Marlboro seeks state OK
to clean stream corridor
BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer
MARLBORO — The township has applied for general permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to clean parts of the Deep Run stream corridor, Acting Township Engineer Jim Priolo said.
Priolo said he wants to apply for an individual permit that will allow the town to clean the entire stream corridor.
"I’m setting up a preapplication meeting with the DEP to see if it’s feasible to get an individual permit [to clean] the entire stream," Priolo said.
Priolo and his predecessor, former Township Engineer William Schultz, maintained that silt which has accumulated in the stream and its tributaries has contributed to flooding problems in the vicinity of Tennent Road. Residents in the area have complained about drainage and flooding problems on their properties.
Priolo said Marlboro should receive general permits to clean parts of the stream soon. These authorizations would allow the town to remove silt from about 2,500 feet of the stream and its tributaries, which are between 1 and 2 miles longin Marlboro, Priolo said.
The cleaning the town would conduct after receiving a general permit would alleviate — but not completely solve — residents’ drainage problems, Mayor Robert Kleinberg said.
"It does not appear that [the general permit cleaning] will totally remediate the problem, [but] it will lessen it to some degree," Kleinberg said. "The individual permit will . . . give us a better chance of remediating the problem. We need to do more [to clean the stream], that’s why we asked for the individual permit."
Kleinberg said he is exploring various ways of paying to clean the entire stream corridor.
"We’re trying to see if [cleaning the entire stream corridor] is economically feasible," he said. "There’s grant money available. Of course, that’s what we would explore first."
Marlboro has about $51,000 set aside to clean streams, public information officer Sue Levine reported. The funds were obtained from bond issues in 2001 and 2002, according to advertisements taken out by the township in a local daily newspaper.
Meanwhile, an official of the Monmouth County Mosquito Extermination Commission said the commission would be willing to help the town clean the stream at no charge.
"We have our own equipment [for stream cleaning] and conduct our own [stream cleaning] operations," said Victoria Thompson, assistant superintendent of the commission.
The commission would help Marlboro carry out any stream cleaning operation that is authorized by the DEP, Thompson said, adding that the commission would not charge Marlboro for its services.
The more restrictive, general DEP permit would only allow Marlboro to clean the stream corridor to depths of 2 feet, said Thompson, adding that some areas of the stream corridor need to be cleaned at depths greater than 2 feet.
Some professionals contend that cleaning portions of the stream can have a positive effect on the entire stream corridor, Thompson explained, because silt from the parts of the stream that have not been remediated will wash upstream to portions that have been cleaned.
In order to obtain the more comprehensive individual permit, the town would have to pay a higher application fee. For a general permit application,Marlboro had to pay $500, according to Thompson, who said she believes the application fee for an individual permit costs $10,000. In addition, the town would have to conduct more intensive studies of the stream before receiving an individual permit, Thompson explained.
A DEP spokeswoman said she was not able to obtain information about how much Marlboro would have to pay for an individual permit to clean the Deep Run stream corridor.
Asked whether officials would accept the mosquito commission’s help in cleaning the stream corridor, Kleinberg said he would be open to discussing the matter.
"We will meet with any entity — county, state, federal — that will help us remediate the problem," Kleinberg said.
Meanwhile, Priolo said he would examine the municipality’s ordinances to discover ways to prevent additional flooding in the future.
"With new [state] storm water regulations coming on line this year, we’re going to [review] all the ordinances, look for ways to enhance them, see if we can provide protection for the entire [Deep Run stream] corridor and strengthen any ordinances that might relate to developments," Priolo said.
Residents have claimed that developers building projects in the vicinity of Tennent Road have exacerbated flooding in the area by eliminating trees, thereby increasing erosion into the Deep Run stream corridor.
Priolo recently wrote a memo to the lawyer who represents Tennent Estates, an applicant seeking approval to build a new development on Tennent Road. As presently planned, Tennent Estates would increase flooding in the area by directing stormwater from the development toward areas where the stream already is heavily silted, Priolo wrote. The acting township engineer said he was investigating to determine whether other developments in the area are contributing to the silting problem in the Deep Run stream corridor.
"We’re going to really look at where [the developments] are discharging into the streams and make sure they’re not silting [the stream], and if they are, we will take immediate action," Priolo said.