N.J.A.C. 7:7 — COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT RULES (Subchapter 1 to 29)

(a) This section sets forth the requirements that apply to a wetlands creation, restoration, or enhancement mitigation project. (b) If creation or restoration is the mitigation alternative, wetlands shall be created or restored at a creation or restoration to lost or disturbed ra…

(a) This section applies to wetlands mitigation projects and governs the mitigation alternative required and the location of mitigation in relation to the impacts to wetlands. (b) Mitigation shall be performed through restoration, creation, or enhancement of wetlands onsite in th…

(a) If the Department determines that credit purchase is the appropriate mitigation alternative, the Department shall evaluate the values and functions lost as a result of the impacts and determine the number of credits required to ensure that the mitigation results in wetlands o…

(a) If the Department determines that in-lieu fee payment is the appropriate mitigation alternative, the mitigator shall follow the terms of the State-approved in-lieu fee program instrument. (b) The Department shall determine mitigation through in-lieu fee payment successful upo…

(a) Financial assurance in accordance with this section is required for mitigation projects involving restoration, creation, or enhancement activities as mitigation for impacts to intertidal and subtidal shallows, tidal waters, and wetlands. Financial assurance is not required fo…

(a) A person who chooses to establish a fully funded trust fund as financial assurance pursuant to this subchapter shall submit to the Department the original fully funded trust fund agreement. The trust fund agreement shall: 1. Be executed by an entity that has the authority to …

(a) A person who chooses to establish a line of credit agreement as financial assurance pursuant to this subchapter shall submit to the Department the original line of credit. The line of credit shall: 1. Be issued by an entity that is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Ban…

(a) Mitigation shall be similar in type and location to the resource(s) lost or impacted and shall fully compensate for any ecological loss. The Department will consider proposals for out-of-kind mitigation provided the mitigation meets the goals and objective of this subchapter …

(a) A person who chooses to provide a letter of credit as financial assurance to guarantee the availability of funds pursuant to this subchapter shall submit to the Department the original letter of credit. The letter of credit shall: 1. Be issued by an entity that is licensed by…

(a) A person who chooses to provide a surety bond as a financial assurance to guarantee the availability of funds pursuant to this subchapter shall complete and submit to the Department the original surety bond. The surety bond shall: 1. Be issued by an entity that is licensed by…

(a) A mitigation bank requires approval by the Department prior to the sale of any mitigation credits. "Approval" for the purposes of this section means approval in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:7-17.23. (b) If the establishment of a mitigation bank involves regulated activities as …

(a) A prospective mitigation bank operator may obtain conceptual review of a proposed mitigation bank before buying land or preparing a detailed mitigation bank proposal. In a conceptual review, Department staff will discuss the apparent strengths and weaknesses of the proposed m…

(a) Mitigation shall be performed within the applicable time period below: 1. Except for restoration of a temporary disturbance under (a)2 below, mitigation required under a general permit authorization or individual permit shall be performed prior to or concurrently with the reg…

(a) This section sets forth the general requirements for determining the amount of mitigation required. Specific requirements for each type of mitigation project are located as follows: 1. Requirements for shellfish habitat mitigation at N.J.A.C. 7:7-17.9; 2. Requirements for sub…

(a) Mitigation under this subchapter may be carried out on private or public property. (b) Except as provided in (c) below, the Department shall approve mitigation on property that is owned in fee simple and under the full legal control of the person responsible for performing th…

(a) This section sets forth the requirements for the conceptual review of any potential mitigation area other than a proposed mitigation bank site. The requirements for conceptual review of a mitigation bank site are set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7-17.23(a) and (b). (b) The Department …

(a) A mitigation proposal required under this chapter shall be submitted at least 90 calendar days prior to the commencement of regulated activities authorized by a permit. (b) A mitigation proposal to remedy a violation under this chapter shall be submitted by the deadline set f…

(a) The Department shall, within 30 calendar days after receiving a mitigation proposal submitted to comply with a condition of a coastal permit, review the proposal for completeness in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:7-17.7, and: 1. Request any necessary additional information; or 2.…

(a) This section sets forth the requirements for mitigation required pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7-9.2 for impacts to shellfish habitat. (b) Mitigation for impacts to shellfish habitat associated with the construction of a dock, pier, mooring, or marina shall include: 1. The recording…

(a) Any conservation restriction required under this chapter shall conform with the New Jersey Conservation Restriction and Historic Preservation Restriction Act, N.J.S.A. 13:8B-1 et seq., and shall: 1. Run with the land and be binding, in perpetuity, upon:i. For mitigation areas…

(a) The conservation restriction shall include a requirement that each owner of any interest in the land subject to the conservation restriction (that is, the mitigation area) shall: 1. Notify the county and/or municipality of the conservation restriction whenever any application…

(a) The property owner or grantor may request approval from the Department to undertake a de minimis modification of the area subject to a conservation restriction recorded in accordance with this subchapter. The Department shall approve the modification if it determines that the…

The Department may, in its discretion and if consistent with statutory requirements, relax the application of any of the procedures in this chapter when necessary and in the public interest. Notes N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-19.1 Adopted by 47 N.J.R. 1392(a), effective 7/6/2015

(a) The Department may reconsider the application of one or more of the rules in this chapter, provided: 1. The Department has rendered a decision on a permit application under the rules in this chapter as strictly applied; 2. All administrative and judicial appeals of the permit…

(a) No person shall engage in a regulated activity subject to this chapter without a coastal permit. Initiation of a regulated activity without a coastal permit is considered a violation of this chapter and shall subject the person or persons responsible for the regulated activit…

(a) Subject to the interpretation and definition of certain statutory terms as provided at (b) below and subject to the exemptions identified at (c) below, a CAFRA permit shall be required for: 1. Any development located on a beach or dune; 2. A development located in the CAFRA a…

(a) Coastal wetlands permits are required for all activities in coastal wetlands delineated and mapped pursuant to the Wetlands Act of 1970 including, but not limited to: 1. The cultivation and harvesting of naturally occurring agricultural or horticultural products. This provisi…

(a) The waterfront area regulated under this chapter varies in width in accordance with the following: 1. Within any part of the Hackensack Meadowlands District delineated at N.J.S.A. 13:17-4, the area regulated by this section shall include any tidal waterway of this State and a…

(a) A person may request a written applicability determination from the Department to determine the applicability of CAFRA, the Wetlands Act of 1970 (N.J.S.A. 13:9A-1 et seq.), and/or the Waterfront Development Law (N.J.S.A. 12:5-3 et seq.) to a proposed project. An applicability…

(a) The Department may issue a provisional permit if it finds that the beginning of construction prior to the completion of the full permit review process is necessary to meet the regulatory or funding requirements of a Federal or State agency. (b) The issuance of a provisional p…

(a) The Department shall issue an emergency authorization only if the person seeking such authorization demonstrates that a threat to life, severe loss of property, or environmental degradation exists or is imminent, and the threat, severe loss, or degradation: 1. Can only be pre…

(a) A person requesting an emergency authorization shall provide the Department with the following information by telephone and, in addition, by fax, electronic mail, or letter, unless the nature of the emergency is so immediate that only telephone notice is feasible: 1. The name…

(a) The Department shall issue or deny an emergency authorization within 15 calendar days after receiving a request that meets the requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:7-21.2. The Director of the Division of Land Use Regulation, or the Director's designee, shall provide this decision to th…

(a) A pre-application conference is a meeting between the Department and a prospective applicant to discuss the applicant's project and the application procedures and standards that will apply to the project. A prospective applicant may request a pre-application conference for an…

(a) Except as provided at (b) and (d) below, a request for a pre-application conference shall be directed by electronic mail to LURTechSupport@dep.nj.gov, or by writing to the address set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7-1.6 to the attention of "Supervisor, (county in which the proposed pro…

(a) This subchapter sets forth the application requirements for: 1. An authorization under a general permit-by-certification; 2. An authorization under a general permit; and 3. An individual permit. (b) The application requirements for the following are set forth elsewhere in thi…

(a) The Department provides a checklist for each type of application submitted under this subchapter. The checklist identifies all of the submissions required under the rules to be part of an application, and also the appropriate level of detail and the format of the information …

(a) An application for authorization under a general permit-by-certification shall be submitted electronically through the Department's online system at http://www.nj.gov/dep/online. (b) In addition to meeting the requirements at N.J.A.C. 7:7-23.2, the applicant is required to pr…

(a) An application for authorization under a general permit or for an individual permit shall be submitted electronically through the Department's online system at http://www.nj.gov/dep/online, including all application information and supporting documentation. (b) In addition to…

(a) In addition to the requirements at N.J.A.C. 7:7-23.2 and 23.4, an application for authorization under a general permit shall include a compliance statement. The compliance statement is a narrative, which shall: 1. Demonstrate that the proposed development satisfies the requir…

(a) In addition to meeting the requirements at N.J.A.C. 7:7-23.2 and 23.4, an application for an individual permit shall meet the requirements of this section. (b) An application for an individual permit shall include an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS shall: 1. Des…

(a) An applicant shall provide public notice in accordance with this subchapter for the following: 1. An application for an authorization under a general permit-by-certification pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7-3 and 5; 2. An application for an authorization under a general permit pursua…

(a) For any of the applications listed in N.J.A.C. 7:7-24.1(a) other than an application for a CAFRA individual permit, the applicant shall provide public notice in accordance with this subchapter no more than 30 calendar days prior to submitting the application, and no later tha…

(a) For any of the applications listed at N.J.A.C. 7:7-24.1(a), the applicant shall provide a copy of the entire application, as submitted to the Department, to the municipal clerk in each municipality in which the site is located. 1. For applications submitted electronically, th…

(a) An applicant for a CAFRA individual permit shall publish newspaper notice, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7-24.5, of the application in the time frame set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7-24.2(b). (b) An applicant for a CAFRA individual permit shall provide notice of the public comment period o…

(a) The newspaper notice pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7-24.3 and 24.4 shall be either a legal notice or a display advertisement in the official newspaper of the municipality in which the site is located, or if there is no official newspaper, a newspaper of general circulation in the mu…

(a) An applicant submitting an application other than an application for a CAFRA individual permit shall include as part of the application documentation that the required public notice of the application has been provided, as follows: 1. For public notice other than newspaper no…

(a) This subchapter establishes the application fees for: 1. A written determination of exemption from CAFRA pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7-2.2(f), or from the Waterfront Development Law pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7-2.4(h); 2. An authorization under a general permit-by-certification, pursu…

(a) When, based on budget considerations, the Department determines to adjust the application fees established in this subchapter for the upcoming State fiscal year (which runs from July 1 to June 30), the Department shall: 1. Prepare an Application Fee Adjustment Report, in acco…

(a) This subchapter sets forth the review procedures for applications for authorization under a general permit and for applications for an individual permit. These procedures also apply to applications for a water quality certificate. (b) The review procedures for the following a…