Published in the Asbury Park Press
By JEAN MIKLE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
Ban on hookups may last for year
TOMS RIVER — Following a presentation of more than an hour about state water allocation issues and how they apply to United Water Toms River, Joseph Kotran said he was still confused.
"If this ever happens again, who do I go to about it?" Kotran asked Monday night at a meeting of the Citizens Action Committee on Childhood Cancer Cluster. "There is no coordination, and I have no idea who is responsible for the this whole debacle."
Kotran was expressing a frustration that is common around Dover Township.
On Sept. 1, the state Department of Environmental Protection banned any new connections to United Water's system, a move that effectively halted for as much as a year new construction in Dover Township, South Toms River and the Silver Ridge and Holiday City sections of Berkeley.
The DEP said it took action because United had exceeded its state water allocation in three of the past four years, using 4.505 billion gallons in 2001, 4.324 billion gallons in 2002 and 4.461 billion gallons in 2004. The company's state permit allows it to use 4.282 billion gallons annually.
United applied for a new permit to use more than 6 billion gallons a year. Frederick Sickels, assistant director in the DEP's Water Supply Permitting section, said at the meeting the company's application is under geologic survey review, which normally takes three to four months.
"We're going to try to move this permit, and make a decision by the end of the year," Sickels said.
Town wasn't notified
Carol Benson of Camelot Drive said she was upset that township officials had not been notified in the past few years that United was approaching or exceeding its water allocation.
Township officials have said they were not aware there was a problem with United's allocation until they received the DEP memorandum banning new connections in early September.
"You let this company go over its allocation for three of the last five years and you didn't do anything about it," Benson told Sickels.
Councilman Michael J. Fiure said at the meeting that the state must do more to help municipalities deal with issues such as water supply. He said that when municipalities attempt to limit growth, they are frequently constrained by state land-use law, which makes it difficult to successfully deny applications.
"Where is the law that will let us stop building?" Fiure asked.
DEP officials said that water coming into United's system from other sources, including an interconnection with Manchester, will be sampled Wednesday as part of the ongoing testing that has been conducted here for nearly 10 years.
The more stringent testing had been requested by the citizens committee and the Township Council after United began buying some water from Manchester and New Jersey-American Water Co. in an attempt to get the DEP to lift the ban on new connections. Most water systems are tested for about 80 substances, while United's water has been tested for more than 200 substances.
United spokesman Richard Henning said the company is no longer receiving water from New Jersey-American. Concerned about its own state allocation, New Jersey-American stopped sending water to United on Dec. 30, he said.
Published in the Asbury Park Press 01/10/06
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