The Hammonton Gazette 04/02/14 Edition | Page 6

Page 6 • Wednesday, April 2, 2014 • The Hammonton Gazette The Hammonton Gazette “The Paper of Record” Gabriel J. Donio, Publisher Gina rullo, Editor-in-Chief Dan russoman, Sports Editor Benny Mendez, Staff Artist Marysusan Hoffman, Paul J. Macrie iv, Michael Hozik, Donna Brown, Joseph Bruno, lauren Bucci, lauren crescenzo, Brian Morris, Staff The Hammonton Gazette is located at 233 Bellevue ave. to reach a staff member, call 704-1940 or fax at 704-1938. the mailing address is P.o. Box 1228, Hammonton, nJ 08037. eDitorials The Hammonton Gazette is published Wednesdays, by The Hammonton Gazette, Inc. Copyright © 2014. All rights reserved. ISSN 1093-6181 Use caution When dealing with electricity, it’s always a good idea to use caution. That’s true when dealing with a live wire — it’s also true when dealing with the “live wire” issue of changing the electrical prov ider for houses in the town, a public discussion that began during the March 24 regular meeting of the Hammonton Town Council. The council wasn’t talking about the municipally-owned buildings switching their electrical provider. They were talking about the process of switching the electrical provider for every residential consumer in this town, which municipal government can do with a simple vote of the town council. A reminder: the seven members of council (Mayor Stephen DiDonato is technically a member of council elected at large) have an incredible responsibility as the stewards of our town. When it comes to the town’s utilities — sewer, water, cable, energy — they are responsible for making decisions that affect what a town of 15,000 people have built together during the last 150 years. The decision regarding switching electricity providers must be weighed carefully. The primary question should always be: “Does the benefit to the town outweigh the benefit to the electricity provider who will be using our town’s electrical consumers as a way to make money?” A form of that question can and should be used regarding any town-owned asset that is being considered by a private company for use, in any fashion, to make a profit for that privatelyowned company. The town council are the stewards of public utilities during an era when public utilities are some of the only entities still generating consistent revenue. It comes as no surprise that private entities, therefore, want to do business with municipalities and the utilities they control. It should also be no surprise that this newspaper will be scrutinizing any agreements involving the town and private entities — whether it is contractors at the water and sewer departments or agreements regarding a switch in electricity providers for the entire town’s residential electricity consumers — very closely. As usual, the issue is access to either public money or the ability to make money off of utilities, and ability that must be granted by the publiclyelected government body. It’s best for our elected and appointed officials to use caution when considering granting that access. Fucetola’s big night Family, friends, former co-workers and fellow volunteers are preparing for a big night for Marie Fucetola, who will be honored with the Hammonton Lions Club’s “Citizen of the Year” Award on Friday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. The location for the event is Tomasello Winery. Fucetola is receiving the award because of her dedication to the community. She is a Hammonton Education Foundation Board of Trustees member and served as the foundation’s fundraising chair for several years. Taking a leadership role in the foundation’s Blueberry Bush initiative, she helped raise more than $40,000 for the school district. A charter member of the Hammonton Cancer Foundation, Fucetola is presently the group’s treasurer and is active in planning their annual cancer walk and dinner. Devoted to her church, Fucetola serves on the St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Parish Council, is vice president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and heads the Christmas Bazaar and Giving Tree events. She also acts as a receptionist one day a week at the Parish Center. In addition, she is the treasurer of the Leigh Anne Fucetola Scholarship Fund honoring her deceased niece, which grants scholarships to female engineering students. After graduating from Hammonton High School in 1964, Fucetola earned a bachelor’s degree from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). After teaching in Buena for three years, she moved to Hammonton and taught middle school math for 34 years. During 30 of those years, she also taught adult education courses at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow Twp. The Gazette congratulates Fucetola (several of our staff members, including publisher Gabriel Donio, had her as a teacher) on being honored as the Hammonton Lions Club Citizen of the Year. Tickets for the April 11 dinner honoring Fucetola are $40 and can be obtained by calling 576-9602, 561-7866, 561-8585 or 561-7012. PersPective/WasteWater Plan Hammonton lies within the Pinelands National Reserve, an area known for its unique natural water quality. This area’s water quality was recognized by the State of New Jersey in the 1970s when it classified both the surface and ground waters as being “Outstanding National Resource Waters.” This sentiment was bolstered by the Federal Clean Water Act, a law which requires that water resources with such designation be maintained in their natural state. For the Hammonton Creek, a tributary to the Mullica River, this has meant a strict prohibition on manmade discharges. Since that ban took effect, the town of Hammonton has constructed a new wastewater treatment plant and a land application facility on Boyer Avenue to dispose of its treated wastewater. Expensive legal maneuvering, the town’s claims of force majeure, and countering administrative consent orders from the DEP all emanate from the failure of the land application site to infiltrate the wastewater that the town generates. To understand the reasons for this failure, the town and the Pinelands Commission funded a study of the site, which was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. Meanwhile, periodic unsanctioned discharges of wastewater to Hammonton Creek have continued. The situation came to a head in 2010 when the town applied to increase its allocation of potable water. The Pinelands Commission granted conditional approval of that request, contingent on the Town submitting a plan that detailed how it would terminate all discharges from the creek. This plan has been completed and approved by the Commission, and consists of a program that increases the infiltration capacity of the site by augmenting its slit trenches using drip irrigation. The drip irrigation would be employed two different ways. The first would be employed overland in the wooded areas of the site. The second would be employed underground, as subsurface irrigation located under the athletic fields. The subsurface system, constructed onto eight acres o f the newly created recreation fields, will consist of two levels: an upper level six inches from the surface that would water the grass in that location, and a lower level much deeper (24 inches) that would replenish the ground water. The initial phase of the project also includes construction of approximately 26 acres of overland drip tube on the wooded areas of the site. If required, other areas of the facility will also be developed with this type of infrastructure. Improving the infiltration capacity of the Boyer Avenue disposal site is but one aspect of the problem. The other involves the older sections of the town’s sewage collection system. Constructed from terra cotta clay pipes, this system is prone to the inflow of ground water in areas where the seasonal water table is very high, and is particularly problematic during wetter periods of the year. This inflow can add as much as 200,000 gallons of water a day to the treatment plant and contributes to the burden of the treated water in the slit trenches on Boyer Avenue. The town has already replaced approximately 10,000 lineal feet of this type of pipe and will be replacing an additional 14,000 lineal feet this year. However, there are still approximately 98,000 lineal feet of piping remaining, with about 13,000 lineal feet of that considered most problematic. To address this, the plan developed by town council requires the town to conduct an “inflow and infiltration” study over the next two years, which will identify the worst of these sections and prioritize them for renovation. This renovation will occur over the next eight years, with the Town either replacing or slip-lining these problematic pipes. The study will also locate illegal sump pumps and roof drain tie-ins to the system and will enforce measures to remove them and to prevent future tie-ins from occurring. This plan also overviews the permanent cessation of wastewater discharges into Hammonton Creek, and provides/describes comprehensive—and costly—means to achieve that goal. Successful execution of this objective will be closely monitored by the Pinelands Commission, and the commission’s executive director will closely monitor this plan’s implementation. To this effect, various components of the plan can either be accelerated or curtailed depending on how well they are working. Meanwhile, the commission will review applications for new development on a case-by-case basis. In the end, the sustainability of new growth in the Town will be measured by the town’s ability to keep its wastewater out of the creek. Although it has been more than 40 years since Hammonton Creek was classified as an “outstanding water resource,” the town hopes that it will finally realize the law’s water quality objective. Mayor stephen DiDonato Hammonton councilman edward Wuillermin Hammonton The Hammonton Gazette welcomes letters to the editor that are no more than 800 words long. All letters must include the name of the author and an address and telephone number for verification. Letters should be mailed to The Hammonton Gazette, Editorial Page, P.O. Box 1228, Hammonton, NJ 08037. Letters also will be accepted via fax. The fax number is 704-1938.  Or by e-mail to [email protected]. Deadline for all submissions is 2 p.m. Monday. The Hammonton Gazette reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions expressed in letters, perspectives or in guest columns do not necessarily reflect those of The Hammonton Gazette.  The Gazette is not responsible for factual errors in letters, perspectives or in guest columns. The Gazette retains the right to refuse any submission or advertisement.