Township of Harding, NJ Environmental Impact Statements

The environmental impact statement shall include the following:

Plan and description of development: a project description, complete with maps and drawings, which shall specify what is to be done and how it is to be done during construction and operation. The description shall locate the project within its regional, municipal and neighborhood setting, including its relation to surrounding properties, roads, utility lines, rivers, streams and vegetative patterns. The project description shall include, but not be limited to, contours, buildings and other structures, roads, paved areas, grading and regrading, adjacent natural streams, floodplains, wetlands, critical areas, water supply, drainage, stormwater runoff plans, sediment and soil erosion control, traffic patterns, waste disposal plans (liquid, solid and recycling) and open space management plans.

Inventory of existing environmental conditions: an inventory of existing environmental conditions at the project site and in the affected region, including delineation of all on-site easements, deed restrictions, rights-of-way, stream encroachment lines, wetlands and floodplains. The inventory shall describe air quality, water quality, water supply, surface waters, including streams, ponds and marshes, wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes, critical areas, shallow bedrock, hydrology, natural and man-made drainage, geology, soils and properties thereof, including capabilities and limitations, sewerage systems, topography, slope, vegetation (including wetlands), wildlife, aquatic organisms, noise characteristics and levels, traffic conditions, demography, land use, aesthetics, history and archaeology. Air and water quality shall be described with reference to standards promulgated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and soils shall be described with reference to the Morris County Soil Survey and the criteria contained in the Morris County Soil Conservation District Standards and Specifications.

Assessment of environmental impact of project: an assessment supported by environmental data of the temporary and long-term environmental impacts of the project upon the factors described in Subsection B, which shall also include an evaluation of the effects of water use and of liquid and solid wastes on the quality and quantity of surface and ground waters.

Listing of all unavoidable adverse environmental impacts: a listing and evaluation of adverse environmental impacts and damage to natural resources which cannot be avoided, both on-site and off-site, as a result of the project, with emphasis upon air and water pollution, increase in noise, damage to plants, trees and wildlife systems, displacement of people and businesses, impediments to existing traffic flow, displacement of existing farms and increase in sedimentation and siltation. Impacts upon any wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes, critical areas and shallow bedrock shall also be set forth and evaluated.

Steps to minimize environmental damage: a description of steps to be taken to minimize or mitigate adverse environmental impacts during construction and thereafter, both at the project site and in the affected region, such description to be accompanied by necessary maps, schedules and other explanatory data as may be needed to clarify and explain the actions to be taken.

Alternatives: a statement of alternatives to the proposed project which might avoid some or all of the adverse environmental effects of the proposed project. The statement should include the reasons for the acceptability or nonacceptability of each alternative.

Sewerage facilities:

(1)

A wastewater management plan for which a New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permit has been granted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Resources, if required; or

(2)

A showing that sewage can be disposed of through facilities adequate to preclude water pollution and:

(a)

If the disposal is on-site, the data on underlying geology; water table; soils analysis; soil stratigraphy; percolation tests for every sewage disposal site; topography; location and depth of aquifers; and depth, capacity and type of construction of all wells within 500 feet of the site; and any other pertinent data.

(b)

If the disposal is off-site, the plant design capacity; the monthly average and peak flows for the past 12 months; the daily average and peak flows; the enforcement action against the plant, if the capacity of the plant to treat industrial or commercial wastes, if applicable; the receiving water quality standards; the stream quality data from state, federal or private sources; the stream flow (minimum average seven-consecutive-day flow with a frequency of occurrence of 10 years), plans for sewage treatment facility (local plans) and state regional planning policy; and flows expected from other approved subdivisions which are dependent upon sewage treatment facilities in question.

(c)

Compliance with all state and local sewage and health regulations.

Water supply: a showing that an adequate potable water supply is available and not threatened by nearby use of other land and:

(1)

If the supply is from public facilities off-site, including private water companies, the amount of diversion granted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Resources (maximum gallons of water pumped during any month); present diversion (maximum gallons of water pumped during the past 24 months); and diversions expected from other approved subdivisions or site plans which are dependent upon the present diversions granted by the Division of Water Resources;

(2)

If the supply is from on-site sources, the location and depth of all private and public water supplies within 500 feet of the development improvements; the location, depth and adequacy of proposed private or public water supplies to serve the proposed development improvements; the geologic description of subsurface conditions, including expected groundwater yields (using published geologic reports or reports by a geologist); and

(3)

Compliance with all state and local regulations.

Drainage: a showing that stormwater runoff from the site is so controlled that on- and off-site erosion will not be either caused or worsened and that potential of downstream flooding will not be increased as a result of the development; and

(1)

Volume and peak flow rates of stormwater runoff expected from the undeveloped site and to be generated by new improvements, including volumes and rates for two-, five-, ten-, twenty-five-, fifty- and one-hundred-year storm frequencies having durations producing maximum flow rates before and after the proposed development.

(2)

Data on landscaping, vegetation maps, trees and ground cover, existing on-site compared with that proposed.

(3)

Changes of runoff rates and volumes to be caused by changes in land use and the time of concentration.

(4)

Plans for disposition of stormwater, whether by retention or detention on-site or by other means so as to protect downstream property.

(5)

A stream encroachment permit from the Division of Water Resources for fill or diversion of a water channel, alteration of a stream or repair or construction of a bridge, culvert, reservoir, dam, wall, pipeline or cable crossing.

(6)

If the development lies in whole or in part in a floodplain, a description of potential flood damages, including a summary of flood stages from state and federal sources.

Solid waste disposal: a plan for disposal by means of a facility operating in compliance with a municipal plan for the storage of recyclable materials and the State Sanitary Code.

Air pollution: a showing that no visible smoke or deleterious chemical changes are produced in the atmosphere by heating or incinerating devices or by any processing of materials.

Licenses, permits, etc.: a list of all licenses, permits and other approvals required by municipal, county or state and federal laws and the status of each.

Filing. Twenty copies of the environmental impact statement shall be submitted to the Board, together with the applicable fees in accordance with Chapter 171.

[Amended 9-4-2002 by Ord. No. 11-02]

Review of the environmental impact statement. In reviewing an environmental impact statement, the Board shall take into consideration the effect of the applicant's proposal upon all aspects of the environment, including but not limited to sewage disposal, water quality, water supply, preservation of trees and vegetation, protection of watercourses, wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes, critical areas and shallow bedrock, protection of air resources, protection of aquifers, protection of public lands and their uses and ecosystems, drainage, traffic conditions and the presence of any nuisance factors.

Referral to Environmental Commission. The Board shall submit the environmental impact statement for review to the Township Environmental Commission and may submit it to such other governmental bodies and to such consultants as it may deem appropriate. The Board shall request that an advisory report be made to it by the governmental body or consultant within 45 days of the submission of the environmental impact statement to such governmental body or consultant, or within such shorter time as the Board shall be required to act upon an application to which the environmental impact statement is related.

The Board shall approve an environmental impact statement only if it determines that the proposed development will not result in appreciable harm to the natural environment; has been designed with a view toward the protection of natural resources; and will not place an excessive demand upon the total resources available for such proposal and for any future proposals.