Holmdel Residents Raise Concerns Over Wastewater Treatment Plans For Senior Care Facility

HOLMDEL, NJ — Dozens of Holmdel residents flooded Town Hall at a recent Planning Board meeting to object to wastewater treatment plans for a senior living community that’s set to take over the former Vonage site on 23 Main Street.

The meeting, which took place on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m., ran for three hours as residents stepped up to the mic to voice their concerns over the project, which will be called “Azura at Holmdel.”

The project applicant, 23 Main Street Urban Renewal, LLC, came before the board seeking final site plan approvals for Phase 1 of the project, though no vote was taken by the end of the meeting as the board ultimately decided to carry the application to a meeting on Dec. 16.

Throughout the night, multiple residents took to the floor to voice their concerns over the development of Azura at Holmdel – particularly, the applicant’s plans for wastewater treatment at the site, and how those plans could affect neighboring areas and the town’s water.

Currently, plans for the senior living development include upgrading and modernizing the site’s existing wastewater treatment plant, which has a capacity of 40,000 gallons per day, project applicants said.

According to Applicant Engineer Jordan Volk, the existing plant accepts flow from the site's existing office building through a pump station, which then pumps to an equalization tank at the head of the plant.

The equalization tank serves to smooth out the flow going into the plant and meter it, Volk continued. There's also aeration in the tank.

From there, Volk said the flow goes to a clarifier for removal of solids with an additional aeration step, before sand filtration and UV disinfection (the final step of removing bacteria) take place.

Once flow inside the plant goes through these steps, it’s either discharged to an on-site lagoon during the summer months (April to November) or to the east branch of the Willbrook stream during the winter months.

“The improvements are to ensure the long-term operation of the wastewater treatment plant and to make sure that it meets all of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP) permit requirements,” Volk said.

Though the project will follow the required steps from the NJ DEP, some residents and board members voiced their concerns over plans for the wastewater treatment plant and how those plans will affect Holmdel.

Tom King, a member of the Planning Board, questioned how the existing wastewater treatment plant will handle the project’s four phases without increasing the plant’s 40,000-gallon-per-day limit, as the projected flow for the entire project is 45,650 gallons per day.

According to Volk, the actual flows that come through facilities like senior living communities are typically lower than projected flows, and regulations such as the capacity assurance program allow them to average out monthly flows over a year.

“What we will do is, after the first three phases, look at what that average flow is and then assess the fourth phase based on what capacity is left in the plant under that 40,000 gallons per day,” Volk said. “If it’s necessary to change the number of units in the fourth phase, that will be done.”

In response to concerns from King about where the additional 5,000 gallons per day would go, Applicant Attorney Karl Kemm said piping from the existing building goes into the lagoon, and new buildings to be constructed there will also be connected through the wastewater treatment plant.

Kemm added that Volk’s initial flow calculations are based on regulations that are “rather old,” and don’t take into account "modern water-saving features and things of that nature,” which makes them closer to an overestimate.

He confirmed with Volk that the applicants have an operational facility where they can monitor the exact flow and recalculate exactly how much flow is going to the wastewater treatment plant.

If there’s existing capacity, Kemm said it’s anticipated that the entire four phases would be handled in the wastewater treatment plant, and once in-use flows are created, they would be reviewed by the NJ DEP to make sure they’re correct and not over-taxing the plant.

“All of the water that goes to the lagoon is processed through the wastewater treatment plant and goes through all the steps of the process to remove bacteria, to remove solids, and has to meet the permit conditions for groundwater discharge to go to the lagoon,” Volk said.

Though applicants said projected flows for the project are closer to an overestimate, many residents still voiced concerns about the projected 45,650 gallons per day, as well as potential overflow from the plant and percolation testing.

Ann Marie Buontempo, a resident who said she previously sat on Holmdel’s Board of Health and the Monmouth County Board of Health, questioned what planners would do to mitigate potential overflow into the Willowbrook stream should the actual flow exceed the 40,000 gallons per day limit.

“Are you going to stop it, or are you just going to let the overflow go into Willowbrook pond?” Buontempo asked.

In response to Buontempo’s concerns, Kemm said that once Phase 1 of the project is operational, they’ll know what the actual usage is, so they can recalculate exactly what that phase is producing and not just base it upon an assumption in the regulations.

“The regulations are older. They don’t take into account low-flow fixtures and things of that nature,” Kemm said. “So when we get to Phase 2, we will know exactly what Phase 1 is doing, and we’ll figure out Phase 2, 3, and 4.”

“Should we ever get to the point, when we come back for Phase 4, that there’s not enough capacity in the plant, then we’ll have to scale back Phase 4,” Kemm continued. “If it turns out we don’t build Phase 4 because there’s not enough capacity, then we don’t build Phase 4, but it will be reviewed on actual flows that will be reviewed by the NJ DEP before we can start doing that.”

Alongside concerns about potential overflow from the plant, residents like Roberta Kaufman and Jay Yanello also questioned whether percolation tests (which determine how quickly water drains through soil) have been performed yet or would be performed at the lagoon.

According to Volk, percolation tests have not yet been performed at the lagoon, but they are planning to do so.

“I, and everyone else here, are gassed at the idea that this board is expected to vote on this tonight or anytime soon without you even having done one percolation sample,” Yanello said, “...the board should say ‘We’re not voting on it till we see the percolation of the facility.’”

In response to Yanello’s concerns, Planning Board Chair Scott Silberman said it’s not within the board’s jurisdiction to rule on the applicant’s wastewater treatment plant, and that’s something that NJ DEP handles.

“We can only vote,” Silberman said. “We’re voting on whether they met the requirements of their application at this point, and they’re proceeding to move forward…If they need to provide the percolation test and whatever testing they have to do to satisfy the government's and agency’s requirements, they’re going to do it.”

In addition to concerns from individual Holmdel residents, groups such as the Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU) also posed questions and concerns to the board and project applicants about development plans.

Jen Ashkar, CILU’s VP of Publicity, said that the existing lagoon is 100 feet from the Willowbrook (a Category 1 stream), when a minimum of a 300-foot buffer is required under current regulations.

“When you say you’re bringing the existing system up to current standards, are you moving the disposal field so that it will meet the 300-foot Category 1 stream buffer?” Ashkar asked.

In response to Ashkar’s question, Kemm said the applicants are talking about “operational standards,” and that the way the plant operates, as well as the quality of the effluent in the discharge, are what’s being brought up to current standards, not the location.

In a statement emailed to Patch, CILU President Julie Roth said the proposed development is not consistent with “the charming, bucolic character” of Holmdel, the NJ State Planning Area 5 environmental zoning, or the low-density housing precedent implemented in Southern Holmdel in the Master Plan to preserve the town’s watershed.

Roth went on to argue that the project application does not include enough specifications (such as the requirement of active carbon filters or the demand for new permits in accordance with current regulations) to protect the drinking water of county residents, or address the potential introduction of pharmaceuticals or detergents in the wastewater.

The CILU Board is requesting that an independent hydrologist have the opportunity to study the plan and make recommendations to the township prior to its finalization, and that NJ American Water be consulted and any potential concerns be addressed.

“CILU urges the Planning Board to insist that current regulations, not 50-year-old standards, for wastewater and stormwater management are met before any plans are approved,” Roth said.

To see a full recording of the Planning Board meeting, you can watch here.

Previous Coverage

• 'Best Possible Solution': Former Vonage Site To Become Senior Living Community In Holmdel
• Care Facility Proposed For Vonage Site Gets First Look In Holmdel
• Holmdel Planning Board Approves Redevelopment Of Former Vonage Site
• Holmdel Twp. Committee Declares Vonage Site In Need Of Redevelopment