PB 24 01 West Essex Highlands Inc Draft Resolution

opined that the storm water runoff would travel down the road to the basins so instead of equal runoff there will be a change in the wetlands. Mr. Walsh further testified that despite the DEP already approving the project under the previous DEP regulations, Walsh’s opinions were based upon the new DEP regulations. 60. The Board’s expert noted in response to the report and testimony of Mr. Walsh that impacts to the Freshwater Wetlands are under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the Applicant received the necessary Freshwater Wetland Permit from the DEP. 61. Objector’s engineering expert, Walsh, suggested that the stormwater flow calculation were two times what they should be and that the Applicant should therefore create much larger catch basins. 62. Mr. Walsh also pointed out that the sanitary sewer line on the plans runs through the infiltration basin. While the Board’s expert engineer initially suggested that the sewer lines should be encased in cement as a condition of approval to prevent any infiltration of sewer lines into the basins, ultimately the Board engineer opined that the sewer lines be changed to a different location outside of the infiltration basin. The Applicant amended its plans to move the sewer lines from outside the infiltration basin. 63. In response to the CME report of August 15, 2025, Mr. Walsh returned to the Board and testified that he found it “suspicious” that the Applicant’s engineer’s used an alternative method for calculating the time of concentration to determine peak flow, but they did not state what that alternative method was and they did not provide a justification for why the alternative method was employed.