BRICK – A third Board of Adjustment hearing was recently held for an application by Stavola Industries, who operate an asphalt production plant on Chambersbridge Road between Town Hall and the Parkway.
The company is seeking approval for a plan to modernize the 17.3-acre plant, but is facing opposition from the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (BTMUA) and from the environmental group, Save Barnegat Bay, who say the location of the plant poses health risks due to its proximity to the Metedeconk River, located a half-mile upstream, which supplies drinking water to 100,000 residents.
Both groups were represented by opposing attorneys during the hearings.
During the recent hearing, Josh Sewald, a civil engineer hired by Stavola Industries, which is a subsidiary of Dallas, Texas based Arcosa, provided testimony using aerial map exhibits.
The plant has been producing asphalt at the site for some 70 years, even preceding the construction of Brick High School, the engineer said.
Sewald said there are currently open stockpiles of material on the site, and compacted gravel roads used by trucks.
He said the new plan is much “greener” than a plan that was submitted by the asphalt plant in 2004, which was rejected by the Board of Adjustment.
The stockpiles of materials would no longer be in piles at the site – which erode and can cause runoff – but would be contained in concrete bins, he said.
He said the new design has stringent stormwater management plans, and paved roads would replace the compacted gravel, resulting in less dust from the asphalt-loaded trucks.
Sewald explained that the redeveloped plant would utilize “unified drum plant” technology instead of “batch mix,” for which he used the analogy of baking a cake.
“With batch mix, you bake one cake at a time,” he said. “With unified, you’re continuously able to produce asphalt; it’s more efficient – it changes the style of asphalt production.”
He said the unified system would reduce emissions since it constantly keeps the material warm instead of shutting the system down.
An existing one-story building would be replaced by a two-story building for the purpose of viewing the operation better, the engineer said, and green space would be increased by an additional 2.9 acres.
Sewald said they have approvals from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, including a CAFRA permit (Coastal Area Facilities Review Act, which governs construction near waterways), a Wetlands Permit, a permit from the Ocean County Planning Board for a new driveway, and an Ocean County Soil Conservation Permit.
What they do not have, however, is a permit from the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority, who, along with Save Barnegat Bay, say that the plant has a record of environmental violations.
In a statement issued by BTMUA Executive Director Christopher A. Theodos, the utility has “grave concerns” and is “adamantly opposed” to the major reconstruction of the plant, and says that the current proposal is “incompatible with existing zoning…and poses a threat to the health, safety and welfare of Brick Township residents and neighboring coastal communities.”
Theodos wrote that the plant should be closed promptly and the site remediated by the owner to eliminate any remaining hazards.
Towards the end of the meeting, opposing attorneys began their cross-examination of Sewald, who asked if asphalt production would be increased, and asked for clarification on which structures would be demolished at the site.
Sewald said that the Plant Operator – who will testify at a future hearing – would have those details and more.
The three-hour meeting ended on time, and the next hearing was set for August 5 during a regularly-scheduled Board of Adjustment meeting at 7 p.m.
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