Millburn Township Environmental Commission Monday, May 4, 2026 @ 7:00 p.m. on ZOOM Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85919079288?pwd=g1PewWzJe1ikIQhCrWJ9mTvtWqBYKu.1 SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA Members: Jude Huang (Chair), Bill Brazell, René Linden Paparian, Matthew Greller, Debra Nevas, Vanita Gangwal, Alex McConnell, Lixia Wu, Kalpak Karule Township Committee Liaison: Mayor Frank Saccomandi Secretary: Alexis Lin Call to Order ● Open Public Meeting Statement: In accordance with Section 5 of the Open Public Meetings Act, notice of this meeting was provided by posting on the bulletin board in town hall and forwarding to the officially designated newspapers that this meeting would take place on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, May 4, 2026. Meeting details and the draft agenda were also posted on our township website. Public Comment/Guests - 5 minutes per speaker New Business ● Review and possible approval of the letter to NJDEP on behalf of the Millburn Environmental Commission concerning the Flood Hazard Area Individual Permit application submitted by EI Associates Architecture Engineering Construction in connection with the proposed conversion of the Millburn High School athletic fields to synthetic turf - see Attachment A Next Environmental Commission Meeting: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 @ 7:00 p.m. in the Fireplace Room in Bauer Community Center CANCELED� Millburn Environmental Commission Township of Millburn Millburn, New Jersey April 24th, 2026 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Land Use Regulation Attn: Lincoln Park Supervisor Mail Code 501-02A P.O. Box 420 Trenton, NJ 08625-0420 Re: Flood Hazard Area Individual Permit Application Millburn Athletic Fields Synthetic Turf Conversion 462 Millburn Avenue (Lot 41, Block 1101) — Township of Millburn, Essex County, NJ Applicant: EI Associates Architecture Engineering Construction, on behalf of the Township of Millburn and the Millburn Board of Education, Park and Recreation Dear Supervisor: We write on behalf of the Millburn Environmental Commission concerning the Flood Hazard Area Individual Permit application submitted by EI Associates Architecture Engineering Construction in connection with the proposed conversion of the Millburn High School athletic fields to synthetic turf. We respectfully submit the following questions and concerns for the Division’s consideration as it reviews the application, and we ask that this letter be made part of the administrative record. Our purpose is not to oppose the application in advance of the Division’s review. Our purpose is to ensure that two specific site conditions, both material to a Flood Hazard Area determination, are fully documented, independently verified, and addressed on the record before any permit decision is made. As a threshold matter, we respectfully bring to the Division’s attention that the notification letter from EI Associates, dated March 27, 2026, was not received by the Commission in time to submit comments within the 15-day public comment window referenced in that notice. This letter is submitted at the earliest practical opportunity following the Commission’s receipt of notice. We respectfully ask that the Division accept these comments and include them in the administrative record notwithstanding the timing, and that the Division advise us of the appropriate procedure for submitting comments and any supporting documentation as the review proceeds. 1. Placement of Multi-Purpose Field No. 2 Within the Regulated Flood Hazard Area Based on our review of the applicant’s July 15, 2024 Feasibility Report and the NJDEP￾approved Flood Hazard Area delineation on record for this site, a substantial portion of the area identified on the project plans as Multi-Purpose Field No. 2 appears to lie within the regulated Flood Hazard Area. By our reading of the submitted materials, approximately one-half of Multi-Purpose Field No. 2 falls within the flood hazard area footprint. ATTACHMENT A� This raises several questions that we believe warrant explicit treatment on the record: • Whether the Division’s review will confirm the extent of Multi-Purpose Field No. 2 that lies within the regulated flood hazard area, using the NAVD 88 elevation data and the applicable flood hazard area design flood elevation for this reach of the Van Winkle Brook watershed. • Whether any fill, regrading, subsurface structures, or drainage appurtenances proposed within the flood hazard area will result in a net loss of flood storage, and whether equivalent compensatory storage is proposed on-site in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:13. • How the applicant has demonstrated that the proposed activity will not cause any increase in off-site flood elevations or velocities, particularly given the documented history of flooding in the Van Winkle Brook corridor and adjacent residential properties downstream of the site. • How the Princeton Hydro study, which indicates that storm events exceeding the 25-year threshold will overtop the athletic fields, has been incorporated into the applicant’s hydrologic and hydraulic analysis submitted with the permit application. 2. Vertical Space Available for the Subsurface Stormwater Storage System The project as designed relies on a subsurface stormwater storage and management system to offset the increase in impervious cover and altered runoff characteristics associated with the synthetic turf surface and sub-base. A system of this type requires meaningful vertical separation between the invert of the storage structure and the seasonal high groundwater table in order to function as designed and to meet applicable stormwater management requirements under N.J.A.C. 7:8. Based on site conditions documented in the applicant’s own feasibility materials and on the site’s long-standing history of surface saturation and poor drainage, we are concerned that the seasonal high groundwater table at this location sits close to the existing ground surface. If that is the case, there may not be sufficient vertical space between finished grade and the seasonal high groundwater table to accommodate a stormwater storage tank of the capacity the project requires while maintaining the separation distances and design criteria prescribed by the New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual and N.J.A.C. 7:8. We respectfully ask that the Division’s review confirm the following: • Whether the applicant has submitted site-specific geotechnical data — soil borings and seasonal high groundwater table determinations made during the appropriate time of year — in support of the proposed storage system, and whether those determinations have been independently verified. • Whether the proposed invert elevation of the subsurface storage system maintains the required vertical separation from the documented seasonal high groundwater table. • Whether the storage volume actually achievable within the available vertical space at this site is sufficient to meet the stormwater quantity, quality, and groundwater recharge standards triggered by the proposed change in impervious cover and surface type. • If the available vertical space is insufficient for the stormwater system as designed, what alternative configurations the applicant has evaluated, and whether any such alternative would itself require additional encroachment into the regulated flood hazard area.� 3. Request for Public Notice and Opportunity to Comment Given the scale of the proposed activity, the location within a regulated flood hazard area, the site’s documented flooding history, and the high level of community interest in this project, we respectfully request that the Division: • Confirm that the applicant has satisfied all public notice requirements applicable to a Flood Hazard Area Individual Permit under N.J.A.C. 7:13, including notice to adjacent property owners and to the municipal clerk. • Provide the undersigned and other interested residents with the opportunity to review the complete application and supporting materials and to submit written comments prior to any permit decision. • Include this letter in the administrative record for the application, together with any subsequent correspondence we may submit during the review period. We appreciate the Division’s careful and independent review of this application. Our interest is simply that the Flood Hazard Area determination, the stormwater analysis, and the record on site suitability reflect the actual conditions of this site, documented by verifiable data, before a permit is issued for a project of this scale and duration on land with a known flooding history. Please confirm receipt of this letter and advise us of the procedure for submitting additional comments and supporting documentation as the Division’s review proceeds. Correspondence may be directed to the contact information below. Respectfully submitted, ________________________________ Jude Huang Chair, Millburn Environmental Commission 22 East Willow Street Millburn, NJ 07041 [email protected] (201) 303-9212 cc: Millburn Township Committee Millburn Board of Education Millburn Parks and Recreation EI Associates Architecture Engineering Construction�