Residents sue over water drainage issue at Stavola

Residents sue over water
drainage issue at Stavola
By sandi carpello
Staff Writer

MONROE — A group of Possum Hollow Road residents has filed a lawsuit against both a local sand mining company and the township’s Planning Board, claiming they are responsible for causing extensive damage to their properties.

The plaintiffs, township residents Frederick and Carol Holsten, Joann Eso, and Charles and Rose McGill, contend that Stavola Contracting Co. made changes to a storm water treatment discharge system on its property last May, causing water to flow directly into the homeowners’ yards during normal rainfalls. The 100-acre mining facility is also located on Cranbury–South River Road.

The lawsuit states that a recent expansion of the Stavola operation included a diversion of a storm water drainage system, resulting in the flooding.

"Our lawsuit alleges that Stavola is intentionally directing rainwater off its property onto my clients’ properties," said the plaintiffs’ counsel, Stuart Lieberman, of Lieberman and Blecher, a Princeton-based law firm, which specializes in environmental law. "This is a violation of environmental laws, the laws of trespass, and a nuisance because Stavola’s actions affect the use and enjoyment of the properties."

Residents have said that the water reaches mid-calf level and has caused encumbrances, including an influx of mosquitoes during the summer months as well as an abundance of mud.

"The flooding is really bad. You could put a rowboat in their back yards," Lieberman said.

According to the homeowners, township officials examined their properties last March to find that a stream that was intended to serve as a type of water catch basin for the mining facility was filled with either rocks or dirt. With an inoperable stream, the water has nowhere to go but into the residents’ back yards.

Lieberman has sent three letters to Stavola since June in an effort to inform them of the residents’ plight. However, he said nothing has been done to rectify the situation.

"We have gotten no response for the past seven months," Lieberman said.

The lawsuit has also named the township’s Planning Board as a defendant for approving Stavola’s storm management plan, which they said relies on the plaintiffs’ back yards for the containment of rainwater from the quarry.

Lieberman said the plaintiffs are seeking a resolution to the drainage issue, as well as financial compensation.

"We are going to have to get some money," he said, noting that an earlier remediation of the situation would have saved the defendants money.

Stavola’s counsel, Bowe and Fernicola, of Red Bank, did not return a phone call seeking comment for this story.

Planning Board Attorney Jerome Convery also did not return phone calls from the Sentinel.