Holmdel Planning Board and TC Actions Raise Questions
- Kin Gee
- Dec 19, 2025
- 3 min read
At the December 16th meeting, it was clear that the Holmdel Planning Board wanted to conclude and vote on the Vonage redevelopment application by the end of the meeting. However, due to continued public questions on the wastewater management system from a packed audience and the appearance of an attorney representing an “objector”, the planned vote was derailed when the Board could not open for public comments by 10 PM and was forced to carry the hearing to January 13, 2026, after new Planning Board members are sworn in and the organization that is required to take place.
Throughout the Vonage hearing thus far, the Planning Board has consistently stated that wastewater management is not within its jurisdiction and falls under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”).
While it is true that the DEP has jurisdiction over permits for discharges to groundwater and surface water, Holmdel’s Wastewater Management Plan (“WMP”) specifically states that the “Township Committee retains the wastewater planning authority for the DGW [discharge to groundwater] areas and other non-sewered areas of the Township.”
The Vonage redevelopment is located in the “Southern Slope” of Holmdel. The WMP also specifically stated that: “Wastewater discharge in this area is limited to subsurface disposal systems as defined and outlined in ”Chapter 199” (N.J.A.C. 7:14A-1.1 et. seq.) and the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Regulations (N.J.A.C. 7:14A-1.1 et. seq.).”
The current Vonage wastewater management system is not a subsurface disposal system. Wastewater is discharged into a stream that feeds into the Swimming River Reservoir, the source for our potable water, for six months of the year. For the other six months, the wastewater is discharged into a lagoon that sits 100 feet away from that stream, when current environmental standards call for 300 feet. The current wastewater management system, even when refurbished as proposed, does not effectively remove dissolved chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and prescription drugs from wastewater.
The Holmdel Wastewater Management Plan was endorsed and approved by the Township Committee on October 1, 2002 and was authorized to be submitted to Monmouth County and the DEP for incorporation into the Monmouth County Water Quality Management Plan.
Therefore, it appears that by extension, the Holmdel Planning Board, while respecting DEP’s jurisdiction for water permits, may have jurisdiction to require the Vonage redevelopment to conform with our WMP.
In the Utility Service Plan Element section, the Holmdel Master Plan stated that two of the goals are to :
“Goal 9.C Ensure that all Holmdel residents and businesses have a reliable source of clean, safe drinking water.
Goal 9.E Protect groundwater and surface water resources from potential contamination … as a result of wastewater disposal systems.”
While the Vonage redevelopment application may be conforming to the redevelopment plan, this is essentially a new project/ use and the existing dated wastewater management system does not conform to Holmdel’s WMP and Master Plan.
Surprisingly, the question of whether Holmdel has to approve the existing 1977 wastewater management plant or, pursuant to our WMP, require a more protective system to protect our drinking water was never publicly discussed nor legally researched. Is this a dereliction of duty?
Five hours before Tuesday’s Planning Board meeting, the Township used its resources, which included a Holmdel News Alert email blast, posting on the Township’s website and Facebook page, to promote a flyer from the Vonage redeveloper regarding its wastewater treatment facility.
The use of Township resources to boost a developer’s flyer, hours before a critical Planning Board meeting, is highly irregular and unprecedented. Comments by residents on the Township Facebook post were subsequently hidden or deleted.
At a special Township Committee meeting on Monday, December 22, 7:30 PM, the Township Committee will hold a public hearing for a tax break (“PILOT”) to the Vonage redeveloper.
Grassroots groups are urging residents to attend and ask the Township Committee not to approve any PILOT program to the Vonage redeveloper unless they modernize the wastewater management system to meet current standards and protect the drinking water for Holmdel and over 300,000 residents in Monmouth County.
Stay Tuned. Will the Township Committee listen to its residents and stop the contamination of our drinking water when it has the opportunity? Could the actions of the Planning Board and Township Committee expose Holmdel Township to, possibly, a class action lawsuit from the contamination of our drinking water?
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