Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) challenged Chatham Twp.'s recently adopted stormwater ordinance by filing an action in State Superior Court. A large Chatham Twp. property owner, Ramon Tublitz, also filed a challenge.
In adopting the ordinance Chatham Twp. was responding to a requirement set by the State Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 1993 when it approved the municipality's wastewater management plan. The state said that all developers within the township must attain "no net increase" in pollutants or stormwater runoff from any new project site.
GSWA challenged the ordinance as being unconstitutionally vague. It provided no guidance or minimum standards to ensure compliance. Rather than simply trying to void the ordinance, GSWA drafted a model stormwater ordinance. GSWA's ordinance could help meet the DEP's "no net increase" goal, if it is adopted and properly implemented by Chatham Twp. and other watershed communities.
The Township is now preparing a bill for the state legislature authorizing the collection of stormwater impact fees for all developers within the watershed. The DEP would use these fees for mitigation projects and stormwater studies in lieu of on-site water quality and detention facilities.
GSWA welcomes the Townships belated recognition of the stormwater issues confronting Great Swamp and neighboring property owners. The municipality needs to recognize, though, its and developers' roles in achieving "no net-increase" in stormwater runoff and pollutants. It must try to check the consequences of run-off on site, rather than turn the problem over to others.
-- Daniel E. Somers, Esq.