Derek Michalski
Upper Saddle River NJ, Wednesday January 29, 2020, twenty seven days after January 3, 2020 discharge/pumping/overflow (or whatever terminology you want to use describing releasing millions of gallons of brown water per week into Pleasant Brook/SaddleRiver) and 4 days after filing consecutive complaint with NJDEP Mr. Roy Otto representing Bergen County Soil Conversation representative visited the site on a clear sunny day. When I asked him why they never show up while Toll Brothers discharges the mud a/k/a “colloidal clay” he couldn’t answer and referred me to his bosses. To be honest I don’t suspect any foul play on his part but it is laughable that in three-year-long period they never visited (to my knowledge) the site during the “discharge activities”. He also advised me to send him any pics of pumping since he wasn’t present during any such activities. I connected him with Lisa Rozner from CBS who was eyewitness of such illegal in my opinion activities. Perhaps I am wrong and perhaps all major developers in the state of NJ hoist their 5 inch fire hoses and pump stormwater into neighbors’ ponds. Perhaps. That’s New Jersey for you. And to those officials who still live under the rock please refresh your memory and please watch Lisa’s program again: https://www.google.com/…/23/bergen-county-brown-streams/amp/
I would get every news channel there. Do not stop calling, taking pictures and writing letters to the top. Send them to the senators and governor.
and get your neighbors involved as a concerted effort to high profile this strange issue of DEP ignorance.
I am going to address this issue during upcoming roundtable organized by NJ Spotlight and NJTVNews and sponsored by William Penn Foundation.
“Health of the Delaware River: Where are We Heading”? is the title of this roundtable and it will take place on March 5, 2020 in Trenton. We should have at least one representatives from our Mahwah, Ramsey and Upper&Saddle River Environmental Committees. What do you think?
Here is the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/health-of-the-delaware-river-where-are-we-heading-tickets-91669456813