Wastewater Plan Update May Be Completed Soon

Morris County is in the process of assisting Montville Township with an updated wastewater management plan that is five years in the making, taking into account environmentally protected areas of the township.

Department of Public Works Supervisor Tom Mazzaccaro said the state has consistently requested the township's plan be reviewed and, if needed, revised every 10 years. At one point, all of Montville Township was included in the plan, but Mazzaccaro said once the New Jersey Highlands Act provisions were put into effect, all areas deemed to be Highlands areas were excluded from the plan.

"It's primarily those areas along the rivers and the byways," Mazzaccaro said.

Highlands areas are designated for environmental protection. Some Highlands areas in the township include land near Jacksonville Road, a contaminated site near Taylortown Road and wetlands areas. Other protected areas include the Lake Valhalla section and part of the township near Pyramid Mountain. 

"The new wastewater management plan will not allow us to ever run a sewer in those areas without some kind of a state approval," Mazzaccaro said.

Because of the environmental sensitivity included in the newest versions of the plan, the revisions allow for waterlines in front of some residents' homes that they would not be able to hook up to. Christine Marion and Virginia Michelin, representatives of the Morris County Department of Planning and Development, approached the Montville Township Committee in August to present the revised plan. 

"The intent of the revised rules, which we're working off, is essentially to protect environmentally sensitive areas and to really identify those environmentally sensitive areas," Marion said.

Marion said residents who would be affected would be notified of this before final plan approval in December. Committeewoman Deborah Nielson cautioned that the information may also prove valuable for developers looking to build in those particular areas of the township.

"It could have significant ramifications if you think that you can tie into a sewer line and then you go and build a few homes [and you cannot]," she said.

Mazzaccaro said numerous factors have been taken into consideration, like those Nielson noted as her concerns, during the planning process.

"This was extremely detailed by lot and block," Mazzaccaro said. "We were able to take each and every property and by lot and block designate it."

There will be public hearings scheduled on the plan before final approval, expected in December.