Title 13, Title 13: CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT--PARKS AND RESERVATIONS

13:9-44.15 Conducting of prescribed burn; notifications, objections. 5. a. The department may conduct a prescribed burn or mechanically manage vegetation in any area of land within the State which is determined by the Forest Fire Service to be in reasonable danger of wildfire due…

13:9-44.16 Prescribed burn deemed to be in public interest; immunity from liability. 6. a. A prescribed burn, including the smoke and ash and other air pollution deriving therefrom, conducted in accordance with the requirements of this act and an approved prescribed burn plan, sh…

13:9-44.17 Rules, regulations. 7. The department, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, shall develop and adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to implement this act, which shall …

13:9-44.2. Legislative declarations The Legislature declares it to be the policy of this State to prevent, control and manage wildfires on or threatening the forests or wildlands of New Jersey in order to preserve forests and other natural resources; to enhance the growth and mai…

13:9-44.3. Definitions As used in this amendatory and supplementary act: a. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or an official designated by the commissioner. b. "Back fire" means a controlled fire purposely ignited in the path of wildfire along the …

13:9-44.4. Authority to make, conduct or participate in investigation of cause or responsibility for wildfire; cooperation The Department of Environmental Protection is authorized to make, conduct or participate in any investigation or survey designed to establish the cause of an…

13:9-44.5. Rules and regulations; orders The Department of Environmental Protection is authorized to formulate, promulgate, amend, and repeal rules and regulations and to issue orders to carry out the purposes of this act. L.1981, c. 369, s. 5, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.

13:9-44.6. Discharge of incendiary device, operation of mechanism which might cause wildfire or machinery without spark arrestor; precautions; presumption on escape of fire No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any incendiary device on or across any forest land, or …

13:9-44.7. Throwing or dropping object within forest likely to cause wildfire No person shall throw or drop any object within forests which is likely to cause a wildfire, including but not limited to a lighted cigarette, lighted cigar, match or live ashes. L.1981, c. 369, s. 7, e…

13:9-44.8. Rights-of-way of railroads; burning and clearance; failure to comply; notice; declaration as public nuisance The rights-of-way of all railroads which are operated through forests shall be prescribed burned by the railroad during the fall and winter months and kept clea…

13:9-44.9. Costs of extinguishment; recovery; action The department may, in the name of the State, recover costs of extinguishment and costs associated therewith from any person or agency, public or private, whose negligence or whose knowing violation of any provision of this act…

13:9-5. Expenses of administration of chapter; how paid All expenses incurred by the department in carrying out the provisions of this chapter, including the compensation of officers and employees in the forest fire service, shall be paid by the State; but such sums shall not exc…

13:9-52. Drought; closing of forests and suspension or curtailment of open seasons for game and fish; proclamation of commissioner Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary: Whenever, by reason of drought, the forests of the State are in danger of fires, the…

13:9-6. Divisions, sections and districts The department shall divide the forest areas of the State into divisions, sections and districts. Amended by L.1981, c. 369, s. 16, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.

13:9-7. State firewarden, supervisors, deputies and other officers and employees; appointment, removal and compensation The department may appoint, removable by the department after charges have been preferred and hearing granted, a State firewarden, and such supervisors, deputie…

13:9-7.1. Mandatory training requirements for fire service instructors 7. In accordance with the legislative findings and declarations in section 1 of P.L.1995, c.266, training for fire service instructors of forestland fire fighters shall be mandatory and shall be implemented un…

13:9-9. Emergency help; cooperative or contractual agreements The department shall, when the emergency arises, employ work crews and purchase equipment to fight forest fires as may be deemed necessary. The department may enter into cooperative or contractual agreements with the U…

13:9A-1. Legislative intent; inventory and mapping of tidal wetlands; filing in office of county recording officer a. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that one of the most vital and productive areas of our natural world is the so-called "estuarine zone," that area betwee…

13:9A-10. Short title This act may be cited as "The Wetlands Act of 1970." L.1970, c. 272, s. 10, eff. Nov. 5, 1970.

13:9A-2. Authority of commissioner to adopt, modify or repeal orders regulating, altering or polluting coastal wetlands; coastal wetlands defined The Commissioner may from time to time, for the purpose of promoting the public safety, health and welfare, and protecting public and …

13:9A-3. Public hearing; notice to owner; recordation of orders The commissioner shall, before adopting, amending, modifying or repealing any such order, hold a public hearing thereon in the county in which the coastal wetlands to be affected are located, giving notice thereof to…

13:9A-4. Regulated activity; necessity of permit to conduct; application; notice; determination of issuance a. For purposes of this section "regulated activity" includes but is not limited to draining, dredging, excavation or removal of soil, mud, sand, gravel, aggregate of any k…

13:9A-5. Jurisdiction of violations The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to restrain violations of orders issued pursuant to this act. L.1970, c. 272, s. 5, eff. Nov. 5, 1970.

13:9A-6. Complaint by landowner affected by order; recordation of finding Any person having a recorded interest in land affected by any such order or permit, may, within 90 days after receiving notice thereof, file a complaint in the Superior Court to determine whether such order…

13:9A-7. Application of act on powers and duties of certain state departments or agencies No action by the commissioner under this act shall prohibit, restrict or impair the exercise or performance of the powers and duties conferred or imposed by law on the State Department of En…

13:9A-8. Application of act to riparian lands Nothing in this act or any permit issued hereunder shall affect the rights of the State in, or the obligations of a riparian owner with respect to, riparian lands. L.1970, c. 272, s. 8, eff. Nov. 5, 1970.

13:9A-9 Violations; penalties. 9. a. Whenever, on the basis of available information, the commissioner finds that a person is in violation of any provision of P.L.1970, c.272, or any rule or regulation adopted, or permit or order issued pursuant thereto, the commissioner may: (1)…

13:9B-1. Short title This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act." L. 1987, c. 156, s. 1.

13:9B-10. Rebuttable presumption a. It shall be a rebuttable presumption that there is a practicable alternative to any nonwater-dependent regulated activity that does not involve a freshwater wetland, and that such an alternative to any regulated activity would have less of an i…

13:9B-11. Determination of public interest In determining whether a proposed regulated activity in any freshwater wetland is in the public interest, the department shall consider the following: a. the public interest in preservation of natural resources and the interest of the pr…

13:9B-12. Accessibility to approved site If a freshwater wetlands permit is approved and issued pursuant to the provisions of this act the department shall waive or modify the requirement for a transition area to the extent required to provide access to the site of the approved r…

13:9B-13. Mitigation of adverse environmental impacts 13. a. The department shall require as a condition of a freshwater wetlands permit that all appropriate measures have been carried out to mitigate adverse environmental impacts, restore vegetation, habitats, and land and water…

13:9B-13.1 Permit not required for certain restoration work on manmade drainage ditch. 35. Notwithstanding any rules or regulations to the contrary, no permit shall be required of a county or municipality by the Department of Environmental Protection for the purpose of performing…

13:9B-14. Wetlands Mitigation Bank; council membership a. There is established in the Executive Branch of State Government the Wetlands Mitigation Bank. For the purpose of complying with Article V, section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the bank is allocated with…

13:9B-15. Powers of Wetlands Mitigation Council 15. a. The Wetlands Mitigation Council shall be responsible for disbursements of funds from the bank to finance mitigation projects. The council shall have the power to purchase land to provide areas for the enhancement or restorati…

13:9B-16. Transition areas a. There shall be transition areas adjacent only to freshwater wetlands of exceptional resource value and of intermediate resource value. A transition area shall serve as: (1) An ecological transition zone from uplands to freshwater wetlands which is an…

13:9B-17. Prohibited activities a. The following activities, except for normal property maintenance or minor and temporary disturbances of the transition area resulting from, and necessary for, normal construction activities on land adjacent to the transition area, are prohibited…

13:9B-18. Transition area waivers a. The department shall grant a transition area waiver reducing the size of a transition area to not less than the minimum distance established in subsection b. of section 16 of this act; provided that (1) the proposed activity would have no subs…

13:9B-19. Consideration for tax purposes If the department denies an application for a freshwater wetlands permit, the owner of record of the property affected may request, and the local tax assessor shall provide, that this fact be taken into account when the property is valued,…

13:9B-2. Findings, declarations The Legislature finds and declares that freshwater wetlands protect and preserve drinking water supplies by serving to purify surface water and groundwater resources; that freshwater wetlands provide a natural means of flood and storm damage protec…

13:9B-20. Administrative hearing An applicant for a freshwater wetlands permit issued pursuant to this act may request the commissioner for an administrative hearing on any decision to issue or deny a permit made by the department pursuant to this act. Upon receipt of such a requ…

13:9B-21 Remedies for violations. 21. a. Whenever, on the basis of available information, the commissioner finds that a person is in violation of any provision of P.L.1987, c.156, or any rule or regulation adopted, or permit or order issued pursuant thereto, the commissioner may:…

13:9B-22. Taking without just compensation a. Any person having a recorded interest in land affected by a freshwater wetlands permit issued, modified or denied pursuant to the provision of this act may file an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to determine if the issuan…

13:9B-23. General permits 23. a. The department shall consider for adoption as general permits, to the extent practicable and feasible, and to the extent that this adoption is consistent to the maximum extent practicable and feasible with the provisions of P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9…

13:9B-24. Temporary emergency permit a. Notwithstanding the provisions of this or any other act to the contrary, the department may issue a temporary emergency freshwater wetlands permit for a regulated activity if: (1) An unacceptable threat to life or severe loss of property wi…

13:9B-25. Rules, regulations a. Within 10 months of the enactment of this act, and after a 60 day comment period, the department shall adopt, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this …