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It rained on Wednesday night, all night. Again, 11 days after the storm of June 25, residents with properties along Red Mill Pond awoke to water discolored by silt and clay.
“They keep talking about a 100-year storm,” said Diane Miller. “Last night was not a 100-year storm.”
Jaime Rutherford, an environmental program manager of the sediment and stormwater program of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), agreed. Rutherford said the June 25 storm could have been a 100-year storm, but the July 5 storm was not. The problem, she said, is that the ground is now saturated, meaning that any heavy or prolonged rain is going to result in runoff.
The source of the problem is the Nassau Grove development site at the corner of Route 1 and Minos Conaway Road, where it is reported that approximately 50 acres of land have been denuded instead of the 20 acres permitted.
The result is that silt and clay-laden runoff from the site pours into a culvert that goes under Minos Conaway Road and dumps directly into Red Mill Pond. The runoff threatens to decrease the pond’s depth and destroy bottom-growing plant and animal life.
According to Rutherford and another DNREC employee Paul Evans, stormwater management systems and what are referred to as best management practices are designed to stop only 80 percent of the discharge from a construction site. The Nassau Grove system design intended that all remaining discharge go into Red Mill Pond.
Rutherford said that if the system is properly designed and approved, there shouldn’t be any discharge.
Rutherford, Evans, Jim Elliott of the Sussex Conservation District, and Richard Kerr, production manager for land development for K. Hovnanian Homes, the developer of Nassau Grove, with others conducted inspections of the site on June 29 and again on July 6 in response to a complaint filed by resident Roy Miller. Though the press was not permitted to attend the inspection on Thursday, July 6, this time the culvert in the wetlands leading to Red Mill Pond and the surrounding area was included in the inspection.
Upon inspecting the Nassau Grove construction site on June 29, Elliott found that K. Hovnanian Homes was non-compliant with applicable regulations in four major areas, all of which contributed to the disturbance of Red Mill Pond.
First, Elliott found that the developer disturbed - meaning that it stripped away or cleared all vegetation and topsoil – nearly 50 acres instead of the 20 acres it was permitted to disturb. While Elliott concedes that the Sussex Conservation District had agreed to allow the developer to disturb a little more than the 20 acres permitted so as to allow dumping of soil which was to be promptly stabilized, the amount of land disturbed is clearly excessive.
Second, Elliott said that any disturbed area must be stabilized within 14 days after it is not active – meaning actively being worked upon as part of the construction process. Being stabilized means that the land is seeded, covered with mulch and anchored. According to Elliott, approximately 25 acres – being one-half of the disturbed area – is inactive and should have been stabilized.
Third, Elliott found that the super silt fence – being a type of fence required around wetland areas, with the silt fabric abutting wire fencing – required attention. “There were areas where the water was undermining the silt fence,” Elliott said.
The wetland area Elliott referred to was that leading to the culvert that dumps into Red Mill Pond. “The area in question should have been stabilized to minimize disturbance,” he said. “Water runs downhill.”
Finally, of the two stormwater ponds required in phase 1, being the first 20 acres, only one was completed and the temporary dewatering device required was not completed at the inspection on June 29 or later at the inspection on July 6. The dewatering device would have released the water from the stormwater pond at a slower rate to give the sediment more time to drop out before discharge, creating a type of sediment trap.
Regarding the impact upon Red Mill Pond, Elliott said that the silt and clay particles generated by the Nassau Grove site could stay suspended for several weeks to a month from each runoff incident into the pond.
As for corrective measures, Rutherford and Evans say that the developer will now be required to repair the silt fence; repair or create an effective check dam (made of rocks); restabilize part of the disturbed area by planting grass seed covered with straw – which should start to grow in one to two weeks; and place chemical flocculents in the stormwater management pond to help the silt and clay particles clump together and sink to the bottom of the pond.
They added that the entire area is to be inspected weekly. A private company hired by the developer will conduct many of the inspections.
Richard Kerr, speaking on behalf of the developer, said he did not know how many acres had been disturbed, but believed it was “a little over 20 acres if over at all.” When informed that the 50-acre estimate was that made by Jim Elliott of the Sussex Conservation District, Kerr changed his position and said, “It could very well be 50 acres.”
Kerr said that he intends to get an aerial view to ascertain how many acres have been disturbed.
Regarding compliance issues, Kerr said that K. Hovnanian Homes has made timely repairs, has hired an onsite inspector to make weekly inspections, and “is going above and beyond what they’re being asked to do.”
Repairs after the fact, however, do little to console or to assuage the fears of the residents on Red Mill Pond - especially those residing on the cove who have been informed that each overflow runoff of silt and clay-filled waters into the pond threatens the continued existence of the pond as they know it.
Rutherford and Evans said they will return to the site next week or the week after to check on what progress has been made. Meanwhile, property owners abutting Red Mill Pond pray for no more rain.
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