What's Up in the Watershed? November 2011

     With signs of fall all around us, I thought I would fill everyone in on a variety of topics of interest for everyone in the watershed.
    A quick safety reminder, appropriate for the season: be very careful with your raked leaves. Don't park your car on top of them! Also, it's important to rake them to the edge of your yard, not into the street. DPW can still pick them up, and you don't have to worry about them washing down the street when it rains and blocking the storm drains. And remember that it is illegal (and dangerous) to burn leaves.
     I would like to thank everyone who came out to the PCWA's annual meeting on November 5th. Even though bird expert, Mark Pensiero, was unable to join us, a good time was still had by all. Deb Lord took a group of people to the trail behind the high school - though they didn't see any birds, the fall foliage was worth seeing. I took a the rest of the attendees for a brief tour down along the creek side trail from Riverton Park. The leaves weren't quite as spectacular, but we got to see mallards and geese, starlings and crackles, and got to hear a hawk. The kids were thrilled to see where the beaver lodge is located, and actually learned a couple of things about creek safety and wildlife observing.
     Speaking of the beavers, I finally got to see this year's baby beaver! With all of the flooding, and not seeing any signs of the newborn, I was afraid that he had drowned in the lodge. Then one night just before Halloween, while I was working on our haunted graveyard scene next to the creek, I heard a splash. It was low tide, and the top of the partial dam was exposed. When I shined my light towards the sound, I was treated to the sight of the mother beaver nursing her baby about 20 feet from me. It was too dark for a picture, and the flashlight seemed to disturb them, so I quickly shut it off and backed away from the bank. Since then I've gotten to see the baby swimming with his parents a couple of times. He is absolutely adorable, especially next to the adults, who are huge! We also have a flock of 44 mallards hanging around. Even with the warm weather of the past week, the turtles have stayed in hibernation, and the minnows have been scarce.
     Mention of the flooding and the PCWA leads me to the need to clarify a couple of things. At the "Meet the Candidates" forum at Temple Sinai just before the election, Ben Young said a number of things about stormwater, fertilizer and pet waste ordinances, and the PCWA that were incorrect. The PCWA and Rutgers never asked the township for money - Dr. Obrupta from Rutgers and the PCWA went to the township committee to invite their participation in developing the Regional Stormwater Management Plan. Riverton, Delran and Moorestown were all a part of creating the plan - Cinnaminson declined to participate. This was before the state mandated stormwater legislation went into effect, and would have given Cinnaminson a say in that legislation, and made them eligible for programs and grants to help them with specific stormwater issues here in the township. The fertilizer and pet waste ordinances that Mr. Young referred to were state mandated - the PCWA encouraged all the townships in the watershed to be proactive with these laws but never tried to "force" any township to pass legislation. Mr. Young did not mention that Cinnaminson Township saw fit to enact stormwater ordinances (see chapter 444, passed 3-15-2006, and chapter 446, passed 9-21-2005, of the code at http://www.ecode360.com/CI0302 ) anyway, which included pet waste ordinances (sections 444.6-444.8). Even though the state passed very specific fertilizer legislation (http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2010/Bills/PL10/112_.PDF) on January 5, 2011, Cinnaminson has not chosen to follow suit. The state of NJ has very specific regulations for municipalities concerning stormwater (http://www.nj.gov/dep/dwq/pdf/tier_a_existing_final_full_permit.pdf)- check out the local education requirements on pages 9-10. The PCWA offered to provide public education for the township at no cost - the township committee chose not to take advantage of this offer. Last year, they sent a stormwater brochure in with the 2010 tax bills to meet the public education requirement. As of this month, I am unaware of any provisions made by the township for providing stormwater education to the public for 2011 - if this is incorrect, I welcome documentation that proves me wrong. Knowing that the education requirement must be met by the end of the year (or the township would be found non-compliant), the PCWA once again offered to present the info at Cinnaminson Day, but the township didn't accept the offer.
     Lastly, I would like to encourage everyone to keep the enthusiasm and spirit of public involvement that appeared before the election. The township committee meets on the third Monday of each month at 7:30PM at the twp building. I hope to see you there!