N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7A-7.18

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 7:7A-7.18 - General permit 18-Dam repair

(a) General permit 18 authorizes activities in freshwater wetlands, transition areas, and State open water as necessary for the repair, rehabilitation, replacement, maintenance, reconstruction, or removal of a dam, as defined in the Department's dam safety rules at N.J.A.C. 7:20-1.2.

(b) A dam that is currently serviceable may be repaired, rehabilitated, replaced, maintained or reconstructed under general permit 18. A dam is considered currently serviceable if it meets any of the following criteria:

1. The dam is in use, that is, the dam is impounding water at a normal pool elevation for which it was designed, at the time of submittal of the general permit application;

2. The dam is not in use, and has been out of use for no more than five years prior to submittal of the general permit application; or

3. The dam is not in use, but has been out of use for up to 10 years prior to submittal of the general permit application, but the applicant documents that public funding was actively sought for repairs during the 10 years.

(c) A dam that is not currently serviceable, as defined in (b) above, may not be repaired, rehabilitated, replaced, maintained or reconstructed, but may be removed.

(d) Activities under general permit 18 shall meet all applicable requirements at N.J.A.C. 7:7A-5.7 and 20.3 and are subject to the following limits:

1. All activities shall be conducted in accordance with a permit issued pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:20 by the Department's Bureau of Dam Safety;

2. There shall be no more than one acre of permanent disturbance of wetlands, transition areas, and/or State open waters. Draining of a State open water or freshwater wetland by removing a dam shall not be considered permanent disturbance under this paragraph;

3. Temporary disturbance shall be the minimum necessary to comply with the dam safety permit;

4. The permittee shall minimize adverse impacts on freshwater wetlands, transition areas, and/or State open waters through the use of best management practices including, but not limited to:

i. Disposing of any excess soil, gravel, or other material immediately upon completion of construction. This material shall be disposed of outside of freshwater wetlands, transition areas, State open waters, and areas regulated under the Department's Flood Hazard Area Control Act rules at N.J.A.C. 7:13;

ii. Backfilling the uppermost 18 inches of any excavation with the original topsoil material;

iii. Replanting the disturbed area with indigenous wetlands plants;

iv. Stabilizing the disturbed area in accordance with the requirements of the appropriate Soil Conservation District;

5. A repaired, rehabilitated, replaced, maintained or reconstructed dam shall not deviate from its original structure, except for minor deviations due to changes in materials or construction techniques, or deviations required for safety reasons in accordance with the Department's Dam Safety Standards, N.J.A.C. 7:20; and

6. Activities under general permit 18 shall not increase the normal water surface elevation over the historic elevation as of the date the dam was originally completed.

(e) If a dam is removed under general permit 18, and the dam owner also owns or controls any of the property containing the lake bottom, the Department may require the owner to execute and record a conservation restriction in accordance with the requirements at N.J.A.C. 7:7A-12 covering the lake bottom area. The conservation restriction shall prohibit any development or regulated activity for five years from the date the dam is removed, in order to allow the stream corridor and associated wetlands in the lake bottom area to revert to their natural state. The conservation restriction shall include the land covered by the lake bottom, and all associated wetlands, as they exist at the time the dam is removed. When the conservation restriction expires, the Department's jurisdiction under this chapter shall be based on existing conditions on the site.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7A-7.18

Amended and recodified from 7:7A-5.18 by 49 N.J.R. 3849(a), effective 12/18/2017

Administrative Change, 50 N.J.R. 1147(a).