N.J. Admin. Code § 5:21-7.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 9, May 6, 2024

Section 5:21-7.1 - Stormwater management: scope

(a) Stormwater management measures meeting the requirements of this subchapter shall be provided for major developments. Stormwater management systems prepared by design engineers shall emphasize a natural, as opposed to an engineered, drainage strategy. To the maximum extent practicable, stormwater management standards shall be met by incorporating nonstructural stormwater management strategies into a design. Where more than one design or method may be used to comply with the rules, the choice of design approach and the methods used shall rest with the design engineer.

1. For projects that fall below the threshold of major development, as defined, a municipality may require, by ordinance, the control of runoff rate and routing from any site that is the subject of a site plan or subdivision application.

(b) The applicability of a natural approach depends on such factors as site storage capacity, open channel hydraulic capacity, and maintenance needs and resources. Applicability of a stormwater approach also can be limited by regulatory constraints that govern certain structures (for example, dams) or areas (for example, development in a floodplain or wetland).

(c) The person submitting the application for review shall identify the nonstructural strategies incorporated into the design of the project. If the applicant contends that it is not feasible for engineering, environmental, or safety reasons to incorporate any nonstructural stormwater management strategies, identified in (d) below, into the design of a particular project, the applicant shall identify the strategy and provide a basis for the contention of infeasibility.

(d) Nonstructural stormwater management strategies incorporated into site design shall:

1. Protect areas that provide water-quality benefits or areas that are particularly susceptible to erosion and sediment loss;

2. Minimize impervious surfaces and break up or disconnect the flow of runoff over necessary impervious surfaces;

3. Maximize the protection of natural drainage features and vegetation;

4. Minimize the decrease in "time of concentration" from pre-construction to post-construction. "Time of concentration" is defined as the time it takes for runoff to travel from the hydraulically most distant point of the drainage area to the point of interest in the watershed (see the Rational Method equation in 5:21-7.2(c)2 );

5. Minimize land disturbance including clearing and grading;

6. Minimize soil compaction;

7. Provide low-maintenance landscaping that encourages retention and planting of native vegetation and minimizes the use of lawns, fertilizers, and pesticides;

8. Provide vegetated open-channel conveyance systems discharging into and through stable vegetated areas; and

9. Provide preventative source controls to prevent or minimize the use or exposure of pollutants at a site so that the release of pollutants into stormwater runoff will be prevented or minimized. The source controls include, but are not limited to:

i. Site design features that help to prevent accumulation of trash and debris in drainage systems;

ii. Site design features that help to prevent discharge of trash and debris in the drainage system; and

iii. When establishing vegetation after land disturbance, applying fertilizer in accordance with the Standards for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control in New Jersey at N.J.A.C. 2:90 as administered by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.

(e) Any land area used as a nonstructural stormwater management measure to meet the performance standards for quantity control at 5:21-7.5, water quality at 5:21-7.6, or groundwater recharge at 5:21-7.7 shall be dedicated to a government agency, subject to a conservation restriction filed with the appropriate County Clerk's office or equivalent restriction that ensures the stormwater measure, or an equivalent stormwater management measure approved by the reviewing agency, is maintained in perpetuity.

(f) Guidance for nonstructural stormwater management strategies is available in the New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual (hereafter Best Management Practices Manual), April 2004 edition.

(g) All stormwater collection and conveyance structures shall be designed in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter. Any structures designed to control stormwater runoff volume, flow rate, quality, or groundwater recharge shall be designed and constructed in accordance with these provisions. Where more than one design or method may be used to comply with the rules, choices among design options to meet the volume, rate, quality, and recharge provisions of this subchapter shall rest with the design engineer.

(h) Construction practices shall conform to Standards for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control in New Jersey, N.J.A.C. 2:90.

(i) The standards of this subchapter do not apply to development if alternative design and performance standards exist under a regional stormwater management plan adopted in accordance with the DEP rules, N.J.A.C. 7:15. The standards must be at least as protective as those of this subchapter.

N.J. Admin. Code § 5:21-7.1

Amended by R.1999 d.374, effective 11/1/1999 (operative May 1, 2000).
See: 31 N.J.R. 477(a), 31 N.J.R. 3259(a).
Inserted a new (c); recodified former (c) through (g) as (d) through (h); in the new (e)1, inserted "there is a uniform flow, as defined by the following conditions:" following "only when" in the last sentence; and in the new (g), substituted a reference to three feet per second for a reference to two feet per second.
Administrative correction.
See: 32 N.J.R. 684(b).
Amended by R.2005 d.56, effective 2/7/2005.
See: 36 N.J.R. 4025(a), 37 N.J.R. 481(c).
Rewrote the section.