Singer speaks to Env. Comm about publicly funding stormwater mgmt.
Page 4 • Wednesday, February 20, 2019 • The Hammonton Gazette
COMMISSION, from Page 1
Hazard Mitigation report that iden-
tified Hammonton as one the 12
municipalities in New Jersey
whose dams have a high or signif-
icant hazard potential due to in-
creased stormwater runoff in the
wake of major rain events.
The report also included a graph
depicting the future risk of flood-
ing of more than five feet in the
greater Hammonton area, which
could occur at a rate of five percent
by 2020 and increase to a 20-per-
cent chance by 2030, assuming no
future changes in storm patterns.
However, due to the findings in
the 2018 U.S. National Climate
Assessment, Singer said nation-
wide heavy rainfall events, on av-
erage, are occurring approximately
four percent more frequently since
1901. During that same timeframe,
the northeastern United States has
witnessed a 27-percent increase in
the five-year maximum daily pre-
cipitation totals.
Singer said Hammonton’s future
risk of hazardous stormwater
runoff due to flooding is com-
pounded by the large percentage of
its land surface that is permeable
and susceptible to stormwater infil-
tration.
“We know that New Jersey has
the most impervious surface out of
any other state in the United States.
We have 12 percent of our
state that is covered with impervi-
ous surface. Hammonton is no ex-
ception to that rule; you guys have
quite a bit of impervious surface in
this town ... I think 19.1 percent of
this town is urban, so a lot of where
the stormwater runoff goes gets
caught … So, we see residents fac-
ing the realities of what flooding
can do, which is leave debris in the
roads, which is harming the drink-
ing water and, overall, the infra-
structure underneath us that’s
supposed to take the stormwater
and dispose it in one of the six wa-
tersheds that you guys are in is not
doing its job,” Singer said.
Singer said the proposed flood
defense system initiative is a result
of Phil Murphy recently signing
the Clean Stormwater and Flood
Reduction Act (A2694/S1073) into
law, thus authorizing municipali-
ties, counties and certain authori-
ties to establish stormwater utilities
in order to combat an
extensive set of problems due to in-
adequate stormwater infrastruc-
ture and management.
The new law, which Singer said
has been called a “rain tax” by its
opponents, will utilize fees as-
sessed to property owners (based
on the amount of impervious sur-
face on their property) to fund the
third-party improvements and
maintenance of the local stormwa-
ter management infrastructure.
Singer defended the passage of the
Clean Stormwater and Flood Re-
duction Act, which she said is more
of a fee than a tax, and will allow
residents to opt-in to implementing
a flood insurance program to ad-
dress the management of an issue
that is often not adequately bud-
geted for by municipal governing
bodies.
“You might ask, ‘Why? Don’t
our property taxes pay for that?’
Well, they’re supposed to, but
every year, many city councils and
mayoral administrations find a rea-
son not to put money into it, and
it’s a huge deal ... Residents can’t
see the problem, so we’re here to
help residents see the problem,”
Singer said.
According to Singer, hundreds
of municipalities in 40 states have
implemented a similar fee-based
model for stormwater manage-
ment, which has resulted in an an-
nual cost ranging from $25 to $75
per taxpayer, depending on the size
of the municipality and how much
repair needs to be made to the mu-
nicipality’s existing stormwater
management system. Singer said
implementing such a model in a
municipality like Hammonton
would likely result in an annual fee
between $25 and $45 per partici-
pating taxpayer.
Singer said she believes imple-
menting the fee-based model
would support the NJLCV Educa-
tion Fund’s initiative of making
New Jersey communities safer and
more eco-friendly by incentivizing
taxpayers to implement forms of
“green infrastructure” (rain barrels,
rain gardens, retention basins, etc.),
which would increase their annual
impervious surface fee while de-
creasing the amount of stormwater
runoff on their properties.
“We’re here as a tool for you
guys to help you understand how
stormwater management is done
here, as well as a hand to hold in
implementing green infrastructure
and just overall being a part of the
process to make the community a
safer, greener place,” Singer said.
Commission chairman Daniel
Bachalis approved of the rationale
behind Singer’s presentation, but
advised her that it may be difficult
to convince what he called the fis-
cally conservative taxpayers of
Hammonton to pay an additional
fee for a service that is already cov-
ered to an extent by their property
taxes.
“It’s a nice idea … But it is a
conservative town, and you’re
going to have people saying, ‘Why
am I paying another $25 for some-
thing that the town’s already taking
care of?’ How do you answer that
question?” Bachalis said.
Singer said it’s understandable
why taxpayers would be opposed
to paying the additional fee, but the
more they become aware of the im-
perceptible, underground deficien-
cies
of
their
stormwater
management systems, the more
amenable they will become to tak-
ing measures to address it and pre-
vent further pollution caused by
stormwater runoff.
“All these malfunctions are hap-
pening underneath our feet and we
don’t see them. So, it’s hard for you
to qualitatively put together why
that’s happening and why it needs
to be fixed, but we’re letting you
know that there are problems and
when you go to Hammonton Lake,
you can see those problems for
your own eyes,” Singer said.
In other business, the commis-
sion approved a tree removal appli-
cation
for
resident
Noe
Castaneda/Corral LLC, who is re-
questing approval to remove two
trees on a property he owns, lo-
cated 720 12th St. According to
Castaneda’s application, the trees’
fronts are split, which has caused
their trunks to fall backwards,
where they are now damaging a
nearby fence and leaving debris
during severe weather. The appli-
cation was originally discussed
during the commission’s previous
meeting on January 9, but was
tabled due to the fact that it wasn’t
submitted until two days prior to
the meeting when the commission
requires all tree removal applica-
tions to be submitted at least seven
days before each meeting.
A motion to approve Cas-
taneda’s application was made by
commission member Angela
Donio, seconded by commission
member Dr. Michael Hozik and
passed via a 6-1 vote. The lone
“No” vote was given by Bachalis,
who said he “didn’t really see any-
thing wrong with the trees.”
The Hammonton Environmental
Commission will next meet on
Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. in
town hall.
Drug arrest made
by Gabe Donio
G AZETTE S TAFF W RITER
HAMMONTON—On February
9 at 10:56 p.m. at the intersection
of Lakeview Drive and Moss Mill
Road, Sgt. Donald Kunen stopped
a vehicle for an improper U-turn
as well as several other motor ve-
hicle violations, Hammonton Po-
lice Lt. Kevin Friel said.
A passenger in the vehicle, Des-
tini Lawson, 21, of Vineland was
found to be in possession of con-
trolled dangerous substance mari-
juana, Friel said. She was arrested,
charged and released pending a
court date in Hammonton Joint
Municipal Court, Friel said.
James Lonabaugh Jr., 23, of
Williamstown, the operator of the
vehicle, was charged with im-
proper U-turn, improper display of
plates, cracked windshield, failure
to inspect, unsafe tires, unsafe ve-
hicle, open alcoholic beverage
container in a vehicle, failure to
exhibit insurance document and
driving with a suspended driver’s
license and will be appearing at
Hammonton Joint Municipal
Court, Friel said.
Please recycle this paper .