16 „ Herald & Lantern 3T October '84

i Sewerage District No. 1: A Presentment

(ED. NOTE:) Following is the complete text of a 60 page Cape May County Grand Jury presentment released Monday after a five-month investigation into Middle Township's Sewerage District No. 1 i scope andT purpose of the investigation and presentment The Grand Jury has investigated certain aspects of the Sewerage District No. 1 of the Township of Middle, County of Cape May. to include the relationship of various applicants to the Sewerage Commissioners,^ the relationship of the Sewerage District to the Middle Township Committee, the historical development of the Sewerage District, the operation and maintenance procedure of the Sewerage District and the procedure utilized by the Sewerage Commission in receiving and reviewing applications for sewerage connections and expansions. The investigation initially resulted from citizen complaints and from a request by the Mayor of Middle Township Committee (1) to conduct an investigation concerning the conduct of Thomas Repici, as owner and operator of the Hy-Land Motor Inn, in allegedly obtaining a sewerage connection and (2) to conduct an' investigation into the proposed expansion of the sewerage system. The Grand Jury had six sessions devoted to hearing and considering evidence regarding this investigation. The following witnesses testified before the Grand Jury relating to this Presentment : Charles Adelizzi. Sanitary Inspector, Cape , May County Health Department James Alexis, Committeeman, Middle Township Raymond Burke. Jr., Businessman . Virginia Cook, Customer Service Superintendent, New Jersey Water Company Richard Haefner, Businessman Alvin Herman, P.E., Engineer, Sewerage District No. 1 and Middle Township; Consulting Engineer. Dr. James N. Judson, Doctor Marie Lorenzini. Representative, Russell Square Company. Property Mapager Jamesway-Acme shopping center. John M Ludlam. Chairman. Sewerage District No. 1 Wolbur D. Olsen. Ill, Superintendent. F.W. Shawl & Sons Wayne Shawl. Utility Contractor, F.W. Shawl & Sons Walter Turnier. Operator, Sewerage District No. 1 Michael Vistenzo, Commissioner, Sewerage District No. 1 Michael Voll, Mayor, Middle Township Helen Westcott, Secretary. Sewerage District No. 1 LeRoy Westcott, Clerk and Commissioner, Sewerage District No. 1 In addition, the Grand Jury reviewed and considered a substantial volume of documentation related to this inquiry'. Based on all the evidence, the Grand Jury concludes that the aspects of the Sewerage District No. 1 of the Township of Middle that were investigated constitute a matter of serious public concern and i therefore unanimously agreed that this | Presentment be issued concerning the fin- ] dings and recommendations of the Grand | Jury. j t - ii ] ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF i . THE SEWERAGE DISTRICT NO. 1 OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MIDDLE. COUNTY I OF CAPE MAY 1 r

It is essential to the Presentment to set forth the organizational structure of the Sewerage District No. 1 of the Township of Middle as determined by the Grand Jury. An Act for the creation of sewerage district in the townships was passed by the State Government in 1909. A special election was held in Middle Township in 1936 wherein the voters petitioned the township to create a sewerage district. Thereafter, the Sewerage District No. l of the Township of Middle was created. Commissioners were elected and a sewer system was constructed in the downtown* Cape May Court House area. The Sewerage District is a separately body corporate and constitutes a political subdivision of the State of New Jersey. The elected Commissioners are responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of the sewerage treatment plant and its appurtenances.

? The last election for Commissioners was 1 held in 1965 when Michael Vistenzo and j LeRoy Westcott were elected. They joined ? John M. Ludlam, a Commissioner since 1957. John M. Ludlam is the Chairman of the Sewerage District. Helen Wfestcott was the Clerk of the Sewerage District since the last election until 1979, when she was appointed Secretary and LeRoy Westcott, her husband, was appointed Clerk. The Clerk is responsible for maintaining minutes, record keeping, billings, etc. The Sewerage District also retains legal counsel. John L. Ludlam, Esquire, has been the Solicitor since approximately 1972 to the present time. The Sewerage Commissioners are to meet monthly with all Commissioners, the Clerk and Solicitor present. The State Government passed the Water Quality Planning Act in 1977. The Legislature stated that the people of New Jersey have a paramount interest in the restoration, maintenance and preservation of the quality of its waters for the protection and preservation of public health, welfare, food supplies, public and industrial uses, aesthetic satisfaction, recreation and other beneficial uses. The severity of the water pollution problem necessitated the water quality management planning. The Act specified the function, powers and duties of the Department of Environmental Protection, the County governments and certain area-wide plann ing agencies. One of the intentions of the Act was tc develop county-wide authorities to bt responsible for sewerage In fact, the Legislature repealed the Act that permitted the establishment of township sewerage districts when it adopted the Water Quality Planning Act in 1977. Thus, in creating county-wide authorities, the Legislature, perhaps by oversight, abolished township sewerage districts. The Sewerag^ District No. 1 of Township of Middle, unaware of its disestablishment. continued operating, as did many other local sewerage districts throughout the State. The Legislature on January 12. 1984, realizing the mistake, re-established the township sewerage districts and validated all prior acts of the districts done between 1977 and 1984. The new law specifiMSin detail the duties, powers and responsibilities of the sewerage districts and its commissioners and called for conducting elections for five (5) sewerage commissioners. The Sewerage District No.l of MiddleTownship is presently still being run by the three (3) former Commissioners. Apparently, due to the confusion resulting from the recent change in the law, the Commissioners are awaiting advice from the Solicitor as to how to proceed with the elections. ill THE SEWERAGE DISTRICT NO. 1 OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MIDDLE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT The Grand Jury received testimony and reviewed documents relating to the development of the Sewerage operation and maintenance of the sewer system in the Cape May Court House region from its inception to the present. To understand and appreciate the it is necessary to review this historical development and to compare it to the recent developments. The findings of the Grand Jury ^re divided into two (2) sections. first section involves the past developments of the Sewerage District up to 1963. The second section involves the developments from 1983. A A.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEWERAGE DISTRICT PRIOR TO 1983 The sewer system and its appurtenances. including a treatment plant, were built in the late 1930 s with WPa assistance. The boundaries of the District ] were established by the Township Com- j mittee in 1936. . The plant is a primary treatment plant j located at the Northeast corner of Garden i . State Parkway and Stone Harbor 1 Boulevard. The effluent is discharged into ( Crooked Creek which flows into the back t bay. The plant had a design capacity for 100,000 gallons a day. j

is The main sewer lines were not extended id since the original construction, as far as anyone's memory or records can * demonstrate, with the sole exception of the >f High School system being added in 1972. is The primary interest to the Grand Jury * was the development since 1965. It was aps proximately at that point in time that the t. Court House area started expanding in e development. All the present Commisg si oners were members since that time and e they started realizing the problems with il the disposal plant. s It was" noted by the Grand Jury that the y Sewerage District No. 1 served only the e downtown Cape May Court House area, h That comprises an area approximately r nine (9) blocks long and four (4) blocks wide. It includes mostly single-family r homes, several small -businesses and e stores and five (5) large users. The v Sewerage District's records indicate that - the number of accounts changed only nominally between 1966 and 1983. The following table illustrates this point: 1966 1983 Homes 284 308 i Apartments 44 49 * Business 30 41 The large accounts consisted of the Hospital, County buildings. Township

Michael Vistenzo nor,,

schools, Murphy Mart shopping center and the K & E plant. The K & E plant, as will be discussed later, became a crucial point of interest In later determining the plant's capacity and whether to permit further expansion and hookups to the sewerage district. 6 During the mid-1960 s, both State and County Health agencies found the plant to be grossly inadequate. Various studies were made of the sewerage problem in the Township and in the County. In 1964 a County-requested study by the Philadelphia firm of Albright & Friel determined the plant was overloaded at that time. In 1966 the Corson study, conducted by the Middle Township engineer, determined that the present plant was 250% over original design capacity. It recommended expanding the plant and system to handle the projected needed capacity by 1980 of 300,000 gallons a I day. The engineering firm of Van Note completed a study in 1968, that was re- , quested by the County. It found the plant to be overtaxed, receiving 225.000 gallons a , day. The recommendation was that the plant be abandoned. The fact that this plant was overloaded ! was realized by the Sewerage Com mis- t sioners as early as 1969. In 1969 the State i and County Health Departments sought i permissions to hook in a nursing home That was flatly rejected by the Commis- t sioners since the plant was "overloaded " t In 1970 the Acme shopping center, located c across the street from the Murphy Mart I shopping center, was denied permission to r run an extension into the District's sewer i line. In the period between 1969 and 1971 only two single-family homes were permit- v ted to hook up into the sewer system. a In 1972 the Sewerage Commissioners t passed an informal moratorium on any ad-

1 dition' hookups into th£ sewer lines. The » Minutes of the Sewerage District do not ) reflect the reasons for this moratorium. ; However, it appears to be based on directions from the State that no more permits ^ shall be issued. The State monitoring of the plant found that the effluent was exceeding i State guidelines. In fact, the Solicitor i entered into a consent Court Order with the Department of Environmental ProtecI tion in January 1974. That Order provided i that the Sewerage District would not permit any further connections without prior approval of the Department of Environmental Protection. Although the District's records reflect that a resolution was passed by the Commissioners authorizing John L. Ludlam, Esquire, to enter into the consent Court Order, Michael Vistenzo was unaware of the Court Order. Mr. Vistenzo thought the State Health Department put a moratorium on new hookups until the plant's effluent was cleaned up. However, he later does approve additional hookups without considering the moratorium or receiving approval of the Department of Environmental Protection. During the mid-1970's, the Sewerage District received several bad reports from the Department of Environmental Protection regarding the discharge from the plant. Over the next several years the Commissioners attempted to update the plant, within the physical limitations of the plant itself. In the Spring of 1977 a flow meter was installed at the disposal plant to measure the sewerage flow. A State-licensed plant operator was employed as well as working operator. The operator maintained daily flow reports, in turn preparing monthly reports for the Department of Environmental Protection and County Health Department. It appears that these records and reports, although available, were not reviewed by the Commissioners. The operator reported basically to Michael Vistenzo. The flow records for 1977 through February 1981 indicate that the plant was receiving 2Vz to 5 times the amount of sewerage over capacity. In 1979 a County Health Department study determined that the plant was operating at 3 times over capacity. This correlates to the unacceptable rating that the Department of Environmental Protection gave to the Sewerage District-due to the poor readings of the effluent discharge. Obviously, if the plant is operating well over capacity, it cannot be treating the sewerage properly; thus resulting in insufficiently treated effluent being discharged into the back bay. The Commissioners' awareness of a problem with the sewer system was illustrated by their still prohibiting new connections. In April 1980 the Commissioners reluctantly agreed to permit two homes to hook into the High School sewer line. This was done to help resolve a lawsuit that the Township and others were in. The Commissioners emphatically stated the approval was based upon "peculiar and exceptional circumstances." However, it appears these homes never did connect into the sewer system. The only new connection permitted since the beginning of the moratorium was for a new school administration building. This was approved because of the public's interest being served by the approval and that fact that the school would.be abandoning their old building directly across the street, thus not changing the sewer flow. However, in February 1981 a doctor built an office on a vacant lot and was connected into the sewer system. The lot had been filled prior to construction and therefore the land could not support a septic system. The Sew erage Commissioners were of the opinion that the land would have been undevelopable without sewers and thus approved the hookup. The Commissioners went so far as to send the doctor an application for the hookup. However, it was Michael Vistenzo who was the Construction Official who issued the building permit originally. If the permit had not been issued, no hardship would have arisen. The land had been undevelopable for all the previous years and no one saw a hardship The land was filled and sold to the doctor by Tozer-Kerr Custom Builders. Despite other requests, this was the only pnvate new hookup into the sewer system in ten years. <_ In March 1981 the flow meter broke and not repaired until August 1982. In 1962 anew licensed operator was now reporting flow readings to the Departments Engage 17 Please)