/(TOWNSHIP Of tdAtiwAt43 ATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY ADDENDUM 1993 ---- -- _- - ------- -_ -- - ----_2 ----.--_- -_ ------- --___- -----zc t __ - - ~ --------_--- -__---___ - - - -= .--- ---I--- - =- - 1- TOWNSHIP OF MAHWAH NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY ADDENDUM 1993 Prepared for Township of Mahwah Environmental Commission bY i&ser Sosinski & Associates, P.A. 79 Freneau Avenue Matawan, New Jersey December 1993 TOwnsHIP OF ilfAHWim ENWRONMENT2U COMMISSION Peter Cooper, Chairperson John B&he&m, Vice-Chairperson Kelly Birdeye Herbert Nymurk Carol Phiefer Liza Schuart ML4HWAH TOWNSHIP COVNCZL David J. huork, Mayor H. Lisa DiGiulio, President Lucy Be&am, Viie-Presidimt Neil Grossman Stephen Jackson &hard M&e1 Merrie Ed Omseberg Ma Wojciechowsk-a Doris E. Perez, Township Clerk William J. Saunder TownshipAdmin&rator TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................... ..l 1.1 Purpose ...................................... ..l 2.0 GEOLOGY .......................................... ...3 3.0 SOILS ............................................ ...6 3.1 Description of Soil Types In Mahwah Township . ..7 - 4.0 RARE AND ENDANGERED SPE.'CIES........................17 5.0 FLOODPLAINS........................................2 1 6.0 WETLANDS...........................................2 2 7.0 STEEP SLOPES.......................................2 4 I 8.0 VEGETATION.........................................2 5 9.0 IMPACTS OF ROUTE I-287 EXTENSION...................2 9 10.0 IMPACTS OF TOWNHOUSE AND CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENTS..30 I LIST OF TABLES Table 1 - Soil Map Units...........................16 APPENDICES A - Natural Heritage Database Search..............32 B - Surface Water Quality Standards...............54 I MAPS Land Use/Land Cover Map......................Attached Townhouse/Condominium Location Plan..........Attached 1.0 INTRODUCTION One of the functions of the Mahwah Township Environmental Commission is the gathering of pertinent environmental information which can be used by the Township in its development review process. One form that this information gathering can take is the publishing of a Natural Resource Inventory. The original Mahwah Township Natural Resource Inventory was prepared in 1974. Over the last 19 years many of the conditions in the Township have changed and more accurate and comprehensive environmental data has been gathered by various Federal, State and Local Resource agencies. Also, a number of new laws have been enacted which afford protection for the Township's natural resources. Therefore, in order to insure that.the Township had available the most current environmental data, the Commission authorized the preparation of an updated Natural Resource Inventory (NRI). This updated NRI contains the most recent information on soils, geology, rare and endangered species, floodplains, wetlands, steep slopes, vegetation, the effect of the Route 287 extension and the impacts of condominium development in the Township of Mahwah. Additionally, the report contains a Land Use/Land Cover Plan for the Township that was prepared using the NJDEPE's Integrated Terrain Unit database and a copy of the NJDEPE's new Surface Water Quality Standards. 1.1 Purpose One of the primary functions of a municipal environmental commission is to provide guidance to the Township on the potential impacts of land development activities on the natural resources of the community. Land is the basic natural resource of every community. The growth of a community necessitates the use of this 1 - resource. The quality and character of life in a community, therefore, will be determined by how the land is used to - accommodate the community's growth. Proper land use planning requires that any decision making process be based on the most comprehensive and up to date information. The NRI is an important tool used in performing this function since it provides a comprehensive environmental data base on which to make land use planning decisions. The NRI can also be I used as an educational resource, a reference source for environmental data, indicating which natural resources should be conserved or preserved, and as a base line of the community's environment. Mahwah Township's NRI includes an analyses and survey of the natural environment in the Township. This text, and the new Land Use/Land Cover Map constitute an update of the Natural Resource Inventory for Mahwah Township. Important natural features were mapped through the use of computer aided drafting technique and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques. Mapped information has been digitized and computerized onto a base of the Township resulting in a display of natural features as they relate to man-made features such as streets and municipal boundaries. The computer based mapping can be generated at a variety of scales. The information contained in this NRI can serve as an important data base for input into land use development decisions. This information is important to a community like Mahwah Township which retains large areas of undeveloped and agricultural'land and is subject to significant development pressure due to its locations near the New York metropolitan area. 2 2.0 GEOGLOGY A review of the Geologic Map of New Jersey indicates that the Township of Mahwah (formerly called Hohokus Township) consists of five types of bedrock geology. They are: Byram Gneiss, Basalt Flows, Brunswick Formation, Stratified Drift (Wisconsin) and Terminal Moraines of the last (Wisconsin) glacial epoch. The Byram Gneiss consists of Pre-Cambrian,gray granitoid gneiss composed of microcline, microperthite, quartz, hornblende, or pyroxene, and sometimes mica. Magnetic iron ore occurs in Byram Gneiss. Desirable building stone is obtained from this formation. The Byram Gneiss formation is located west of the Ramapo River stream valley and dominates the Ramapo Mountains. This area is in - the Highlands physiographic province of New Jersey. The Basalt Flows consist of Triassic (Newark Group) fine- grained trap rock in extensive flows. Crushed stone, used in road, metal and concrete manufacturing, is found in the trap rock Newark Group. The Brunswick Formation consists of Triassic (Newark Group) soft red shale with sandstone beds.I Desirable building stone is obtained from Newark Group sandstones. The Stratified Drift (Wisconsin) formation consists of Quaternary sandy and gravel plains, deltas, eskers, kames, and I terraces, chiefly north of the terminal moraine and in the valleys leading south from it. The surface coverings are of variable thickness and generally unconsolidated. The Terminal Moraines of the last (Wisconsin) glacial epoch formation consists of a Quaternary belt of irregular hummocks accumulations of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders, in confused mixture. 3 The area adjacent to the Ramapo River and east of it is dominated by the Brunswick Formation and smaller areas of Stratified Drift, Basalt flows and Terminal Moraines of the last (Wisconsin) glacial epoch. This portion of the Township is in the Piedmont Plain physiographic province of New Jersey. West of the Ramapo River occurs the Highlands physiographic province. The amount and availability of underground water in the Township are determined largely by the character of the bedrock ;I geology and the particular physiographic 'provinces which are present. In the Highlands province in general, the bedrock geology (several varieties of gneiss) is not very porous and no definite water-bearing beds occur. This condition is offset in part at least by the fact that the rocks are broken by numerous joint I cracks and fault fissures, which admit considerable amount of underground water. Historically, some iron mines in the Highlands province have shown the presence of underground water. While some of the mines are comparatively dry, others that cut important fault fissures encounter large volumes of water. This suggests that deep wells (250-300 feet) in the Highlands are more likely to develop larger volumes if they are situated. near fault zones. Well records indicate that the chances of obtaining a supply of water decreases progressively below the 250 or 300 feet level in this province. - In the Piedmont Plain province, the bedrock geology is chiefly I shales and sandstones of the Triassic system (Brunswick formation). Although no well-defined water-bearing beds are known, considerable Y amounts of water an be found in the softer formations. Wells in these regions can be drilled more easily and cheaply than those of the areas of gneiss. In the area of Basalt Flows (south-central section of the Township), the rocks are exceedingly hard and tough. Wells drilled into this formation are done so at great expense and 4 to depths of hundreds of feet. Many have failed to find an adequate supply of water. While the Triassic bedrock (Brunswick Formation and Basalt Flows) do not produce wells of great volumes, the formations consisting of glacial deposits (Stratified Drift and Terminal Moraines) have produced flowing wells of great volume in a few places in the Piedmont Plain. These beds of open gravel and sand covered by impervious layers of clay furnish favorable conditions for the accumulation of large supplies of water under considerable pressure. 5 3.0 SOILS In July of 1990, the Bergen County Soil Conservation District, in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service, published the Interim Soil Survey of Bergen County New Jersey. This survey provides various types of information on the edaphic, or soil-related, conditions in the county.