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WalMart Toms River-Manchester Site

NJ DEP issued a permit for the twice denied application to build a WalMart Supercenter in Toms River - Manchester Township's, Ocean County.

Jaylin Holdings submitted a second application to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to build a Walmart Supercenter on 21-acres, located along Route 37 West in Toms River and Manchester Township’s in Ocean County.

On March 16, 2010 the NJ DEP issued a denial of this second application. The applicant filed an appeal and after many months of settlement talks the NJ DEP issued a permit on April 18, 2012. (click here)

[+ ZOOM] Aerial photo of the location of the new WalMart. © PPA

This permit was issued despite two previous rejections because the proposed site was determined to be habitat for the state threatened northern pine snake. The proposed permit will allow the construction of the store in exchange for 212 acres of enhanced Northern Pine Snake habitat in another portion of Manchester Township.

PPA and other environmental groups don’t feel the permit conditions are favorable for the Northern Pine Snake because 6 separate tracks of land are being proposed. The tracts of land are fragmented and would have to be enhanced to make them attractive to the snakes. This would involve activities like constructing wintering den areas, removing underbrush, thinning trees and blocking off-road vehicle traffic.

The following were submitted to the NJ DEP during the settlement process:

WalMart - Comments by Pinelands Preservation Alliance - 716.9KB submitted on January 19, 2012. Comments contain a review by Dr. Joanna Burger, Professor of Biology Rutgers University.

Wal-Mart - Settlement Comments - American Littoral Society - 49.1KB submitted on January 20, 2012

WalMart - Comments by Environmental Groups - 265.8KB submitted by New Jersey Conservation Foundation, New Jersey Audubon Society, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, NY/NJ Baykeeper, New Jersey Environmental Federation, Environment New Jersey, Sierra Club (New Jersey Chapter) on January 20, 2012.

The following items are are part of the DEP file:

WalMart - DEP Stipulation of Settlement - 858.5KB December 21, 2011

WalMart - Vernal Habitat Mitigation Proposal - 1.9MB by EcolSciences, Inc. dated November 2, 2011

WalMart - DEP Letter to Applicant - 113.5KB dated November 10, 2011

WalMart - Heritage Minerals Letter to NJDEP - 185.4KB dated February 16, 2011

WalMart - Toms River-Manchester - Response Letter - 3.0MB submitted by our attorney Ron Gasiorowski

WalMart - Toms River-Manchester - Exhibit A - 2.0MB Northern Pine Snake and the Wal-Mart Superstore proposed Development, Report of Dr. Joanna Burger

WalMart - Toms River-Manchester - Exhibit B - 110.1KB Resolution of the Toms River Township Planning Board, dated December 2, 2009

WalMart - Toms River-Manchester - Exhibit C - 80.7KB Resolution of th Manchester Township Planning board, dated December 7, 2009

WalMart - Toms River-Manchester - Exhibit D - 336.3KB Review of Stormwater Management plan submitted by applicant, done by Princeton Hydro March 4, 2011.

The following documents pertain to the application and settlement:

Walmart CAFRA - Denial Permit of second application - 831.6KB New Jersey DEP letter of March 16, 2010

WalMart - Analysis of Conceptual Habitat Evaluation for WalMart - Nov 29, 2010 - 846.0KB For Northern Pine Snakes, for WalMart site and Associated proposed mitigation parcels, prepared by EcolScences, Inc.

WalMart - Endangered and Threatened Habitat Impact Assessment Report - Nov 29, 2010 - 3.1MB For Block 505, Lots 14,15, Block 44, Lots 2, 3, 4 & 5, prepared by EcolSciences, Inc. (revised from the September 23, 2009 report below)

WalMart - CAFRA Statement of Compliance Report Addendum - Nov 29, 2010 - 981.2KB for Proposed WalMart Super Center, (also see original submission below)

Comments and/or recommendations by NJDEP Endangered and Nongame Species Program:

WalMart - NJDEP ENSP comments and recommendations - Jan 11, 2011 - 30.7KB review of Jaylins Holdings/WalMart analysis report.

WalMart - NJDEP ENSP comments or recommendations - March 10, 2010 - 338.0KB Habitat evaluation review of Jaylins Holdings documents.

WalMart - NJDEP ENSP comments or recommendations - Mar 30 2005 - 124.0KB Review 1st application documents submitted by EcolSciences, which were dated May 2, 2006.

WalMart - NJDEP ENSP comments and recommendations - May 12, 2006 - 98.9KB Walmart analysis Jaylins Holdings reports and submissions.

PPA's reactions to the settlement permit and mitigation plan:

1. Barnegat Bay loses again. All this new impervious surface will negate some part of the Governor Christie’s plan for the Barnegat Bay. If NJDEP administration keeps approving developments like this in the watershed, where it has regulatory leverage, then it will ultimately defeat all efforts and public expenditures. How much public money has to be spent fixing stormwater basins just to make up for the new nutrient loads coming off this development?

2. PPA doesn’t think the CAFRA rules let DEP do this kind of mitigation for a development that admittedly violates the habitat protection standard for on-site development impacts.

3. The mitigation plan is speculative and temporary. The habitat improvement measures are unproven, and the challenge is at least significant given how bad the mitigation parcels look for this purpose.

4. The offsetting or mitigation land that has been proposed, is not appropriate northern pine snake habitat. The parcels are disconnected from the known habitat (with one exception adjoining the Walmart parcel); the parcels are even disconnected from one another; so they do not form a coherent, contiguous area sufficient to support a northern pine snake population. The parcels adjoin private, developable lands, including the Pinelands Village of Beckerville, so we can expect the fragmentation to get worse over time. Some parcels are mostly, some almost entirely, wetlands, which is not good northern pine snake habitat. One parcel is a former illegal sludge application site (the so-called Lewis site). It’s really pretty shocking that DEP didn’t even make the developer come up with contiguous parcels!

5. There doesn’t seem to be a credible mechanism to protect these disconnected parcels permanently. After the Stafford Business Park diversion (with no compensating land protection), state government has about zero credibility using conservation deed restrictions.

Memorandums by John Heilferty, Division of Land Use Regulation (from DEP file).

WalMart - Memo CAFRA Compliance Review - March 10 2010 - 141.8KB prepared by J. Heilfery, Division of Land Use Regulation

WalMart - Memo CAFRA Compliance Review - March 11 2010 - 74.3KB prepared by J Heilfery, Division of Land Use Regulation

Comments submitted by other environmental groups on the second application:

WalMart - Toms River-Manchester - New Jersey Conservation Foundation - 27.7KB letter March 10 2011

WalMart - Toms River-Manchester - American Littoral Society - 40.9KB letter dated March 10, 2011

WalMart - Toms River-Manchester - Sierra Club - 69.9KB Letter written March 3, 2011

Older documents related to the project:

On March 10, 2010 the Endangered and Nongame Species Program issued an environmental review indicating a loss of northern pine snake habitat would occur if the site was developed. Read the report below:

WalMart - Endangered and Nongame Species Environmental Review - 338.0KB NJ DEP Endangered and Nongame Species Environmental Review of Jaylin Holdings application for a WalMart in Toms River Township, March 10, 2010

WalMart - Toms River-Manchester - CAFRA Land Use Regulation Memo - 338.0KB New Jersey Division of Land Use Regulation Memo on the application, March 10 2010

Earlier documents that have been submitted to NJ DEP:

WalMart - CAFRA and Freshwater Wetlands General permit Statement of Compliance Report - 3.3MB Proposed WalMart Super Center site, prepared by EcolSciences, Inc - September 23, 2009

WalMart - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife Habitate Impact Assessment - Sep 23, 2009 - 2.2MB for Block 505 Lots 14 & 15, Block 44, Lots 2, 3, 4, & 5, prepared by EcolSciences, Inc,

The Pinelands Preservation Alliance jointly with the American Littoral Society submitted comments to the New Jersey DEP requesting that they deny the first application submitted by Jaylin Holdings due to the fact it did not meet all applicable CAFRA rules. Read our comments.

Additional documents:

WalMart 2009 additional Traffic Counts - 129.0KB Additional traffic counts on the Northampton intersection.

WalMart offsite preservation sites - 385.6KB Blocks and lots in Manchester Township that will be used for offsite preservation.

News coverage:

NEWS - WalMart - Township Counsel Expects Walmart Litigation Headed to Appellate Division MP 22 Aug  - 49.9KB Manchester Patch, August 22, 2012

NEWS - Toms River Manchester Walmart April 21 2012 - B New York Times, Walmart Hushed up a vast Mexican Bribery Case

News - Toms River-Manchester WalMart - Mar 25 2010 - 41.7KB Asbury Park Press, Pine Snake again stymied Walmarts pan for Route 37 store in Toms River, by Kirk Moore.

News - Toms River-Manchester WalMart 10 Mar 2010 - 71.8KB Manchester Times, Clarifying The Record On Wal-Mart Proposal by Theresa Lettman

News - Toms River-Manchester WalMart - Mar 23 2010 - 157.6KB Asbury Park Press, DEP again nixes Walmart plan but Christie wants it approved, by Kirk Moore.

News - Toms River-Manchester WalMart 02 Feb 2010 - 29.9KB Asbury Park Press - Manchester Planning Board hears WalMart application, by Kirk Moore

News - Toms River-Manchester Walmart 17 Feb 2010 - 43.1KB Asbury Park Press, WalMart justifies need for variances in plan for Toms River Manchester Store, by Kirk Moore

News - Toms River-Manchester WalMart 25 Jan 2010 - 32.5KB Asbury Park Press, Round 2 of proposed Manchester Walmrt vs pine snakes, by Kirk Moore

News - Toms River-Manchester WalMart 26 Jan 2010 - 30.1KB Asbury Park Press, Local Supermarket owner allowed involvement in Walmart dispute, by Kirk Moore