Consultant Dissects Quarry's Lake Plan

The Millington Quarry's plans for a 50-acre lake that might someday be the centerpiece for a new neighborhood on the quarry's 180-acre tract off Stonehouse Road —but Tuesday night was an opportunity for the township expert to give the proposal a fresh eye.

Stephen Souza, president of Princeton Hydro in Ringoes, hired on behalf of the township planners, had several suggestions that called for additional steps to monitor the lake water quality and the elevation of the proposed body of water.

Among other recommendations, Souza called for a plan of action to be in place beforehand if the lake shows signs of an algae bloom or some other ecological problem.

Souza also said it is "very, very rare in this part of the country" for a lake to have no means of discharging excess water volume, as would be the case for the lake envisioned at the quarry.

Souza suggested one way of discharging water would be to maintain and modify a piping system that now exists for draining water from the quarry pit and discharging it in the nearby Passaic River.

Michael Lavigne, an attorney for Millington Quarry, did not commit on Tuesday to the recommendations that came up during more than three hours of testimony by Souza. He said he would further discuss some of the proposals with his client, the quarry's owner.

Souza noted at several points that the state would not require the quarry to take remedial action to solve problems at the lake as long as it remains on private property. Both he and Lavigne acknowledged that more frequent water quality testing and other charges in requirements would be in place if the lake would ever become part of a publicly owned residential area.

After the conclusion of the review of Souza's report to the board, members of the public had an opportunity to ask questions. An additional board consultant is expected to provide additional review at the next meeting, scheduled for April 17.

, possibly residential, after all quarrying operations cease, Lavigne said the board will continue with its review of the reports issued by its consultants.

If the Planning Board and MQI agree upon a mutually acceptable plan for the future of the quarry, the proposal will then be passed to the Township Committee for final approval.

At a meeting in December, professionals on behalf of the quarry presented plans for how an existing four-acre pond, as the low point on the property, would grow naturally and gradually into a 50-acre lake. 

The lake area would be filled by rain and runoff over a period of about eight years, according to the quarry's proposal.

The centerpiece for the "rehabilitated" quarry land may be the lake, about 50 feet deep, that potentially could be open for swimming and boating, according to the quarry's plans.

"I have a fair degree of confidence that we are going to have a real treasure here when this is complete," Jim Cosgrove, an environmental engineer testifying on behalf of Millington Quarry, said in December.

Souza disputed one part of the lake plan, calling for the lining of the entire body of water to be lined with a rock "rip-rap" made of stone to be trucked into the quarry.

During his review of the plans and testimony given, Souza said, "I have seen no reason to cover the entire bottom of that lake with rip-rap." He said a smaller amount of stone and boulders might be placed around the perimeter of the lake to provide fish habitat.

During give-and-take with Lavigne over whether placing a rock bottom on the future lake would cause problems, Souza said the one potential danger might be the extra truck traffic, generated on township streets, that would bring in the stones.

The lake is just one part of the plan, and a subject that in December faced detailed questions from the Planning Board, its experts and the public. The questions ranged from how water quality would be controlled in a body of water with no inlet or outlet, to the ability to control the lake's depth, particularly following a storm.

"It's a critical point how you would maintain a relatively stable lake elevation," Mayor John Malay, who also sits on the Planning Board, said then.

Cosgrove had testified that geology would maintain a stable lake elevation once development of the body of water is completed, which would have a gradually deepening ledge placed along one section, and a cliff wall along another area.

Other parts of the rehabilitation plan include regrading to create a meadow, with a gradual slope downward of one foot for every 10 feet of distance, that initially would be planted with grasses, Cosgrove said. Eventually, the quarry owner's plan calls for the planting of trees and shrubs in certain areas of the property.

"It's a net positive from what you have now," Cosgrove said. He said he anticipates the lake would at least be as high in quality as the lake already on site at the Bernardsville quarry, which he said has industrial properties nearby and denser development than would ever be near the proposed lake for the Millington Quarry.

Souza pointed out this week that the Bernardsville quarry lake does have an area for discharge.