N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-15.12

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:7-15.12 - Dredged material placement on land

(a) Dredged material placement is the disposal or beneficial use of sediments removed during dredging operations. Beneficial uses of dredged material include, but are not limited to, fill, capping material, topsoil, bricks, and lightweight aggregate. This rule applies to the placement of dredged material landward of the spring high water line. The standards for dredged material disposal in water areas are found at 7:7-12.9.

(b) Dredged material placement on land is conditionally acceptable provided that the use is protective of human health, groundwater quality, and surface water quality, and manages ecological risks. Testing of the dredged material may be required as needed to determine the acceptability of the placement of the material on a particular site in accordance with Appendix G.

(c) Dredged material disposal and/or construction of a confined disposal facility is prohibited in wetlands unless the criteria found at 7:7-9.27 are met.

(d) The beneficial use of dredged material of appropriate quality and particle size for purposes such as restoring landscape, enhancing farming areas, capping and remediating landfills and brownfields, transportation projects, beach protection, creating marshes, capping contaminated dredged material disposal areas, and making new wildlife habitats is encouraged.

(e) Adverse effects associated with the transfer of the dredged materials from the dredging site to the upland confined disposal facility or upland placement site shall be minimized to the maximum extent feasible.

(f) Dredged material placement in wet and dry borrow pits is conditionally acceptable (see 7:7-9.14 and 9.33).

(g) If pre-dredging sediment analysis indicates contamination, then special precautions shall be imposed including but not necessarily limited to increasing retention time of water in the disposal site or rehandling basin through weir and dike design modifications, use of coagulants, ground water monitoring, or measures to prevent biological uptake by colonizing plants.

(h) All potential releases of water from confined (diked) disposal facilities and rehandling basins shall meet existing State Surface Water Quality Standards (N.J.A.C. 7:9B) and State Ground Water Quality Standards (N.J.A.C. 7:9C).

(i) Rationale: Dredged material disposal and/or beneficial use is an essential coastal land and water use that is linked inextricably to the coastal economy. Dredged material placement on land could have serious impacts in the coastal environment. In the past decade, evolving State and Federal policies for protection of the marine and estuarine coastal environment have sharply limited the designation of new open water dredged material disposal areas. Yet maintenance dredging must continue if inlets and navigation channels are to be maintained. This rule recognizes the importance of this use of coastal resources and the need for sites landward of the spring high water line where this material can be placed.

Dredged material may contain pollutants and thus dredging and dredged material placement must be managed to minimize impacts on water, air, and habitat. Further, every precaution should be taken to ensure that the placement of dredged material on land does not endanger the natural coastal resources, human health, or the environment. Therefore, due investigation is required prior to approval of dredged material placement on land.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-15.12

Renumbered from 7:7E-7.12 by 47 N.J.R. 1392(a), effective 7/6/2015