Hillsdale Can't Stop United Water Dam Project, Judge Rules

A superior court judge decided Thursday that Hillsdale's ordinances could not stop United Water from proceeding with their dam improvement project at the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir.

The Department of Environmental Protection has exclusive authority over dams in New Jersey via the Safe Dams Act and the Water Supply Management Act, Judge Alexander Carver ruled in his 11-page decision.

"Hillsdale's ordinances are preempted by these statutes and Hillsdale has no jurisdiction over the Project," Carver wrote in his opinion.

United Water filed a lawsuit against Hillsdale last year seeking to have two ordinances — creating additional borough oversight for tree removal and utility projects — declared "invalid and unenforcable." Borough officials had wanted the utility to bring their plan before the borough planning board.

"We are pleased with the decision of the court to uphold the longstanding position that local ordinances do not apply to issues involving dams and that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has jurisdiction over these matters," United Water spokesman Steven Goudsmith told Patch.

Donald MacLachlan, the attorney representing the Hillsdale & Westwood Flood Solution Group, said he was disappointed with the decision and believed Carver missed that the state laws do not address the unusual local flooding problem along the Pascack Brook.

"This decision primarily focuses on whether Hillsdale may control the construction of the dam itself," MacLachlan said. "The decision does not state that Hillsdale's conditional use ordinance is entirely void with regard to downstream flooding concerns... Neither statute addresses the downstream flooding impact."

Hillsdale Mayor Max Arnowitz said the borough would likely not appeal the decision and that he felt more comfortable with the project because of the results of the recently-completed dam report and the attitude of emergency services that Church Road closing would not prevent them from getting to the far side of town.

"My opinion is, let's move forward because I don't want to stop something that is supposedly good for Hillsdale," Arnowitz said.

MacLachlan reiterated the opinion of the engineers who made the dam report for Hillsdale that the flooding model used by United Water's engineers likely was not detailed enough to make accurate predictions and called on borough officials to do "everything within their power to obtain answers to the questions regarding downstream flooding impact."

"The Hillsdale & Westwood Flood Solution Group is closely examining the opinion and will be carefully considering the filing of an appeal of the decision," MacLachlan said.

The Department of Environmental Protection is requiring United Water to approximately double the rate at which water can flow out of the reservoir so that the dam doesn't break in a 1,000-year storm. The DEP approved a plan submitted by United Water in 2011.

Goudsmith said the utility is currently assessing the timeframe for the project. The DEP has told United Water to start the project "as soon as possible."