N.J. Admin. Code § 7:8-3.4

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

Section 7:8-3.4 - Characterization and assessment of the regional stormwater management planning area

(a) The regional stormwater management plan shall include a characterization and assessment that addresses the following components, unless the committee determines that a component is not appropriate for the regional stormwater management planning area and provides a rationale for not including the component:

1. Maps showing the following information. Maps developed on a Geographical Information System shall meet the Digital Data standards in N.J.A.C. 7:1D unless a rationale for a different format is provided.

i. The regional stormwater management planning area boundary;

ii. Existing land uses;

iii. Projected land uses assuming full development under existing zoning;

iv. Soil mapping units based on the detailed soil maps in County Soil Surveys published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or, in areas for which County Soil Surveys are not available, on information obtained from Soil Conservation Districts;

v. Topography based on the U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map, 7.5 minute quadrangle series, or other sources of information depicting topography in similar or greater detail;

vi. Water bodies based on detailed map sheets in County Soil Surveys published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map, 7.5 minute quadrangle series; or other sources of information depicting water bodies in similar or greater detail;

vii. Coastal wetlands based on maps prepared by the Department under the Wetlands Act of 1970, N.J.S.A. 13:9A-1 et seq., and freshwater wetlands based on maps prepared by the Department under the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 13:9B-1 et seq.;

viii. Flood hazard areas based on delineations made by the Department under the Flood Hazard Area Control Act, N.J.S.A. 58:16A-50 et seq. For a water body for which the Department has not delineated the flood hazard area, a map of the flood hazard area prepared in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:13 is acceptable;

ix. Groundwater recharge areas and well head protection areas based on maps prepared by the Department or ordinances of an affected municipality;

x. Environmentally constrained areas and environmentally critical areas;

xi. River areas designated under the New Jersey Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, N.J.S.A. 13:8-45 et seq., or the Federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1278. et seq.;

xii. For each waterbody in the regional stormwater management planning area, identification of the waterbody or waterbody segment, the drainage area, and the classification of the waterbody pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15;

xiii. Each waterbody designated as a water quality limited surface water pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:15-5;

xiv. Man-made stormwater conveyance, storage and discharge systems, including municipal separate storm sewer outfall pipes and the drainage areas as appropriate for these outfall structures; and

xv. Source water areas of potable public surface water supply intakes and public water supply reservoirs available on the Department's webpage at www.nj.gov/dep/swap;

2. A map showing jurisdictional boundaries within the regional stormwater management planning area of municipal, county, and other agencies with responsibility for implementing stormwater management;

3. Identification of the physical characteristics of the regional stormwater management planning area pertinent to stormwater management, such as slopes, swales and impoundment areas as necessary for completing the analysis in N.J.A.C. 7:8-3.4(a)4;

4. A water quality, groundwater recharge and water quantity hydrologic and hydraulic model or analysis of the regional stormwater management planning area which addresses existing land uses and projected land uses assuming full development under existing zoning and taking into account permanently preserved lands;

5. An identification and evaluation of existing municipal, county, State, Federal, and other stormwater-related groundwater recharge, water quality, and water quantity regulations and programs shall be conducted, including, where applicable, programs to develop total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:15-5; and

6. A summary of information that has been identified as useful for purposes of stormwater management planning but that is not available for technical, financial, or other reasons.

(b) The Department encourages the use of existing information to the extent that it is available to minimize the cost of data acquisition, such as information available on the Department's Geographical Information System website (www.state.nj.us/dep/gis) or as developed through a watershed planning process.

(c) The characterization and assessment shall include information on locations and activities outside the regional stormwater management planning area that drain into the planning area (for example, stormwater originating in an adjacent drainage area that is transferred to the stormwater management planning area).

(d) Using the modeling or other information obtained under (a) through (c) above, the stormwater-related water quality impacts of existing land uses and projected land uses assuming full development under existing zoning shall be identified and ranked in accordance with the following process:

1. Inventory existing and potential stormwater-related pollutant sources and stormwater-related pollutants in the regional stormwater management planning area.

i. Stormwater-related pollutant sources include, for example, urban and suburban development, roads, storm sewers, agriculture, mining, and waterfront development.

ii. Stormwater-related pollutants include, for example, nutrients, pathogens, hydrocarbons, metals, pesticides, sediments, and suspended solids;

2. For surface water bodies and/or segments thereof and aquifers and/or portions thereof in the regional stormwater management planning area, identify and describe the existing or designated uses that are or may be adversely affected by stormwater-related pollutants, and to the extent feasible, identify the source(s) of the pollutant. The use of the report and list prepared by the Department to comply with Federal Clean Water Act, Section 303(d) and 305(b) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1313.(d) and 1315(b)) and underlying data, including biological assessments, is encouraged; and

3. Identify and rank the most significant existing and potential stormwater-related pollutants and, for each pollutant, identify and rank the sources.

(e) Using the modeling or other information obtained under (a) through (c) above for stormwater-related water quantity impacts and stormwater-related groundwater recharge impacts of existing and projected land uses assuming full development under existing zoning, the most significant existing and potential stormwater-related water quantity problems, including flooding, erosion, mosquitoes, base-flow reduction, groundwater depletion, and associated ecosystem impacts, shall be identified and described. The problems shall be ranked based on consideration of threat to public health, safety, and welfare as evidenced by history of or potential for flood damage; risk of loss of or damage to water supplies; and risk of damage to the biological integrity of water bodies.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:8-3.4

Amended by R.1987 d.513, effective 12/7/1987.
See: 19 N.J.R. 488(a), 19 N.J.R. 2276(a).
Substantially amended.
Amended by R.1991 d.510, effective 10/21/1991.
See: 22 N.J.R. 2870(a), 23 N.J.R. 3134(b).
In (a), added reference to N.J.A.C. 7:8-2.1.
In (a)2ii, changed "water requirement" to "water quality requirement".
Amended by R.2020 d.003, effective 3/2/2020 (operative March 2, 2021).
See: 50 N.J.R. 2375(a), 52 N.J.R. 402(a).
In (a)1xiii, updated the N.J.A.C. reference; and in (a)5, inserted a comma following "quality" and updated the N.J.A.C. reference.