Environment

One of the state’s top environmental law enforcers has a message for those who would illegally dump on state-owned open space. “You do not want to be the next person we catch doing this,” the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Knute Jensen said against a backdrop of mounds of dumped items on state-owned property off Blackwells Mills Road. Jensen joined …

A crackdown on illegal dumping in state parks, forests, wildlife management areas and natural areas will be announced by the state’s top environmental officers at noon March 27 at a Blackwells Mills Road site. State Department of Environmental Commissioner Bob Martin and DEP Deputy Commissioner Michele Siekerka will announced the effort at the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park location …

Hydraulic fracturing – fracking – is now banned in the township, thanks to an ordinance amendment passed March 25 by the Township Council. Fracking is a process by which natural gas is extracted from the Earth. Proponents say it’s a safe process, while opponents say it poses numerous health and environmental threats. The amendment to the township’s quarrying and blasting …

Although they’re not sure it would ever happen in Franklin, the Township Council at its March 11 meeting introduced an ordinance to ban fracking. The vote was not unanimous; Mayor Brian Levine (R), saying there really isn’t any opportunity for the practice within township borders, voted against it. The amendment to the township’s quarrying and blasting ordinance is the result …

Township Councilman Ted Chase has waited four years to get his water conservation ordinance introduced, and it looks as though he’ll have to wait a while longer. The ordinance was set to be introduced on first reading at the council’s March 11 meeting. But objections raised by Deputy Mayor Brian Regan (D-At Large) convinced his fellow council members to hold …

Guided nature walks, sponsored by the Franklin Township open space program, are being offered through the spring and summer months. The walks are free and plotted along easy terrain. The May and June walks will be led by NJ Audubon naturalists. The July and August walks will be led by two township residents and avid birders, Chris and Paula Williams. …

A planned March 13 cleanup of a Blackwells Mills Road property has been postponed because of the snow, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman said. “We’re rescheduling it for late March or early April,” DEP spokesman Bob Considine said. DEP Commissioner Bob Martin will also attend the cleanup, as he was scheduled to do next week, Considine said. The …

We could be in for 2 to 6 inches of snow by Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for our area from 6 p.m. today until 10 a.m. tomorrow. A mix of snow and rain should begin this afternoon, with some freezing rain possible later in the day, according to …

A complete replacement of the township’s “water emergencies” ordinance that would place voluntary and mandatory restrictions on regular outdoor water use and require that residents keep a log of watering days was tabled at the Township Council’s Jan. 28 meeting. Councilman Ted Chase, (D-Ward 1) asked that the measure be tabled because it had not yet been vetted by township …

Somerset County’s pilot single-stream recycling program could begin in Franklin in July, the Township Council was told at its Jan. 28 meeting. That’s if the county feels its outreach program to residents and businesses is working, said Paul McCall, the county’s Director of Public Works. Otherwise, “we might have to wait a little bit longer,” he said. McCall said the …