The Township Committee of the Township of Chesterfield hereby grants
unto Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. the municipal consent required under
the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:13-11 et seq., as amended, and as the same may
be required in order to permit said company to construct, add to, extend and
maintain a sewage collection system and sewage treatment facilities located
within the Township of Chesterfield. The specific service area is more particularly
described on Schedule A which is attached hereto and made a part hereof.
The consent granted by the municipality is nonexclusive and is subject
to the following conditions which, should they not be fulfilled, the consent
shall be invalid and of no force and effect:
A. This ordinance shall be valid for a period not to exceed
five years from the effective date hereof, upon the conclusion of which period,
in the event that all conditions of this ordinance are not fulfilled and/or
the time frame is not otherwise extended by the governing body, the ordinance
shall be deemed to be invalid and of no force and effect and shall be repealed
by the governing body.
B. Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. agrees not to submit
this ordinance to the State of New Jersey, Board of Public Utilities (BPU),
for any approval unless and until all conditions contained herein are met,
which accomplishment shall be signified by correspondence from the governing
body to Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. that it may submit the ordinance
to BPU for approval.
C. Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. shall have the right
to utilize this ordinance as evidence to prospective customers located within
the sewage service area that it has the township's consent, subject to
said conditions, to undertake the expansion, construction, extension and maintenance
of a sewage collection system and sewage treatment facilities for customers
located within the sewage service area.
D. Prior to this ordinance becoming effective and as a condition
to its validity, Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. shall submit to the Township
Committee its estimate for the overall costs to develop a sewage collection
system and sewage treatment facilities to encompass the sewerage service area
of the municipality. Said submission shall also include the estimated number
of users for the system, the estimated system development fee to be assessed
to each user and the estimated monthly charge to be charged to each user.
In the event that the township feels that said estimates are excessive and/or
unacceptable for the residents of the sewerage service area of the municipality,
it shall so advise Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. who shall have the
right to then submit revised figures. In addition, Applied Watershed Management
L.L.C. will include in said submission a proposal regarding the payment of
a system development fee by users, particularly its willingness and ability
to offer interest free loans to those users as well as grace periods allowing
additional time to make connection to certain users, such as those who have
recently installed private septic systems. In the event that the township
does not accept or approve the estimates submitted by Applied Watershed Management
L.L.C., for whatever reason, Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. shall not
have any right to rely upon this ordinance or the consent granted herein and
shall have no recourse against the township for repealing said ordinance.
Conversely, should the parties reach agreement regarding the costs described
above and should all conditions of this ordinance be met, then this ordinance
shall remain in full force and effect, and the Township Committee shall forward
the correspondence to Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. which will allow
it to submit this ordinance to the BPU for approval.
E. It is expressly understood and agreed between the township
and the prospective franchisee that the area shown on Schedule A as to the prospective sewer service area is coterminous and geographically
identical to the area proposed to serve as the receiving zone under the township's
anticipated Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Ordinance. The purpose behind
the grant of this conditional consent is intricately and integrally related
to the future enactment of a TDR Ordinance or its like. Therefore, in the
event that an ordinance adopted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-113 et seq., or
some similar enabling legislation, is not enacted by the Township Committee,
then and in that event, this ordinance shall have no force and effect. Notwithstanding
the same, the prospective franchisee shall be free to submit a revised proposal
to provide sewage service facilities in Chesterfield Township. It is expressly
recognized that in the event that a TDR Ordinance is not enacted, then the
area contemplated to be serviced by a sewer franchise would likely be reduced.
F. Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. agrees that it shall
not enter into any contract with the State of New Jersey, Department of Corrections,
regarding the operation and/or purchase of the existing wastewater facilities
at the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility which would create reliance
upon the consent granted herein without first complying with all other provisions
of this ordinance obtaining the written consent of the Township Committee.
G. As a condition to this ordinance and the conditional
consent granted herein, the applicant shall report quarterly to the Township
Committee regarding its progress in bringing this franchise to fruition, including
but not limited to reports regarding negotiations with the State of New Jersey,
Department of Corrections, relating to the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional
Facility Sewerage Treatment Plan; its efforts to secure approvals from the
State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection; its efforts to
seek approval from the State of New Jersey, Board of Public Utilities; and
any and all other efforts undertaken by the prospective franchisee to develop
the sanitary sewerage system contemplated herein. Except as otherwise limited
by attorney/client privileges, the prospective franchisee shall forward copies
of all correspondence between it and appropriate state agencies relating to
its efforts to develop a sanitary sewer system within Chesterfield Township.
H. Incorporation of prospective franchisee's representations.
Except as modified by this ordinance, all the statements, commitments and
representations made by Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. and its officers
and representatives during the course of their discussions, on the record
with the Township Committee of the Township of Chesterfield, seeking the grant
of this municipal consent or in correspondence or any other documents forwarded
to the Township of Chesterfield by the applicant or anyone acting on its behalf
are hereby incorporated by reference in this ordinance and shall be binding
upon the company as terms and conditions of this consent, whether annexed
hereto or not. By way of example and not by way of limitation, the prospective
franchisee's understanding that there are no guaranties accompanying
the enactment of this ordinance regarding its future success in receiving
the final consent of the Township Committee and the franchisee's characterization
of this ordinance as, effectively, an option to pursue municipal consent are
incorporated herein and made part of this ordinance.
I. Nothing in this ordinance shall be deemed to compel Applied
Watershed Management L.L.C. to design, seek approvals for, build and/or operate
a wastewater collection and treatment system unless contractual arrangements
with customers satisfactory to it and the township have been made.
The consents and conditions thereon granted by this ordinance to Applied
Watershed Management L.L.C. may also be assigned to another entity, provided
that such assignment is first approved by the Township Committee of Chesterfield
Township. Should Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. desire to make such an
assignment, it shall submit a written request for the same to the Township
Committee specifying the name of the proposed assignee, the purpose of the
proposed assignment, the names and qualifications of the principal officers
and/or agents of the assignee and pertinent financial information. The Township
Committee will not unreasonably withhold its consent to such an assignment,
provided that it is satisfied that the proposed assignee involves substantially
the same principal officers and/or agents as Applied Watershed Management
L.L.C. and will be financially viable.
This ordinance, upon final passage and the consent contained herein,
shall be subject not only to the conditions of the same, but also shall be
subject to the Applied Watershed Management L.L.C. otherwise complying with
all other applicable township ordinances, State of New Jersey statutes and
any New Jersey administrative agency rules or regulations which may apply.
Any and all ordinances inconsistent with part of this ordinance are,
to the extent of any such inconsistencies, hereby repealed.
In the event that any portion, clause or paragraph of this ordinance
is deemed to be invalid or unenforceable, it is hereby declared to be the
intention of the Township Committee that the balance of the ordinance shall
also be invalid and unenforceable, and thus the provisions hereof shall not
be severable one from the other.
This ordinance shall take effect upon proper passage in accordance with
the law, except as otherwise provided herein.