India Brook dewatering

[FIN-ITE 34]

You might want to check out this post on another site. I am familiar with the old diversion that was there to fill the pond about 500 feet below this spot. I'm sure that the pond owner has a dry pond now and was trying to get more water from the brook to fill it. However as you can see from the photos, he has pretty much diverted all the flow to his pond. I hope the DEP slaps this person with a huge one.

https://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110481

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Those are my photos and my GPS in them that you see. Yes, I am this landowner's biggest nightmare. Mendham Twp. is on the case, but not sure where DEP Enforcement stands. They never reached out which is highly unusual, since nobody at DEP has seen the photos I took yet. But with Mendham directly involved, I know DEP will be engaged as well. TU and Raritan Headwaters are also both fully involved and are following this up.

For the record, one of our RVTU members reached out to me yesterday morning as he hiked the trail. He was planning to fish until he encountered this obvious illegal activity and he instead took some video and shot it off to me asking me to get involved. Things got a little heated for a short time when the landowner confronted me, but I remained on the public side so I couldn't be accused of trespassing. He admitted that he "had reached out to DEP, but he and the lady he spoke with didn't see eye to eye on his stream issues". So he obviously tried to get away with it instead, and now he faces both fines and remediation costs. And he may have lost any future diversion into his pond since he replaced on old pipe that was grandfathered in (before we had environmental laws) without any permits.

 

[FIN-ITE 34]

With the trail running right next to the diversion, how in the world did he think he was going to get away with this?

Sorry I didn't make the "BC" connection when I read the post. Give 'em hell Mr. C.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

With the trail running right next to the diversion, how in the world did he think he was going to get away with this?

Sorry I didn't make the "BC" connection when I read the post. Give 'em hell Mr. C.

Oh, I'm going to be his worst nightmare. Headed back later today, in fact. With a contingent of watershed folks in tow. Hopefully by the end of the day, he's had the equivalent of a DEP enima if you know what I mean. That's C-1 trout production water, so he can't cut trees down that close to the river or at this time of year without a forestry plan approved and signed off on my the state. No chance he has that in place after owning the property for "about a month" as he told me. He filled State Open Waters which is likely the biggest fine coming his way. That dam he made to divert water is fresh bank soils, and that is now in the drinking water for between 2 and 3 million NJ residents downstream. I'm sure they are grateful for that mess.....

And we have the stones from the bridge abutment. This is an historic structure in an historic area, so additional ass-reaming there. Then we have working without state and county (soil district) permits, working after September 15th when this work is not allowed until after March 15 due to wild trout spawning. We probably have encroachment onto town owned property, so damages will be paid to the town (see above "ass reaming"). I'm sure there will be more, but those should start to sting a bit and quickly.

 

[lightenup]

The quarry in G.G. got off relatively easily, I think, for what they did, and they dumped tons of silica dust into drinking water....I hope that isn't the case for this guy..

 

[Rusty Spinner]

The quarry in G.G. got off relatively easily, I think, for what they did, and they dumped tons of silica dust into drinking water....I hope that isn't the case for this guy..

If you call $1.5 million getting off easy, good for you! That doesn't include lawyer fees, and their lawyers were on site all day, every day. That was fines, cleanup, and a future restoration in lieu of additional fines.

 

[lightenup]

If you call $1.5 million getting off easy, good for you! That doesn't include lawyer fees, and their lawyers were on site all day, every day. That was fines, cleanup, and a future restoration in lieu of additional fines.

That's good to hear, they told us at the town meeting it was 50k...thats light for a large company...hopefully this guy gets the same business.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Mendham Twp. is citing this landowner today for town violations. This will be on top of whatever the DEP does to him. He's apparently doing work on the house, cutting down half the forest, and other things including the illegal diversion into his pond. My guess is he didn't draw a single permit for any of the work.

 

[WBDluver]

Permits? Permits? We dont need no stinking permits.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Permits? Permits? We dont need no stinking permits.

NJDEP Enforcement called me yesterday. I know several of these folks from various meetings at DEP and because we have to notice them before we initiate a stream restoration permit. The plot thickens as this landowner who purchased this property about a month ago reached out to DEP. He wound up talking to the very same person that today is his case person from DEP. She told him he could not do most of the things he wanted to do after he made a formal complaint to DEP that "his pond was too low". His pond had a grandfathered diversion pipe flowing out of the brook and into the pond, but during low flows in India Brook, no water flows into the pipe. We call it a drought or low flow time of year. Deal with it. After hearing he could not do what he wanted, he went over the head of that DEP employee to have a heated argument with her supervisor who once again told him NO. So he's got no place to run and hide and claim ignorance.

 

[golden beetle]

Back in the day I fished India Brook a lot. Caught mostly brown trout, and one brookie...

I would park in a lot adjacent to a huge soccer field,...

I’ve tried to return to the same spot, but can’t find it!!

I’m assuming that access to India Brook is different today than it had been years ago when I fished he stream regularly.

Yet for a soccer field to go missing?

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Back in the day I fished India Brook a lot. Caught mostly brown trout, and one brookie...

I would park in a lot adjacent to a huge soccer field,...

I’ve tried to return to the same spot, but can’t find it!!

I’m assuming that access to India Brook is different today than it had been years ago when I fished he stream regularly.

Yet for a soccer field to go missing?

Sounds like Ralston Field off old route 24 which is the NBR. Just west of Roxiticus Road in Mendham Twp. (not Borough). It's the town fields behind their old fire house.

 

[tompg]

Sounds like Ralston Field off old route 24 which is the NBR. Just west of Roxiticus Road in Mendham Twp. (not Borough). It's the town fields behind their old fire house.

not a particularly great part of the NBR either. At least in my experience.

 

[tompg]

There is a WTS in Mendham known to have naturally reproducing brooks, browns, and rainbows. Nice little treasure. hope nobody diverts that.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

not a particularly great part of the NBR either. At least in my experience.

We are doing a small project there next year. It will give you a couple of nice pools and one run as I recall of our design. Private land, but landowners love anglers fishing behind their house there. Ralston field area just downstream a few houses from the bridge over rt4 off Roxiticus Rd.

 

[tompg]

that's pretty cool news about the project and land owner sentiment. now I just need to work on Schiff and the Raritan Owners Assoc. that's some nice water.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

that's pretty cool news about the project and land owner sentiment. now I just need to work on Schiff and the Raritan Owners Assoc. that's some nice water.

The problem you have with both of those entities are the number of blue bloods living in that valley. They fiercely protect their lifestyle in that area. I know many of the players through doing river work there over the years and through my church in Peapack-Gladstone. They don't want "outsiders" around. That's the playground for the rich and famous and has been for over a hundred years.

 

[tompg]

The problem you have with both of those entities are the number of blue bloods living in that valley. They fiercely protect their lifestyle in that area. I know many of the players through doing river work there over the years and through my church in Peapack-Gladstone. They don't want "outsiders" around. That's the playground for the rich and famous and has been for over a hundred years.

I know it well. Raritan Owners did cede come land to Schiff. I bet a tax break for a public easement would be interesting to some. Blue Bloods hate paying property tax.

JackieO's dog tried to chase me off my moped back there one day decades ago. Around the same time I got caught fishing under the mosle road bridge. It was bit further upstream and one lane at the time.

Lots of trout history. I heard once about a particular house with trout runs in the basement or garage. A private little hatchery. I still fill up my water bottle at a near by spring when I pass through.

 

[FIN-ITE 34]

Rusty, I hope you are going to chop a nice path through all that multiflora. It's a little tough crawling under it on the deer runs.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

I know it well. Raritan Owners did cede come land to Schiff. I bet a tax break for a public easement would be interesting to some. Blue Bloods hate paying property tax.

JackieO's dog tried to chase me off my moped back there one day decades ago. Around the same time I got caught fishing under the mosle road bridge. It was bit further upstream and one lane at the time.

Lots of trout history. I heard once about a particular house with trout runs in the basement or garage. A private little hatchery. I still fill up my water bottle at a near by spring when I pass through.

As you know, every one of those properties is farmland assessed in that valley. You are right about taxes and blue bloods. But Raritan Associates is a loose club of large landowners and locals in that valley, and they fiercely protect their privacy. They have some wild trout and also stock the river for their own fishing. It's the land of the Percy Chubb's of the world, walking the river with a fistfull of Paynes and Leonards with matching Hardy reels in pursuit of a trout.

 

[lightenup]

As you know, every one of those properties is farmland assessed in that valley. You are right about taxes and blue bloods. But Raritan Associates is a loose club of large landowners and locals in that valley, and they fiercely protect their privacy. They have some wild trout and also stock the river for their own fishing. It's the land of the Percy Chubb's of the world, walking the river with a fistfull of Paynes and Leonards with matching Hardy reels in pursuit of a trout.

They are a blast to fish with, and know all the good spots!!!!

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Just a quick update. The offender in the post was forced to sell and move back to the city. In the end, he was fined for multiple violations for work done without permits by both the town and NJ DEP. I realize this post is several years old now, but I only recently learned his fate.

 

[dcabarle]

Just a quick update. The offender in the post was forced to sell and move back to the city. In the end, he was fined for multiple violations for work done without permits by both the town and NJ DEP. I realize this post is several years old now, but I only recently learned his fate.

So was it more than 1.5m?

 

[Rusty Spinner]

So was it more than 1.5m?

I have no idea what fines he paid, but I would think far closer to $100K, if that. He had township fines for work being done to the property without permits (electrical and the like along with demo) plus NJDEP fines and restoration required. And he would have had to hire an engineer to handle the restoration part on top of the fines, so it likely stung the wallet a bit.

 

[MACFLY]

Permits? Permits? We dont need no stinking permits.

This s the type of lawless behavior I expect from beetle not you. Get it together you boob

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Just a quick follow up to this old issue. The offender was forced to do the remediation and although I have not personally seen it, I have been told the job was done correctly. The landowner sold and is no longer screwing up that property.....