SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE, No. 275
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
ADOPTED DECEMBER 16, 1996
Sponsored by Senators CARDINALE and McNAMARA
An Act concerning the prevention of flooding, and amending P.L.1993, c.376, and supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1993, c.376 (C.58:16A-67) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. The provisions of any other law, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, to the contrary notwithstanding, a county or municipality, or designated agency thereof, before undertaking any project to clean, clear, or desnag a stream within its jurisdiction, shall submit to the Department of Environmental Protection or to any State agency requiring a stream cleaning permit or an application for the proposed stream cleaning, clearing or desnagging project, a written notice of intent to undertake a project to clean, clear, or desnag a stream and a certification attested to by the county or municipal engineer or the local soil conservation district, provided that the certification is made by a licensed professional engineer. The engineer shall certify that:
(1) the project is being undertaken solely for the purpose of stream cleaning, clearing, or desnagging;
(2) the removal of any material will not extend below the natural stream bed;
(3) the activities will not alter the natural streambanks;
(4) the activities will consist of the removal only of accumulated sediments, debris and garbage from a stream with a natural stream bed or the removal of any accumulated material from a stream previously channelized with concrete or similar artificial material;
(5) every effort will be made to perform work from only one streambank and that vegetation and canopy on the more southerly or westerly banks will be preserved for stream shading; and
(6) the activities are necessary and in the public interest.
The notice shall also include a description of the nature of the project, a description, including a photograph, of the reach of the stream in which the activity is to take place, and an identification of the regulatory water quality classification of the stream in which the activity is to take place. The reach of the stream may be provided by the submission of a photostatic copy of the United States Geological Survey topographic quadrangle.
b. For any project that includes sediment removal, in addition to the conditions enumerated in subsection a. of this section, the following conditions must be met:
(1) the applicant shall provide a statement from the engineer that the subject stream floods and results or can result in property damage necessitating the proposed cleaning;
(2) the stream to be cleaned is not classified as pinelands waters or category one waters;
(3) the streambed is 15 feet or less in average width;
(4) the stream corridor to be cleaned is less than 500 feet in length;
(5) the stream is not in a municipality, as defined by the department, that is known to have federally or State listed threatened or endangered species associated with its wetlands. Regulated activities in these municipalities require coordination with federal agencies;
(6) the applicant shall provide a certification by the engineer that the material to be removed is not beyond the natural streambed;
(7) the applicant shall submit surface color photographs of the areas of the stream to be cleaned and of the access points; and
(8) the applicant shall incorporate appropriate timing restrictions as required by the Department of Environmental Protection.
[b.] c. Upon receipt of a notice and certification submitted pursuant to this section, the department, or any other State agency requiring a stream cleaning permit or an application for the proposed stream cleaning, clearing or desnagging project, as the case may be, shall , except as provided below, have [30] 15 days to notify the county or municipality, or designated agency thereof, if particular circumstances mandate that the stream cleaning not be done in this particular case. For those projects involving the removal of sediment, the department shall have 60 days prior to the commencement of activities to notify the county or municipality, or designated agency thereof, if particular circumstances mandate that the stream cleaning not be done in that particular case. If the department, or any other State agency requiring a stream cleaning permit or an application for the proposed stream cleaning, clearing or desnagging project, as the case may be, makes such a determination, it shall provide the county or municipality, or designated agency thereof, with the technical reasons therefor. The department may not prohibit the removal of any garbage no matter how long it has been in the stream.
d. Upon completion of the project to clean a stream involving the removal of sediment within its jurisdiction, the county or municipality, or designated agency thereof, shall submit to the department a written notice that the project has been completed in accordance with the criteria outlined in subsection b. of this section. The notice shall contain a certification attested to by the county or municipal engineer or the local soil conservation district, provided that the certification is made by a licensed professional engineer. The engineer shall certify that all the criteria in subsection b. of this section have been adhered to.
e. As used in this section:
"Category one waters" means, for the purposes of sediment removal, those waters designed by the Department of Environmental Protection, for purposes of implementing the antidegradation policies of the "Water Pollution Control Act", P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et seq.), for protection from measurable changes in water quality characteristics because of their clarity, color, scenic setting, other characteristics of aesthetic value, exceptional ecological significance, exceptional recreational significance, exceptional water supply significance, or exceptional fisheries resources. These waters may include, but are not limited to:
(1) Waters originating wholly within federal, interstate, State, county, or municipal parks, forests, fish and wildlife lands, and other special holdings that have not been designated by the department as FW1;
(2) Waters classified by the department as FW2 trout production waters and their tributaries;
(3) Surface waters classified by the department as FW2 trout maintenance or FW2 nontrout that are not more than 750 feet upstream of waters classified as FW2 trout production;
(4) Shellfish waters of exceptional resource value; or
(5) Other waters and their tributaries that flow through, or border, federal, State, county or municipal parks, forest, fish and wildlife lands, and other special holdings.
"FW" means the general surface water classification applied to fresh waters.
"FW1" means those fresh waters that originate in and are wholly within federal or State parks, forests, fish and wildlife lands, and other special holdings, that are to be maintained in their natural state of quality and not subjected to any man-made wastewater discharges.
"FW2" means the general surface water classification applied to those fresh waters that are not designated as FW1 or pinelands waters.
"Trout maintenance waters" means waters designated by the department for the support of trout throughout the year.
"Trout production waters" means waters designated by the department for use by trout for spawning or nursery purposes during their first summer.
[c.] f. Any person or governmental entity violating the provisions of this [act] section shall be subject to penalties imposed for violations of the "Flood Hazard Area Control Act," P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.).
(cf: P.L.1993, c.376, s.1)
2. (New section) a. Any municipality may establish a plan for the size and location of flood control facilities, including detention basins, in conjunction with any other municipality and the Department of Environmental Protection in order to minimize flood damage, to reduce stormwater runoff from new or existing development, and to induce water recharge into the ground where practical.
b. Any municipality may establish a plan either alone or jointly with any other municipality and with the Department of Environmental Protection, to maintain the water level of any lake or reservoir within its borders at a level necessary to protect against flooding.
3. (New section) Upon application by a municipality, the Department of Environmental Protection shall identify the natural streambed of any stream in the municipality that floods and which flooding results or can result in property damage and which will be subject to routine maintenance to control flooding. Any maps or data generated by the department shall be sent to the clerk of the municipality.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Provides for expedited permit procedures for certain stream cleaning activities and for other planning functions to prevent flooding.