Meeting on Sewer Service Area Map Proposal

The Department of Environmental Protection will hold a public meeting to discuss Morris County's draft sewer service area map on Feb. 9, part of planning efforts to update Water Quality Management Plans for the Northeast, Sussex, Upper Delaware and Upper Raritan regions.

The meeting will allow the public to learn about and discuss the sewer service area map covering the following six Morris County municipalities located mostly or completely outside of the North Jersey Highlands Region: Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, East Hanover, Lincoln Park, Long Hill and Madison.

At issue also will be the sewer service area maps for 24 other municipalities located in the Highlands Planning Area: Boonton, Boonton Township, Butler, Chester, Denville, Dover, Hanover, Harding, Jefferson, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Mine Hill, Montville, Morris Plains, Morristown, Mountain Lakes, Mount Arlington, Mount Olive, Netcong, Pequannock, Riverdale, Rockaway, Roxbury and Victory Gardens.

Morris Township, which currently has a valid wastewater management plan, and Florham Park, which submitted its draft wastewater management plan to the department prior to the adoption of the revised Water Quality Management Rules, will not be subject to this meeting.

The map is a preliminary, working draft, developed in coordination with and reviewed by DEP, Morris County and the affected communities. The map reflects proposed changes in wastewater service area designations to eliminate conflicts with Category One waters, wetlands, threatened and endangered species habitats and other unique and rare ecological communities. It can be viewed at: http://www.morrisplanning.org/wastewater.asp.

The Feb. 9, public meeting will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Morris County Library Public Meeting Room, 30 East Hanover Avenue in the Whippany section of Hanover Township.

The Department and County will accept comments and information related to this map from the date of the posting of this public notice until March 9, 2011, 30 days after the public meeting.