Letter below was submitted to Bernards Township Committee on November 20, 2017.
To: Mayor and Members of Bernards Township Committee
Subject: Quarry Rehab Plan: Report on Current Statu
When I was working with John Belardo in late 2001 to revise the township ordinance with regard to the requirements for, and review of a quarry rehabilitation plan (aka rehab plan), I did not imagine that we would still be discussing a plan 16 years later. But we should.
The Planning Board (PB) began a review of rehab Plan 2011 in late 2011. It adopted a final report with 18 recommendations on 05-07-13 and submitted it to you. You approved a Settlement Agreement with MQI on 04-29-14 that dealt with Plan 2011 and some other things. The agreement acknowledged the PB report and approved Plan 2011, subject to some changes relevant to the importation of “fill” to be used as cover material.
The Settlement Agreement stipulates that the approved rehab plan would expire on 01-31-17. No new rehab plan has been submitted. The fact that you are engaged in the Quarry Redevelopment Project suggests that you consider rehabilitation to be complete. But is it?
Good management and good governance require, I believe, that you issue a report on the work done to rehabilitate the property in accord with the plan approved in 2014. This report should address each of the 18 recommendations in the PB report and describe its status: complete, or in process of completion, or not undertaken.
This report should do the same for the agreement worked out in 2014 with MQI regarding fill. I was surprised to see comments on the importation of fill in the concept plan presented at your meeting on 10-24-17. Has there been no action on what was approved in the 2014 settlement agreement?
Many people have spent many hours in many meetings over many years discussing quarry rehabilitation. Some of them are still around, including me, and we would like to know what all this discussion has accomplished.
Thank you for considering this proposal for a rehab status report.
Bill Allen