N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-1.5
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Additional definitions specifically applicable to N.J.A.C. 7:7-13, Requirements for Impervious Cover and Vegetative Cover for General Land Areas and Certain Special Areas, are set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.2. Additional definitions specifically applicable to N.J.A.C. 7:7-17, Mitigation, are set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7-17.1.
"Acceptable" means that a proposed use of coastal resources is likely to be approved.
"Administratively complete" means that every item required on the application checklist for the coastal permit being sought is included in the application.
"Amusement pier" means an elevated, pile-supported structure located on a beach and/or tidal water, seaward of a bulkhead or boardwalk, and perpendicular to the mean high water line, on which amusements are located. For purposes of this definition, "amusements" includes rides, games of skill or chance for prizes other than cash payoffs, and vendors of toys and/or other merchandise. "Amusements" also means bar and restaurant establishments and entertainment venues such as stage and band shells and associated seating areas. "Amusements" do not include games for cash payoffs.
"Area" means "site," as defined elsewhere in this section.
"Beach" means the special area described at N.J.A.C. 7:7-9.22(a).
"Beach berm" means the nearly horizontal part of the beach lying between the crest of the berm and the toe of the primary dune or first paved public right-of-way, whichever is more waterward. The berm is the sloping portion of the beach profile from the upper limit of wave up-rush to the lower limit of wave run-down at low tide.
"Bulkhead" means a vertical shore protection structure installed to withstand the forces of waves and currents. A bulkhead is not a "revetment" or a "gabion" as defined elsewhere in this section.
"CAFRA" means the Coastal Area Facility Review Act, N.J.S.A. 13:19-1 et seq.
"CAFRA area" means the "coastal area" defined in CAFRA at N.J.S.A. 13:19-4.
"Charitable conservancy" means a corporation or trust that meets the definition of a charitable conservancy at N.J.S.A. 13:8B-2. (Note: As of July 6, 2015, the definition of charitable conservancy at N.J.S.A. 13:8B-2 is a corporation or trust whose purposes include the acquisition and preservation of land or water areas or of a particular land or water area, or either thereof, in a natural, scenic or open condition, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and which has received tax exemption under section 501(c) of the 1954 Internal Revenue Code.)
"City of the fourth class" means a city as defined at N.J.S.A. 40A:6-4d which borders on the Atlantic Ocean and which is a seaside or summer resort.
"Coastal bluff" means the special area described at N.J.A.C. 7:7-9.29(a).
"Coastal permit" or "permit" means a permit or an authorization issued under this chapter pursuant to CAFRA, the Wetlands Act of 1970, N.J.S.A. 13:9A-1 et seq., or the Waterfront Development Law, N.J.S.A. 12:5-3.
"Coastal zone" means the areas described at N.J.A.C. 7:7-1.2(b).
"Commercial development" means a development designed, constructed, or intended to accommodate commercial, retail, or office uses. "Commercial development" shall include, but need not be limited to, any establishment used for the wholesale or retail sale of food, beverage, or other merchandise, or any establishment used for providing professional, financial, or other commercial services.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department, or designated representative.
"Complete for public comment" means that an application for a CAFRA individual permit is both administratively and technically complete and is ready for the public comment process set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7 -26.4.
"Complete for public hearing" means that an application for a CAFRA individual permit is both administratively and technically complete and is ready for the public hearing and comment process set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7-26.5.
"Complete for review" means that an application for a coastal permit is both administratively and technically complete and is ready to be evaluated by the Department for compliance with the applicable requirements of this chapter. However, an application for a CAFRA individual permit is complete for review only when it is both administratively and technically complete and either the public comment process set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7-26.4 or the public hearing and comment process set forth at NJ.A.C. 7:7-26.5 has been completed.
"Conditionally acceptable" means that a proposed use of coastal resources is likely to be acceptable, provided that conditions specified in the rules are satisfied.
"Conservation restriction" means a restriction, easement, covenant, or condition, in any deed, will or other instrument, other than a lease, executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land, appropriate to retaining land or water areas predominantly in their natural state, scenic or open or wooded condition, or for conservation of soil or wildlife, or for outdoor recreation or park use, or for public access to tidal waterways and their shores, or as suitable habitat for fish or wildlife, to forbid or limit any or all of the following:
1. Construction or placing of buildings, roads, signs, billboards or other advertising, or other structures on or above the ground;
2. Dumping or placing of soil or other substance or material as landfill, or dumping or placing of trash, waste or unsightly or offensive materials;
3. Removal or destruction of trees, shrubs or other vegetation;
4. Excavation, dredging or removal of loam, peat, gravel, soil, rock or other mineral substance;
5. Surface use except for the purposes permitting the land or water area to remain predominantly in its natural condition;
6. Activities detrimental to drainage, flood control, water conservation, erosion control or soil conservation, or fish and wildlife habitat preservation; and/or
7. Other acts or uses detrimental to the retention of land or water areas according to the purposes of this chapter.
"Deck" means a horizontal platform that is not enclosed by windows, walls, doors, or screens and is not covered by a roof.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
"Development" means any activity for which a coastal wetlands permit, waterfront development permit, or Federal consistency determination is required, including site preparation and clearing. Development for an application under CAFRA means the construction, relocation, or enlargement of the footprint of development of any building or structure and all site preparation therefor, the grading, excavation, or filling on beaches and dunes, and shall include residential development, commercial development, industrial development, and public development. Development under CAFRA and the Waterfront Development Law does not include repairs or maintenance such as replacing siding, windows, or roofs, unless such repairs or maintenance are associated with enlargements which are not exempt under CAFRA pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7-2.2(c)4 or the Waterfront Development Law pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7-2.4(d). Development under CAFRA does not include debris removal or cleanup provided such activities do not involve excavation, grading, or filling on beaches and dunes.
"Discouraged" means that a proposed use of coastal resources is likely to be rejected or denied as the Department has determined that such uses of coastal resources should be deterred. In cases where the Department considers the proposed use to be in the public interest despite its discouraged status, the Department may permit the use provided that mitigating or compensating measures can be taken so that there is a net gain in quality and quantity of the coastal resource of concern.
"Division" means the Division of Land Use Regulation in the Department.
"Dredged material" means the sediment removed from below the spring high water line. In accordance with the Solid Waste rules at N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.6, dredged material is not considered a solid waste.
"Dredging" means the removal of sediment located waterward of the spring high water line. Dredging does not include excavation.
"Dune" means the special area described at N.J.A.C. 7:7-9.16(a).
"Duplex" means a residential structure of two attached units in which the interior living space of one unit directly abuts the interior living space of the other unit, either in a side-by-side arrangement sharing a common wall or in a lower unit-upper unit arrangement.
"Dwelling unit" means a house, townhouse, apartment, cooperative, condominium, cabana, hotel or motel room, a patient/client room in a hospital, nursing home or other residential institution, mobile home, campsite for a tent or recreational vehicle, floating home, or any other habitable structure of similar size and potential environmental impact, except that dwelling unit shall not mean a vessel as defined at N.J.S.A. 12:7-71.
"Electrical substation" means a subsidiary facility of an electric power system through which electricity is passed for transmission, transformation, or distribution. For example, an electrical substation may transform high voltage electricity to low voltage electricity for distribution. An electrical substation consists of the footprint of the substation equipment, the safety zone, and the area necessary for access and parking.
"Encouraged" means that a proposed use of coastal resources is acceptable and is a use, by its purpose, location, design, and effect, that the Department has determined should be fostered and supported in the coastal zone.
"Engineered beach" means a beach built in accordance with either:
1. A Federally authorized beach berm design template for shore protection and/or storm damage reduction purposes for which the Department has issued a Federal consistency determination under this chapter; or
2. A beach berm design template for shore protection and/or storm damage reduction purposes that has been funded through the New Jersey Shore Protection Program and for which the Department has issued a permit under this chapter.
For purposes of this definition, the beach berm design template is the height, width, slope, and length of the engineered beach.
"Engineered dune" means a dune built in accordance with either:
1. A Federally authorized dune design template for shore protection and/or storm damage reduction purposes for which the Department has issued a Federal consistency determination under this chapter; or
2. A dune design template for shore protection and/or storm damage reduction purposes that has been funded through the New Jersey Shore Protection Program and for which the Department has issued a permit under this chapter.
For purposes of this definition, the dune design template is the height, width, slope, and length of the engineered dune.
"Engineering certification" means a document, signed and sealed by a New Jersey licensed professional engineer, which confirms that one or more requirements of this chapter are met, and which is accompanied by all supporting documentation, calculations, and other information upon which the certification is based. Upon clear and compelling evidence of a threat to public health, safety, welfare, and the environment, a New Jersey licensed professional engineer employed by the Department can reject an engineering certification submitted under this chapter.
"Excavation" means the removal of soil or any other material located landward of the spring high water line.
"Federal consistency determination" means a determination by the Department of the consistency with this chapter of a proposed Federal action that has reasonably foreseeable effects on any land or water use or natural resource of the coastal zone pursuant to Section 307 of the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1456. There are four types of Federal actions:
1. Federal agency activities, which are activities and development projects performed by a Federal agency, or a contractor for the benefit of the Federal agency;
2. Federal license or permit activities, which are activities performed by a non-Federal entity requiring a Federal permit, license, or other form of Federal authorization;
3. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Plans, which are the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approvals of OCS plans, pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. §§ 1331 et seq.; and
4. Federal assistance to state and local governments, which are the applications for Federal financial assistance by state or local governments.
"FEMA" means the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"FEMA flood mapping" means information published or publicly released by FEMA regarding the frequency, location, and/or extent of flooding in a community, such as flood elevations, flood profiles, flow rates, and floodway limits, and FEMA 100-year flood elevation as defined in the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:13-1.2. For the purposes of this chapter, such information shall include only that information adopted as part of the most recent effective FEMA Flood Insurance Study, dated on or after January 31, 1980, or any more recent advisory or proposed (preliminary) flood mapping, if the more recent advisory or proposed (preliminary) mapping results in higher flood elevations, wider floodway limits, and greater flow rates, than depicted in the most recent effective FEMA Flood Insurance Study, or indicates a change from an A zone to a V zone or coastal A zone. Effective and proposed (preliminary) FEMA flood mapping can be viewed at https://msc.fema.gov and advisory flood mapping for coastal areas, where available, can be viewed at http://www.region2coastal.com. Questions regarding the availability, use, derivation, or modification of FEMA flood mapping should be directed to FEMA at (800) 358-9616.
"Filling" means the depositing of sand, gravel, earth or any other material.
"Floating home" means any waterborne structure designed and intended primarily as a permanent or seasonal dwelling, not for use as a recreational vessel, which will remain stationary for more than 10 consecutive days.
"Floodway" has the same meaning as the definition of that term in the Flood Hazard Area Control Act rules at N.J.A.C. 7:13-1.2.
"Footprint of development" means the vertical projection to the horizontal plane of the exterior of all exterior walls of a structure.
"Gabion" means a shore protection structure that is comprised of wire mesh basket(s) or mattress(es) filled with rock and used in multiples as a structural unit installed to withstand the forces of waves and currents. A gabion is not a "bulkhead" or a "revetment" as defined elsewhere in this section.
"Governmental agency" means the Government of the United States, the State of New Jersey, or any other state, or a political subdivision, authority, agency or instrumentality thereof, and shall include any interstate agency or authority.
"Grace period" means the period of time afforded under the Grace Period Law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-125 et seq., for a person to correct a minor violation in order to avoid imposition of a penalty that would otherwise be applicable for such violation.
"Grading" means leveling off to a smooth horizontal or sloping surface.
"Habitable" with reference to structures or development means a structure or development that has been or could have been legally occupied in the most recent five-year period.
"Homeland security facility" means any facility deemed by the Department in consultation with the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness or the United States Department of Homeland Security to be either critical in nature or a key resource. These facilities may include, but are not limited to, airports and military facilities, certain transportation infrastructure, and certain chemical or energy facilities and utilities, marine terminal or transfer facilities, and freight or passenger rail lines.
"Impervious cover" means any structure, surface, or improvement that reduces and/or prevents absorption of stormwater into land. Porous paving, paver blocks, gravel, crushed stone, crushed shell, elevated structures (including boardwalks), and other similar structures, surfaces, or improvements are considered impervious cover. Grass, lawns, or any other vegetation are not considered impervious cover.
"Industrial development" means a development that involves a manufacturing or industrial process, and shall include, but is not limited to, electric power production, food and food by-product processing, paper production, agri-chemical production, chemical processes, storage facilities, metallurgical processes, mining and excavation processes, and processes using mineral products.
"Invasive plant species" means a plant species that is non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.
"Linear development" means a development with the basic function of connecting two points, such as a road, drive, public walkway, railroad, sewerage pipe, stormwater management pipe, gas pipeline, water pipeline, or electric, telephone or other transmission lines.
"Living shoreline" means a shoreline management practice that addresses the loss of vegetated shorelines, beaches, and habitat in the littoral zone by providing for the protection, restoration, or enhancement of these habitats. This is accomplished through the strategic placement of plants, stone, sand, or other structural and organic materials. There are three types of living shorelines: natural, hybrid, and structural. Natural living shorelines include natural vegetation, submerged aquatic vegetation, fill, and biodegradable organic materials. Hybrid living shorelines incorporate natural vegetation, submerged aquatic vegetation, fill, biodegradable organic materials, and low-profile rock structures such as segmented sills, stone containment, and living breakwaters seeded with native shellfish. Structural living shorelines include, but are not limited to, revetments, breakwaters, and groins.
"Location" means "site," as defined elsewhere in this section.
"Major commercial development" means a commercial development with a cumulative building area of greater than 100,000 square feet.
"Man-made lagoon" means an artificially created linear waterway sometimes branched, ending in a dead end with no significant upland drainage. Lagoons have been created through dredging and filling of wetlands, bay bottom and other estuarine water areas for the purpose of creating waterfront lots for residential development adjacent to the lagoon. A natural waterway which is altered by activities including, but not limited to, filling, channelizing, or bulkheading shall not be considered a man-made lagoon, nor shall a bulkheaded boatslip be considered a lagoon.
"Mean high water" is a tidal datum that is the arithmetic mean of the high water heights observed over a specific 19-year Metonic cycle (the National Tidal Datum Epoch). For the New Jersey coast, the two high waters of each tidal day are included in the mean. This datum is available from the Department, Bureau of Tidelands Management.
"Mean high water line" is the intersection of the land with the water surface at the elevation of mean high water. The elevation of mean high water varies along the oceanfront and the tidal bays and streams in the coastal zone.
1. For practical purposes, the mean high water line is often referred to as the "ordinary" high water line, which is typically identified as the limit of wet sand or debris line on a beach, or by a stain line on a bulkhead or piling. However, for the purpose of establishing regulatory jurisdiction pursuant to CAFRA and the Waterfront Development Law, the surveyed mean high water elevation will be used.
"Minor commercial development" means a commercial development with a cumulative building area of 100,000 square feet or less.
"Mitigation area" means the portion of a site or piece of property upon which mitigation is proposed or performed. If a mitigation area includes a wetland, a wetland buffer is included as part of the mitigation area in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:7-17.14(b).
"Mitigation bank" means an operation in which wetlands, uplands, and/or other aquatic resources are restored, created, enhanced, or preserved by a mitigation bank operator, for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation.
"Mooring" means the structure and/or water area adjacent to the structure where boats and/or jet skis are secured by cables, anchors, or lines. Examples of moorings that are structures include docks, jet ski drive-on docks, bulkheads, boat lifts, pilings, and buoys.
"Navigable" means waters that are deep enough and wide enough to afford passage to watercraft, including canoes or kayaks, at high tide. Navigability will also apply to areas upstream of obstructions (for example, culverts), provided that the water course is still tidally influenced in the upstream area.
"NOAA" means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"Non-polluting material" means a material such as plastic, natural cedar or other untreated wood, polymer coated pressure-treated wood, concrete, steel, or other inert products. Creosote and pressure-treated lumber (that is, treated with preservatives such as CCA-C, ACZA, CC, and ACQ) which is susceptible to leaching is not considered "non-polluting material."
"Non-waterward side of development" means the area of the site located landward of the line(s) drawn through point(s) of the footprint of the building closest to the water and parallel to the water body, which line extends to the property boundaries.
"Parcel" means the totality of all contiguous lots under common ownership on April 4, 2011.
"Person" means any corporation, corporate official, company, association, society, firm, partnership, individual, government agency, or joint stock company.
"Pesticide" means any substance defined as a pesticide pursuant to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:30.
"Porch" means a covered or uncovered entrance, directly connected to a residential dwelling.
"Prohibited" means that a proposed use of coastal resources is unacceptable and that the Department will use its legal authority to reject or deny the proposal.
"Property as a whole" means all property assembled as one investment or to further one development plan. The property as a whole may include more than one municipal tax block or lot. The property as a whole may also include blocks or lots that were previously sold or developed, if those blocks or lots and the remaining unsold or undeveloped blocks or lots were part of one investment or development plan. In determining the property as a whole in a particular case, the Department shall consider existing legal precedent regarding what constitutes "property as a whole" at the time of the determination.
"Public accessway" means a route that provides a means for the public to reach, pass along, and/or use lands and waters subject to public trust rights. Public accessways include streets, paths, trails, walkways, easements, paper streets, dune walkovers/walkways, piers and other rights-of-way.
"Public development" means a solid waste facility, including incinerators and landfills, wastewater treatment plant, public highway, airport including single or multi- air strips, an above or underground pipeline designed to transport petroleum, natural gas, or sanitary sewage, and a public facility, and shall not mean a seasonal or temporary structure related to the tourism industry, an educational facility or power lines. "Public development" does not have to be publicly funded or operated.
"Public highway" means a "public highway" as defined at N.J.S.A. 27:1B-3, namely public roads, streets, expressways, freeways, parkways, motorways, and boulevards, including bridges, tunnels, overpasses, underpasses, interchanges, rest areas, express bus roadways, bus pullouts and turnarounds, park-ride facilities, traffic circles, grade separations, traffic control devices, the elimination or improvement of crossings of railroads and highways, whether at grade or not at grade, and any facilities, equipment, property, rights-of-way, easements, and interests therein needed for the construction, improvement, and maintenance of highways.
"Public Trust Doctrine" means a common law principle that recognizes that the public has particular inalienable rights to certain natural resources. These resources include, but are not limited to, tidal waterways, the underlying submerged lands and the shore waterward of the mean high water line, whether owned by a public, quasi-public or private entity. In the absence of a grant from the State, submerged lands under tidal waterways and the shore of tidal waterways waterward of the mean high water line are owned by the State. Regardless of the ownership of these resources, under the Public Trust Doctrine, the public has rights of access to and use of these resources, as well as a reasonable area of shoreline landward of the mean high water line. Under the Public Trust Doctrine, the State is the trustee of these publicly owned resources and public rights for the common benefit and use of all people without discrimination. As trustee, the State has a fiduciary obligation to ensure that its ownership, regulation and protection of these properties and rights will safeguard them for the enjoyment of present and future generations. The public rights to use these resources extend both to traditional activities such as navigation and fishing, but also to recreational uses such as swimming, sunbathing, fishing, surfing, sport diving, bird watching, walking and boating. The specific rights recognized under the Public Trust Doctrine, a common law principle, continue to develop through individual court decisions. See, for example, Arnold v. Mundy, 6 N.J.L. 1 (1821), Borough of Neptune v. Borough of Avon-by-the-Sea, 61 N.J. 296 (1972), Hyland v. Borough of Allenhurst, 78 N.J. 190 (1978); Matthews v. Bay Head Improvement Association, 95 N.J. 306 (1984); Slocum v. Borough of Belmar, 238 N.J.Super. 179 (Law Div. 1989); National Ass'n of Homebuilders v. State, Dept. of Envt'l Protect., 64 F.Supp.2d 354 (D.N.J. 1999); Raleigh Ave. Beach Ass'n v. Atlantis Beach Club, Inc., 185 N.J. 40 (2005); Illinois Central R.R. v. Illinois, 146 U.S. 387 (1892); Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Mississippi, 484 U.S. 469 (1988); Karam v. NJDEP, 308 N.J. Super. 225, 240 (App. Div. 1998), aff'd, 157 N.J. 187 (1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 814 (1999).
"Pumpout facility" means a facility intended to receive the discharge of wastewater from a marine sanitation device. Pumpout facilities include, but are not limited to, fixed pumpout stations, dockside pumpouts, portable pumpouts, pumpout boats, and dump stations.
"Qualifying municipality" means a municipality that qualifies under N.J.S.A. 52:27D-178 et seq. to receive State aid for the purpose of enabling such municipalities to maintain and upgrade municipal services and offset local property taxes. Under N.J.S.A. 52:27D-178 et seq., the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) establishes a list of qualifying municipalities for each State fiscal year. DCA's list of qualifying municipalities may be obtained on request from the Department at the address set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7-1.6.
"Reconstruction" means the repair or replacement of a building, structure, or other parts of a development, provided that such repair or replacement does not increase or change the location of the footprint of the preexisting development, does not increase the area covered by buildings and/or asphalt or concrete pavement, and does not result in a change in the use of the development. Reconstruction of docks and piers means repair or replacement in the same location and size of the preexisting structure. Reconstruction does not include repairs or maintenance, such as replacing siding, windows, or roofs, unless such repairs or maintenance are associated with enlargements which are not exempt pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7-2.2(c)4.
"Redevelopment" means the development of a previously developed site that has been inactive, underutilized, or abandoned for five years or less.
"Regulated activity" or "activity" means any activity for which a permit is required under CAFRA, the Wetlands Act of 1970, or the Waterfront Development Law, and shall also include the terms "project" and "development."
"Regulated wetland" means any wetland which has been mapped and the map promulgated pursuant to the Wetlands Act of 1970.
"Residential development" means a development that provides one or more dwelling units.
"Revetment" means a sloped shore protection structure consisting of a facing made of stone, placed on a bank, bluff, or shoreline to withstand the forces of waves and currents. A revetment is not a "gabion" or "bulkhead" as defined elsewhere in this section.
"Rotor swept area" means the area of the circle delineated by the tips of the blades of the wind turbine for a horizontal axis wind turbine, and the area determined by multiplying the rotor radius times the rotor height times 3.14 for a vertical axis wind turbine.
"Seasonal or temporary structures related to the tourism industry" means lifeguard stands and associated temporary equipment storage containers, picnic tables, benches and canopies, beach badge sheds, wooden walkways, stage platforms, and portable restrooms, which remain in place only during the period from May 1 through October 31, and provided that the placement of such structures does not involve the excavation, grading or filling of a beach or dune.
"Sewer service area" means the land area identified in an areawide Water Quality Management plan from which wastewater generated is designated to flow to a domestic treatment works or industrial treatment works. A distinct sewer service area is established for each domestic treatment works and industrial treatment works. Adopted updates to sewer service area maps and proposed changes to sewer service areas can be viewed at http://www.nj.gov/dep/wrm.
"Site" means the lot or lots upon which a proposed development is to be constructed.
"Site plan" or "plan" means, for the purposes of this chapter, a graphic depiction of land, vegetation, water, structures, and other physical features on paper, such as a blueprint, construction plan, cross-section, topographic map, architectural rendering, or other similar illustration, which is submitted to the Department to describe an existing or proposed activity or condition.
"Site preparation" means physical activity which is an integral part of a continuous process of land development or redevelopment for a particular development which must occur before actual construction of that development may commence. It does not include the taking of soil borings, performing percolation tests, or driving of less than three test pilings.
"Solar panel" means an elevated panel or plate, or a canopy or array thereof, that captures and converts solar radiation to produce power, and includes flat plate, focusing solar collectors, or photovoltaic solar cells and excludes the base or foundation of the panel, plate, canopy, or array.
"Spring high water line" means the intersection of the land with the water surface at the elevation of spring high tide.
"Spring tide" means a tide that occurs at or near the time of new and full moon and which rises highest (spring high tide) and falls lowest (spring low tide) from the mean level.
"State Aid Agreement" means a binding agreement between the Department and a municipality or county for the construction of a shore protection project funded through the State Shore Protection Fund. The State Aid Agreement for Federally-funded projects contains the project agreement between the Department and the USACE which defines the project design template.
"Stormwater management facility" means a facility which receives, stores, conveys, or discharges stormwater runoff and is designed in accordance with all applicable local, county, and State regulations. A stormwater management facility may be a retention or detention basin; infiltration structure; grassed swale; filter fabric; rip-rap channel; and/or stormwater outfall.
"Structure" means any assembly of materials above, on, or below the surface of the land or water, including, but not limited to, buildings, fences, dams, pilings, footings, breakwaters, culverts, pipes, pipelines, piers, roads, railroads, and bridges, and includes floating structures.
"Technically complete" means that each item included in an application for a coastal permit other than a CAFRA individual permit provides sufficient information for the Department to declare the application complete for review. For an application for a CAFRA individual permit, technically complete means that each item included in the application provides sufficient information for the Department to determine the application is complete for public comment or complete for public hearing.
"Tidelands instrument" means a written document conveying, leasing or licensing lands owned or claimed to be owned as present or formerly flowed tidelands by the State of New Jersey to public entities or private interests pursuant to N.J.S.A. 12:3-1 et seq. and N.J.S.A. 13:1B-13 et seq. Tidelands instruments include licenses, long-term leases, conveyances (often called grants), and management agreements. These documents are recorded in the office of the clerk of the county or registrar of deeds and mortgages of the county in which the property is located.
"Tidelands Map" means the Tidelands Base Photo Map, adopted by the Department's Tidelands Resource Council under N.J.S.A. 13:1B-13.1 et seq., and which is dated 1977/1978.
"UCC" means the Uniform Construction Code, N.J.A.C. 5:23.
"Upland waterfront development area" means the area described at N.J.A.C. 7:7-2.4(a)3 ii.
"USACE" means the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
"USEPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
"USFWS" means the United State Fish and Wildlife Service.
"USGS quad map" means a topographic quadrangle map issued by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), 7.5 minute series, drawn at a scale of 1:24,000.
"Water dependent" means development that cannot physically function without direct access to the body of water along which it is proposed. Uses, or portions of uses, that can function on sites not adjacent to the water are not considered water dependent regardless of the economic advantages that may be gained from a waterfront location. Maritime activity, commercial fishing, public waterfront recreation, and marinas are examples of water dependent uses, but only the portion of the development requiring direct access to the water is water dependent. The test for water dependency shall assess both the need of the proposed use for access to the water and the capacity of the proposed water body to satisfy the requirements and absorb the impacts of the proposed use. A proposed use will not be considered water dependent if either the use can function away from the water or if the water body proposed is unsuitable for the use. For example, in a maritime operation, a dock or quay and associated unloading area would be water dependent, but an associated warehouse would not be water dependent.
1. Examples of water dependent uses include: docks, piers, marina activities requiring access to the water, such as commissioning and decommissioning new and used boats, boat repairs and short term parking for boaters, storage for boats which are too large to be feasibly transported by car trailer (generally greater than 24 feet), rack systems for boat storage, industries such as fish processing plants and other commercial fishing operations, port activities requiring the loading and unloading of vessels, and water-oriented recreation.
2. Water dependent uses exclude, for example: housing, hotels, motels, restaurants, warehouses, manufacturing facilities (except for those which receive and quickly process raw materials by ship), dry boat storage for boats that can be transported by car trailer, long-term parking, parking for persons not participating in a water-dependent activity, boat sales, automobile junk yards, and non-water oriented recreation such as roller rinks and racquetball courts.
"Water oriented" means development that serves the general public and derives economic benefit from direct access to the water body along which it is proposed. (Industrial uses need not serve the general public.) A hotel or restaurant, since it serves the public, could be water-oriented if it takes full advantage of a waterfront location. An assembly plant could be water oriented if overland transportation is possible but water-borne receipt of raw materials and shipment of finished products is economically advantageous. Housing is not water-oriented despite the economic premium placed on waterfront housing, because it only benefits those who can afford to buy or rent the housing units.
"Water quality certificate" means a determination by the Department of the consistency with this chapter of an activity that proposes a discharge to waters of the United States that requires a Federal license or permit pursuant to Section 401 of the Federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1341. Federal licenses and permits for which water quality certificates are issued include, but are not limited to:
1. NPDES permits by USEPA under Section 402 of the Federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1342;
2. Permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material issued by the USACE under Section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1344;
3. Permits for activities that have a potential to discharge in navigable waters issued by the USACE under Sections 9 and 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 403 and 404; and
4. Hydropower licenses issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under Sections 3(11), 4 (e) and 15 of the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 796(11), 797(e), and 808.
"Waters of the State" means the ocean and its estuaries, all springs, streams, wetlands, and bodies of surface or groundwater, whether natural or artificial, within the boundaries of the State of New Jersey or subject to its jurisdiction.
"Waters of the United States" means:
1. All waters which are currently used, were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide;
2. All interstate waters including interstate wetlands;
3. All other waters such as intrastate lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), wetlands, mudflats, sand flats, sloughs, wet meadows, or natural ponds, the use, degradation, or destruction of which would affect or could affect interstate or foreign commerce including any such waters:
i. Which are or could be used by interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or other purposes;
ii. From which fish or shellfish are or could be taken and sold in interstate or foreign commerce;
iii. Which are used or could be used for industrial purposes by industries in interstate commerce;
iv. Which are or would be used as habitat by birds protected by Migratory Bird Treaties;
v. Which are or would be used as habitat by other migratory birds which cross state lines;
vi. Which are or would be used as habitat for endangered and threatened species; or
vii. Which are used to irrigate crops sold in interstate commerce;
4. All impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States under this definition;
5. Tributaries of waters identified in paragraphs 1 through 4 of this definition;
6. The territorial seas; and
7. Wetlands adjacent to waters identified in paragraphs 1 through 6 of this definition, other than those that are themselves wetlands.
"Waterward side of development" means the area of the site located between a tidal water body and a line (s) drawn through point(s) of the footprint of the building closest to the water, and parallel to the water body, which line extends to the property boundaries (see Appendix A, herein incorporated by reference).
"Working day" means a day on which the offices of the Department are open for business.
N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-1.5