Montgomery Board of Health endorses PSE&G TWA application for sanitary holding tank at 151 Trent Place

The Montgomery Township Board of Health unanimously endorsed a Treatment Works Approval application to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for a sanitary holding tank to serve an unmanned PSE&G control house at 151 Trent Place.

The vote approved resolution 2026-09, authorizing the township health officer to execute the TWA application. Chair (speaker 1) called for the motion and a roll call was taken; the transcript records multiple “Yes” responses and the board agreed to provide a signed copy of the resolution for the TWA submission.

The endorsement followed a presentation by PSE&G representatives. “My name is Neil Paschel. I am a project manager with PSE&G,” said Paschel, who described plans for a new Class H substation on the parcel the company purchased in September 2025. Paschel said the project will include a prefabricated control house with a single bathroom for occasional maintenance visits and that construction is projected to begin in spring 2027 with an in-service date in December 2029.

Lisa Defranza, identified in the meeting as the civil engineer for the holding-tank design, described the sanitary system and the need for a holding tank because of lack of public sewer and poor soils for a septic field. “It’s typically based on usage,” Defranza said when asked about pump-out frequency; she and other presenters said routine checks and quarterly maintenance schedules are expected.

Board members asked who would own and service the tank; PSE&G representatives said PSE&G will own the site and will either use its maintenance staff or contract a vendor to pump and clean the tank. PSE&G also said its office will handle the TWA application paperwork with the state.

A resident asked whether permitting a holding tank would set a precedent for other installations and whether nearby property values could be affected. Board staff responded that this approval is infrastructure-specific for a substation and not intended as a general precedent, noting the system is expected to have very low usage and no showers or other high-volume fixtures.

The board’s resolution endorsing the NJDEP TWA application will be signed and provided to the township for inclusion with the state filing. The presenters provided materials to the board and said they will submit the site plan to the township as the next step.

The transcript refers to the utility as “PSE and G”; this article uses the common stylization PSE&G. The transcript refers to the site as 151 Trent Place and uses a project name variant; the board action and the TWA endorsement apply to the proposed installation at that address.