[Ord. No. 981 § 1]
The purpose of requiring an Environmental Impact Statement is to permit the Fairfield Township Planning Board, Board of Adjustment and Environmental Commission to assess the impact of a proposed project upon the environment, particularly with respect to land, water, air, solid wastes, aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, social and economic life and aesthetics.
[Ord. No. 981 § 2]
a. 
An Environmental Impact Statement shall be required for any preliminary plat, preliminary site plan, soil removal and tree harvesting operation.
b. 
An Environmental Impact Statement as required herein shall also be submitted covering all public or quasi-public projects unless they are exempt from the requirements of local law by supervening County, State or Federal law.
[Ord. No. 981 § 3; Ord. No. 2011-04]
a. 
Twenty-one copies of the Environmental Impact Statement shall be submitted to the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment together with a filing fee to cover the cost of reviewing and processing the same. The fee will be based upon the following formula:
1. 
Residential Development: Number of units multiplied by $5, with a minimum fee of $150.
2. 
Nonresidential: $50 per acre or part thereof, plus $0.02 per square foot of gross floor area of all proposed buildings.
3. 
Tree-Harvesting: Number of acres multiplied by $10 with a minimum of $150.
b. 
The Township Engineer may submit the Environmental Impact Statement to such consultants as he may deem appropriate. If the filing fee is not sufficient to cover the costs of such consultants, the applicant must advance the additional expense to the Township before there is any continuance with his application.
However, the Township Engineer shall, prior to incurring additional costs, inform the applicant of the additional amount to be spend so as to permit the applicant the operation of proceeding with the application or withdrawing the application. If the applicant wishes to withdraw the application, he must do so within 15 days of being notified of the additional amount to be spent by the Township.
[Ord. No. 981 § 4]
The Environmental Impact Statement shall include the following:
a. 
Plan and Description of Proposed Project. A project description, complete with site plans, which shall specify the purpose of the proposed project, including products and services, if any, being provided, and the regional municipal and neighborhood setting, including buildings, roads, grading and regrading, adjacent natural streams and utility lines.
b. 
Inventory of Existing Environmental Conditions. An inventory of existing environmental conditions at the project site and in the affected region, which shall describe air quality, water quality, terrestrial wildlife geological character, soils and properties thereof, including capabilities and limitations, wetlands, drainage and runoff characteristics, sewerage systems, topography, hydrological features, wildlife, aquatic organisms, noise characteristics and levels, floodplains, vehicular traffic, demography, land use, aesthetics, history and archaeology. Air and water quality shall be described with reference to standards promulgated by the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection and soil shall be described with reference to criteria in the standards and specifications of the Soil Conservation District. Applicant shall obtain and submit with the Environmental Impact Report herein required, one copy each of the soil map and soil interpretation sheet utilized by the Soil Conservation District with regard to the property under construction. If applicable, the applicant shall also submit one copy each of the State of New Jersey Flood Hazard Area Map and wetlands delineation map for the property under consideration.
c. 
Assessment of Environmental Impact of Project. An assessment supported by environmental data of the environmental impact of the project upon the factors described in paragraph b above. It shall also include an evaluation of water use and depletion; liquid and solid wastes on quality and quantity of surface and ground waters; air quality; traffic; and the aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. The assessment shall also include an evaluation of the loss of open space and the social and economic effects on the community, including schools, parks, roads, police, fire, etc.
d. 
Listing and Evaluation. A listing and evaluation or adverse environmental impacts which cannot be avoided, with particular emphasis upon air or water pollution, increase in noise, damage to plant, tree and wildlife systems, damage to natural resources, displacement of people and businesses, displacement of existing parks, public open spaces, and farmland, destruction of wetlands, increase in stormwater run-off, increase in municipal services and consequences to municipal tax structure. Offsite impacts shall also be set forth and evaluated.
e. 
Steps to Minimize Environmental Damage. A description of steps to be taken to minimize adverse environmental impacts during construction and operation, both at the project site and in the affected region. Such description is to be accompanied by necessary maps, schedules and other explanatory data as may be needed to clarify and explain the actions to be taken.
f. 
Alternatives. A discussion of alternatives to the proposed project which might avoid some or all of the adverse environmental effects of the proposed project. The discussion should include the reasons for the acceptability or nonacceptability of each alternative.
[Ord. No. 981 § 5]
The Environmental Impact Statement shall address each of the items outlined below to the degree and extent that it is pertinent to the project. If the term is not pertinent to the project, the fact shall be so indicated and justification for its waiver included. The Environmental Impact Statement shall be based on the most recent data and information available, and the source and date of all data and information shall be stated. Each section or element of the Environmental Impact Statement shall be prepared by a professional person, qualified in that particular field or area. The Environmental Impact Statement shall include or shall be accompanied by a statement of the background and qualifications of each professional person responsible for any section or element. The Planning Board or Board of Adjustment shall have the right to require additional information as well as further professional input if it finds that there is insufficient information on which to base an informed decision or if any information submitted is technically unsupported.
a. 
Sewerage Facilities.
1. 
A description of the sewerage facilities that will be utilized, including the following:
(a) 
If disposal is onsite; data on underlying geology; water table; depth of rock; soils analysis; soil stratigraphy; percolation tests for every sewage disposal site; topography; location and depth of aquifers; depth, capacity and type of construction and location of all wells which have been recorded or can be obtained from interviews with adjacent property owners within 500 feet of the site; soil logs and percolations tests for each disposal site as witnessed by the Board of Health; and any other pertinent data.
(b) 
If disposal is offsite; projected sewer discharges stated in average daily flows (gallons per day) for initial phase and five year and ten-year projections for both residential discharges and industrial/ commercial discharges, described as follows: type of process; projected daily flows; physical characteristics, including temperature; biological characteristics; and chemical characteristics, including description of toxic components.
2. 
Treatment Facilities.
(a) 
If treatment is by public facilities; name of public facility and point of connection and description of interconnecting facilities.
(b) 
If project is to include treatment facilities discharging into a stream or watercourse: location of treatment facilities; receiving stream and data on stream classification, water quality, seven day flow at ten-year frequency; description of treatment facilities and proposed effluent quality; and evaluation of initial and future deleterious effects on such stream for water supply, recreation and aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. Evaluation shall include the effect of nutrients on downstream ponds and lakes.
3. 
Proof of compliance with all State, County and Board of Health regulations of the Township.
b. 
Water Supply. A description of water supply that will be utilized, including the following:
1. 
If supply is from on site source: location of water source(s); description of water supply facilities, including type, depth and pumping rates; location and depth of all private and public water supplies and septic systems within 500 feet of subsurface conditions, including statements on the following:
(a) 
Long-term evaluation of adequacy of the supply to serve the project (in terms of both quantity and quality).
(b) 
Evaluation of possible interference with existing private and public water supplies up to a five mile radius.
(c) 
Evaluation of water table conditions and aquifer recharge capability.
2. 
If supply is from public facilities offsite: name of public facility; point(s) of interconnection and description of interconnecting facilities; pressure requirements; and projected water usage stated in average daily usage (gallons per day) And peak hourly usage (gallons per hour). Water usage shall also state initial phase and five and ten-year projections for each of the following categories:
(a) 
Residential usage (excluding lawn sprinkling).
(b) 
Lawn sprinkling and irrigation.
(c) 
Industrial/commercial usage, to include discharge to treatment facilities, discharge to streams without treatment and other uses.
(d) 
Fire protection requirements.
3. 
Proof of compliance with all State (including Division of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Control) requirements and County and Fairfield Board of Health regulations.
c. 
Stormwater. The following data and documentation shall be submitted:
1. 
Peak rates and volume of stormwater runoff expected from undeveloped site and to be generated by proposed project, including rates for ten, fifteen, twenty-five, fifty and 100-year storm frequencies having duration equal to the time of concentration.
2. 
Data on landscaping, vegetation map and tree and ground cover existing on the site compared with that proposed.
3. 
A discussion of changes in peak rates and volume of stormwater runoff and runoff coefficients caused by changes in land use and whether or not there will be any increased incidents of flooding caused by increased stormwater runoff due to the proposed project.
4. 
Plans for disposition of stormwater and attempt to delay the time of concentration by the use of detention basins or other acceptable methods.
5. 
A description of potential flood damages, including a summary of flood stages from State and Federal sources, shall be included.
d. 
Solid Waste Disposal. A plan for disposal by means of a facility operating in compliance with Federal, State, regional, county and local regulations.
e. 
Air Pollution. A description of any change in air quality to be produced by the proposed development, including the amounts or degree of smoke, heat or proposed development, including the amounts or degree of smoke, heat or other air pollutant to be added to the atmosphere or created by hearing, incineration and processing operations.
f. 
Traffic. A determination of the present volume and capacity of the road(s) serving the project and the nearest major intersection and a statement as to the projected volumes for the same upon completion of the project; also, a determination concerning additional air pollution and noises to be caused thereby.
g. 
Social/Economic. An analysis of the factors affecting the finances of the Township, which shall include the estimated changes in tax receipts and fiscal outlay for municipal services; estimated number and types of jobs to be provided; calculation of the number of school-age. children to be produced; and any addition to existing municipal services required by the project.
h. 
Aesthetics. A discussion of how the natural or present character of the area will be changed as a result of the proposed action.
i. 
Licenses and Permits, etc. A list of all licenses, permits and other approvals required by municipal, County or State law and the status of each. In the case of a site plan, a copy of the site plan application shall be included.
j. 
Other Matters. The applicant shall address any additional matters of environmental impact not listed above, but which are unique to the property or which may be revealed during the conduct of the Impact Statement. In addition, the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment may require that other matters it deems applicable to the project be addressed.
[Ord. No. 981 § 6]
a. 
Review Considerations. In reviewing an Environmental Impact Statement, the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment and Environmental Commission shall take into consideration the effect of the proposed project upon all aspects of the environment, including but not limited to sewage disposal, water quality, water supply, preservation of trees and vegetation, protection of watercourses, protection of air resources, protection of aquifers, protection of public lands and their uses and ecosystems and the creation of any nuisance factors. The Planning Board or Board of Adjustment will submit the Environmental Impact Statement for review to the Township Environmental Commission and may submit such statement to such other governmental bodies and to such consultants as it may deem appropriate. The Planning Board or Board of Adjustment shall request that an advisory report shall be made to it by the governmental body or consultant within 45 days of the submission of the Environmental Impact Statement to such governmental body or consultant. The Planning Board or Board of Adjustment shall reject the proposed project on any environmental basis only, if it determines that the proposed project:
1. 
Will result in appreciable harm to the natural environment.
2. 
Has not been designed with a view toward the protection of natural resources.
3. 
Will place an excess demand upon the total resources available for such project and for any future projects.
b. 
Conditions. The steps to be taken to minimize the adverse environmental impacts during construction and operation under subsection 44-3.1e and the alternatives under subsection 44-3.1f shall constitute conditions of the approval of the Environmental Impact Statement, together with such other conditions as the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment may impose. No Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued until compliance shall have been met with such conditions.
[Ord. No. 981 § 7]
The Planning Board or Board of Adjustment, after requesting and receiving a resolution from the Environmental Commission recommending the same, may waive the requirement for an Environmental Impact Statement, in whole or in part, upon receipt of written request, if sufficient evidence is submitted to support a conclusion that the proposed project will have a negligible environmental impact or that a complete Environmental Impact Statement need not be prepared in order to evaluate adequately the environmental impact of a project.
[Ord. No. 981 § 9]
The Township Engineer is hereby designated as the officer whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions of this chapter. He shall, from time to time, upon his own initiative and whenever directed by the Governing Body and/or Planning Board or Board of Adjustment, inspect the premises for which an Environmental Impact Statement has been approved to ensure compliance with the terms of the approval and of this chapter. He shall immediately report all violations and take such action as may be deemed necessary in the circumstances.
[Ord. No. 981 § 8; New]
Any person convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall, for each offense, be liable to the penalty stated in Chapter 1, Section 1-5. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.