Ocean Grove, NJ, October, 2017. Protecting our lakes and ocean within our boundaries. Riparian rights. Paul Goldfinger ©.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net
An environmentalist with knowledge of Ocean Grove discussed some aspects of the Wesley Lake situation with Blogfinger. We focused on two issues: One is the ecology of the Lake and what to do about it, while the other is regarding the name change on the Neptune Township tax map from “Wesley Lake” to “Wesley Retention Detention Basin.” Regarding the latter, he brought up concerns about jurisdiction, as to who is allowed to make changes to the Lake, such as the name.
1. Ecology. It is his opinion that unless something is done “soon” to fix Wesley Lake, it will eventually turn into “a swamp.” He sees the “silt” buildup (“siltation”) on the bottom of the Lake as a the major issue now, with buildup that needs to be measured “right down to the original bottom.” He says that the deepest part of the Lake is at the west side, and that would be where the deepest buildup of silt is located, and that the situation has “gone from bad to worse.”
He says that the west end already operates as a “sink” (where water has no way out,) and that there are too many “drains” dumping street water and its contaminants into the Lake. He believes that aggressive dredging could produce a result that would allow for clean water and the result could last for a long time. But he is not an engineer.
Regarding the original stream that brought fresh water into the lake, he thinks that the development around the Lake forced the Lake’s managers to fill in that stream while capturing the stream’s flow using a “pipe” which, he believes, still supplies water to the Lake.
2. Name change. Our environmentalist says that the only way a name change could be done legally would be to obtain a “riparian right grant” from the NJ DEP and then to pass a Neptune Township resolution to go ahead. But he knows of no such resolution or grant. He says that the land under the Lake is owned by the State of New Jersey. He also questions whether Neptune Township received a riparian grant for the bulkhead wall (we do know that God did not build it) or for the dam at the east end.
The same would apply for the Asbury side where a wall was built of metal years ago, and more recently a dock was built for the swan boats currently operating there. Did AP get riparian grants for those projects?
Definitions: Riparian water rights is a system for allocating permits among those who possess land along a waterway’s path. The quotes below are from a variety of sources:
“The general rule is that the State of New Jersey holds title to all lands now or formerly flowed by tidal waters.” That would be Wesley Lake.
“Riparian rights are the rights of owners adjacent to tide-lands to be the first to request the use of those areas. These lands are owned by all of the people of the State of New Jersey, so you must get permission from the State for the primary use of these lands in the form of a tide-lands license, lease or grant, and you must pay for this use.”
“Influenced by Roman civil law, the tenets of public trust were maintained through English Common Law and adopted by the original 13 colonies, each in their own form. The grants that form the basis of the titles to private property in New Jersey never conveyed those public trust rights, which were reserved to the Crown.”
“Following the American Revolution, the royal rights to tidal waterways and their shores were vested in the 13 new states, then each subsequent state, and have remained a part of law and public policy into the present time. Tidal waterways and their shores always were, and remain, subject to and impressed with these public trust rights.”
“All lands and waters extending seaward of the Mean High Water line are held in trust by the state of NJ on behalf of the public. The rights of the public are vested in the state as owner and trustee. These publicly owned lands include tidelands, shores of tidal rivers and streams, the land beneath oceans and tidal rivers and streams (submerged lands) and filled lands formerly flowed by the tide” (There also are some areas east of the MHW that are subject to the same rules.)
Our consultant believes that the Wesley Lake Commission should contact the NJ DEP to learn if the projects previously implemented at the Lake were legitimized by riparian rights permits; and whether that infamous name change was done with DEP permission. If not, the name should be changed back to Wesley Lake supported by a resolution from the Township Committee.
RITCHIE VALENS “We Belong Together.”
Jack: You know that Blogfinger published a photograph of Mayor Brantley showing developers around the North End. That confirms that the Township Committee is biased towards the North End Redevelopment Plan, a plan that is not in the best interest of Ocean Grove.
Therefore, it is reasonable to suspect that the Committee, or one of its flunkies, made the change in the tax map in order to set the stage for some worrisome “solution” to the ground water problem that would result from the NERP as those 165 residential units and the stores and the hotel create toxic waste to stream into Wesley Lake.
Calling the Lake a detention/retention basin suggests that they would allow that dirty water to go into the Lake without processing it first. That Lake, as you point out, must be saved by routing street water to bypass the Lake and be cleaned in a separate facility. The Lake must be kept for recreation and conservation only, and the Committee could send that message by changing the Tax Map to show the true name of Wesley Lake.
And where does Asbury Park stand regarding these conservation issues? Have they come up with a ground water solution given the constant commercial construction going on over there?
According to the Township Committee, the Tax Map just woke up one morning and said to itself, “Today I will change the name of Wesley Lake to Wesley Detention/Retention Basin, and please, no resolutions; we don’t want the pesky public getting involved.”
I believe that prior to Mr. Map changing the name of Wesley Lake, there were discussions between the DEP (they own the land) and Neptune Township/Asbury Park. That fact was obtained from a Neptune Township Committeeman a few years ago.
Then the Township illegally changed the permitted use of the Lake by changing the name, and that was done without a Township Committee resolution. Now the Township needs permission from the DEP to make it legal from the State’s point of view.
In the back room discussions by the Township Committee, did they talk about restoring the Lake for recreation or were they just focused on preparing a “road map” on how to transform the Lake into a Detention/Retention Basin as recorded on the Tax Map?
It appears to me that the Township “jumped the gun” before the process started, leaving the public out of the loop.
But what does the DEP see? They see two towns that want to use their lake as a detention basin, a Wesley Lake Commission that is divided, and and Ocean Grove Homeowners Association that could care less.
The Township and/or the DEP should investigate how that name change was accomplished and if any land use law was violated.