| TRENTON
– Attorney General Stuart Rabner announced
today that the state has obtained a court
order temporarily halting property improvement
work initiated by the owner of an environmentally-fragile,
104-acre wetlands tract in Monroe Township,
Middlesex County, pending further proceedings
by the court.
Acting on behalf of the Department of Environmental
Protection, the Attorney General’s
Office charges in a lawsuit that excavation,
land-clearing and other work commissioned
by property owner Diana Morgan Tracey has
been carried out in violation of state law,
as well as certain deed restrictions attached
to the property, and has severely damaged
acres of freshwater wetlands on the site.
At a hearing Wednesday before Superior Court
Judge Travis L. Francis in Middlesex County,
defendant Morgan Tracey and deputy attorneys
general representing the state consented
to the terms of an order halting additional
site work within wetlands and stream channels
on the property pending further proceedings
before Judge Francis in December.
The state’s lawsuit against Morgan
Tracey seeks an order from the court blocking
any future improvement work on the land
that violates New Jersey’s Freshwater
Wetlands Protection Act, and asks that Morgan
Tracey be required to restore the property
to its original condition.
In a related action, the Department of Environmental
Protection has issued an administrative
order against Morgan Tracey calling for
an immediate halt to work on the property,
submission by her of a site restoration
plan, and payment by Morgan Tracey of $306,000
in civil penalties to the state. It is the
second such administrative order issued
by the DEP against Morgan Tracey relative
to the same Monroe property. Earlier this
year, the DEP issued an order that Morgan
Tracey halt work at the site, which borders
Country Brook Lane and Union Valley Road,
and pay $63,000 in penalties.
The state alleges that Morgan Tracey ignored
that order, and has continued with site
improvement work despite DEP having issued
her five formal notices of violation since
June 2006. The work is reportedly designed
to enable construction of a single-family
home and expansion of a farm field.
”Wetlands
are among New Jersey's most valuable natural
resources. They filter contaminants to keep
our drinking-water supplies clean, minimize
erosion, reduce flooding and provide habitat
for our wildlife,”said DEP Commissioner
Lisa P. Jackson. “Today's court action
makes it clear that we will not tolerate
destruction of our wetlands or the blatant
disregard of the laws and regulations we've
put in place to protect these precious resources.”
According to the state’s formal complaint,
approximately five acres at the Morgan Tracey
site has been destroyed to enable creation
of a road, and another 10 acres has been
destroyed in the service of a farm field
expansion.
In the process, the state alleges that Morgan
Tracey has illegally destroyed and removed
vegetation, excavated native soils, had
truckloads of fill dumped on the property,
and built a gravel roadway through a forested
area.
The state lawsuit charges that Morgan Tracey
has violated state law pertaining to freshwater
wetlands and violated the state’s
Flood Hazard Area Control Act by placing
unauthorized culverts in the bed of a stream
on the property known as Maple Brook.
The state also contends that other development-related
activities at the site, specifically tree-cutting,
has been conducted in violation of Morgan
Tracey’s required Forest Stewardship
Management Plan.
In addition to asking that Morgan Tracey
be ordered to stop all unauthorized construction-related
activity on the land, the state lawsuit
seeks an order that she submit a detailed
plan for removing all structures built and
fill dumped on the property.
The lawsuit also asks that, upon completion
of site restoration work, Morgan Tracey
be required to obtain certification from
a professional engineer that the property
is in compliance with the Freshwater Wetlands
Protection Act and the Flood Hazard Area
Control Act. The state is also seeking to
recover all costs related to its investigation
of the Morgan Tracey matter, and its subsequent
enforcement actions.
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