also has environmental concerns.
The DEP’s evaluation is expected in approximately eight weeks, Kunkowski said.
When hearings again resume, the board will readvertise and notify residents within the area of the proposed facility, Menna said.