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Council discusses DEP river restoration, $3,000 engineering fees and contractor responsibility
Summary
Council members and administrators reviewed DEP restoration requirements after alleged unpermitted river work, reported about $3,000 in engineering costs to date, and said DMK Services LLC is expected to fund remediation work; borough attorney and administrator will investigate possible reimbursement of fees.
Councilors on Nov. 13 discussed a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) notice requiring a restoration plan for river parcels behind a hardware store and asked how the borough should proceed when work carried out by a contractor allegedly did not comply with regulatory requirements.
The borough administrator told the council the borough had spent more than $3,000 on engineering services to prepare a restoration plan required by the DEP and said the contractor DMK Services LLC (the firm that had performed river work) is expected to pay for the planting and remediation going forward. Members asked whether the borough could recover the engineering fees; the borough attorney said indemnification provisions in the contract may permit seeking reimbursement from the contractor's insurance.
Council members raised specific questions about whether videos and complaints previously provided to the building department had been investigated adequately. The administrator and attorney said they would review building-department correspondence and forwarding of videos to DEP, and planned to advise on potential contract remedies. The borough will continue to work with its engineers to prepare the restoration plan the DEP requires by Dec. 15, as noted by administration.
No final enforcement action was taken at the Nov. 13 meeting; the attorney and administrator said they would investigate further and report back to the council.
