Sewer Service Area Issue to Be Addressed Today

This afternoon, when Galloway Township council members and residents descend on the Anthony Canale Firefighting Training Center in Egg Harbor Township to confront the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection about their wastewater management system, they know they have someone in Trenton paying attention.

Deputy Mayor Don Purdy made sure of that when he and Assemblyman Vince Polistina made a trip north to meet with NJDEP Assistant Commissioner Marilyn Lennon. They convinced her to come south for a personal meeting in Galloway.

“We made great headway in a short amount of time,” Purdy said at Tuesday night’s council meeting. “She was pleasant to deal with.

“You have to go to the top dog, and (Polistino) made it happen.”

The township is hoping the whole situation goes smoothly. It isn’t clear how this afternoon’s meeting, which begins at 4, will be conducted, but those in the know understand the complexities of the issue and the necessity for everyone to get out and make their voices heard.

The state is updating its wastewater management map, and the Sewer Service Areas in Galloway will be severely affected. Sewer Service Areas are areas that are set up to have sewer installed, but those areas wouldn’t necessarily have a sewer system in place.

As the NJDEP amends the map, certain areas will have their Sewer Service Areas taken away. Some of these areas may already have a sewer system in place, a clear sign that the state has not sent a representative out to the township to take stock of the situation.

Residences and land that could see future development are affected, including the Route 9 corridor, the HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) Zone and the White Horse Pike corridor.

The HUB Zone is a triangle of land designated as land for federal means. It encompasses the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s campus, and although the college would be unaffected, land it could possibly develop would be.

Stockton’s recent acquisition, the Seaview, would also lose Sewer Service Area designation, but Township Engineer Kevin Dixon was told all golf courses lost the distinction, and all it needs to get the designation back is a simple request.

With so much uncertainty, Purdy knew he needed to communicate with the state, and that’s what he was able to do.

“This is important for development issues,” Purdy said. “We have residents that have real issues. Certain areas have major problems.”

Purdy decided a meeting was necessary after Dixon’s presentation on the issue at the last council meeting. A presentation was also made to the planning board last Thursday, and another presentation was given Tuesday night, in advance of today’s meeting.

In the past, the municipalities in New Jersey were allowed to make their own amendments, but that changed with the real estate boom of the 1980s. The state took charge of the map, and communicates with the counties, but not the municipalities. Meetings such as the one this afternoon in Egg Harbor are set up for the municipalities to have their say, but Purdy made sure Galloway’s complaints have already been heard.

“You were somehow able to circumnavigate the slow pace of government and get a meeting in Trenton,” Councilman Tony Coppola said Tuesday night in praise of Purdy.

“No one has ever fought them before,” Purdy said. “Gov. Christie noticed we have a big problem and put a deputy director in charge that does things in a timely manner.”

Council members and Stockton representatives will be in attendance at this afternoon’s meeting. Any resident who thinks they may have a problem with their Sewer Service Area is encouraged to come out and express their complaints.

“For example, if they don’t hear anything about the Seaview, they’ll assume that there is not a problem with the Seaview (losing its designation),” Dixon said.