reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.3 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.3 - Definitions

13:9-44.3. Definitions  As used in this amendatory and supplementary act: a. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or an official designated by the commissioner. b. "Back fire" means a controlled fire purposely ignited in the path of wildfire along the inner edge of a control line. c. "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection. d. "Forest" means and includes any forest, bushland, grassland, salt marsh, and any combination thereof. e. "Wildfire" means an uncontrolled fire burning the different types of vegetation that cover the land. L.1981, c. 369, s. 3, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.4 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.4 - Authority to make, conduct or participate in investigation of cause or responsibility for wildfire; cooperation

13:9-44.4. Authority to make, conduct or participate in investigation of cause or responsibility for wildfire; cooperation  The Department of Environmental Protection is authorized to make, conduct or participate in any investigation or survey designed to establish the cause of and responsibility for a particular wildfire and to cooperate with any law enforcement officers of this State with respect to violations of this act. L.1981, c. 369, s. 4, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.5 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.5 - Rules and regulations; orders

13:9-44.5. Rules and regulations; orders  The Department of Environmental Protection is authorized to formulate, promulgate, amend, and repeal rules and regulations and to issue orders to carry out the purposes of this act. L.1981, c. 369, s. 5, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.6 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.6 - Discharge of incendiary device, operation of mechanism which might cause wildfire or machinery without spark arrestor; precautions; presumption on escape of fire

13:9-44.6. Discharge of incendiary device, operation of mechanism which might cause wildfire or machinery without spark arrestor; precautions; presumption on escape of fire  No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any incendiary device on or across any forest land, or operate a welding torch or other mechanism which may cause a wildfire, without clearing flammable material surrounding the operation or without taking such other precautions as prescribed by the department to insure against the ignition and spread of wildfire, or cause to be operated any engine, locomotive, power vehicle, equipment, or other machinery not equipped with spark arrestors or other suitable controls, approved by the department by rule to prevent the escape of fire or sparks. Spark arrestors or devices must be in good working order and in use. The department may prohibit the operation of any locomotive, rapid transit, engine, equipment, or other motorized unit not properly equipped with department approved fire protection devices. Escape of fire from such equipment shall be presumed to be evidence that it was not maintained properly in compliance with this section. Any person in violation thereof may be put upon his proof to rebut such presumption in any civil proceeding under this act. L.1981, c. 369, s. 6, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.7 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.7 - Throwing or dropping object within forest likely to cause wildfire

13:9-44.7. Throwing or dropping object within forest likely to cause wildfire  No person shall throw or drop any object within forests which is likely to cause a wildfire, including but not limited to a lighted cigarette, lighted cigar, match or live ashes. L.1981, c. 369, s. 7, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.8 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.8 - Rights-of-way of railroads; burning and clearance; failure to comply; notice; declaration as public nuisance

13:9-44.8. Rights-of-way of railroads; burning and clearance; failure to comply; notice; declaration as public nuisance  The rights-of-way of all railroads which are operated through forests shall be prescribed burned by the railroad during the fall and winter months and kept cleared of all obsolete ties or other flammable material. The department shall notify the owner of such property that failure to comply will result in the property being declared a public nuisance which by reason of its condition or operation is a special forest fire hazard and as such endangers other property or human life. The department shall notify the owner of such property or the person responsible for the condition or operation thereof, that it has been declared a public nuisance and order him to abate it. L.1981, c. 369, s. 8, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.9 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.9 - Costs of extinguishment; recovery; action

13:9-44.9. Costs of extinguishment; recovery; action  The department may, in the name of the State, recover costs of extinguishment and costs associated therewith from any person or agency, public or private, whose negligence or whose knowing violation of any provision of this act caused any fire in the State for the services of persons and equipment under the provisions of this act to control confine, extinguish, or suppress such fire. The claim shall be paid within 60 days and if not paid within that time, the department may bring suit against the person or agency in a court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the claim. L.1981, c. 369, s. 9, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.10 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.10 - Penalties; enforcement

13:9-44.10. Penalties; enforcement  10. If any person violates any of the provisions of this act or any rule, regulation or order promulgated pursuant to provisions of this act, the department may:  (a) Institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for injunctive relief to prohibit and prevent such violation and the court may proceed in the action in a summary manner. Any person who violates the provisions of this act or any rule, regulation or order promulgated pursuant to this act shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $5,000.00 for each offense, to be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under "the penalty enforcement law" (N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq.) or in any case before a court of competent jurisdiction wherein injunctive relief has been requested. The Superior Court and municipal courts shall have jurisdiction to enforce "the penalty enforcement law." The Attorney General or the prosecuting attorney of the municipality or county in which the offense was committed may prosecute the case. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute an additional, separate and distinct offense. The department is authorized to settle any claim for a penalty under this section in such amount in the discretion of the department as may appear appropriate and equitable under all of the circumstances;  (b) Petition the Attorney General to bring a criminal action against any person who knowingly violates any of the provisions of this act or any rule, regulation or order promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this act and thereby causes a wildfire. Such person shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree and notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:43-3 shall be subject to a fine of not more than $100,000.00 for each offense; or  (c) Levy a civil administrative remedy of not more than $5,000.00 for each violation and additional penalties of not more than $500.00 for each day during which such violation continues after receipt of an order from the department. No penalty shall be levied pursuant to this section until the person has been notified by certified mail or personal service. The notice shall include a reference to the section of the statute violated; a concise statement of the facts alleged to constitute a violation; a statement of the person's right to a hearing. The person shall have 20 days from receipt of the notice within which to deliver to the commissioner a written request for a hearing. After the hearing and upon finding that a violation has occurred, the commissioner may issue a final order after assessing the amount of the fine specified in the notice. If no hearing is requested, then the notice shall become a final order after the expiration of the 20 day period. Payment is due when the final order is issued or the notice becomes a final order.  L.1981,c.369,s.10; amended 1991,c.91,s.227.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.11 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.11 - Short title.

13:9-44.11 Short title.  1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the "Prescribed Burn Act." L.2018, c.107, s.1.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.12 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.12 - Findings, declarations relative to prescribed burns.

13:9-44.12 Findings, declarations relative to prescribed burns.  2. The Legislature finds and declares that prescribed burning is a public safety tool the primary purpose of which is to reduce the danger of uncontrolled wildfire; that it is also a resource protection and land management technique which benefits forests and other natural resources, the environment, and the economy of the State; that prescribed burning reduces naturally occurring vegetative fuels within forested areas and other types of ecosystems, and thereby lessens the risk and severity of major wildfire and the possible resulting loss of life and property; that New Jersey's changing population places suburban development directly adjacent to fire-prone lands; and that the use of prescribed burning to manage wildland fire fuels in those interface areas would substantially reduce the threat of damaging wildfire in suburban communities. The Legislature further finds and declares that forested land, agricultural land, grassland, coastal marshland, and other open lands constitute significant economic, biological, and aesthetic resources of Statewide importance; that the ecology of the Pine Barrens region in particular requires periodic fire for maintenance of ecological integrity; that proper prescribed burning on those lands serves to reduce hazardous accumulations of wildland fire fuels, prepares sites for both natural and artificial forest regeneration, improves wildlife habitat, controls insects and disease, and perpetuates fire dependent ecosystems; and that proper application of prescribed burning is essential to the existence, continuation, restoration, and management of many plant and animal communities, and the resulting vegetative growth benefits rare, threatened, and endangered species, songbirds, and other game and nongame species. The Legislature also finds and declares that as New Jersey's population continues to grow, pressures from liability issues and smoke nuisance complaints cause prescribed burn practitioners to limit prescribed burn activity, thereby reducing the above described benefits of these burns to the State; and that public misunderstanding of the benefits of prescribed burning to the ecological and economic welfare of the State inhibits full use of this valuable resource management tool. The Legislature therefore determines that it is the purpose of this act to authorize and promote the continued use of prescribed burning for public safety, wildfire control, and ecological, silvicultural, agricultural, and natural resource management purposes; that it is appropriate and useful to allow prescribed burning, as authorized by this act, under all other State laws and regulations and exempt from all local laws and regulations prohibiting open burning or the burning of forests and other types of ecosystems; and that prescribed burning of wildland fire fuels is to be considered an acceptable practice of a landowner. L.2018, c.107, s.2.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.13 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.13 - Definitions relative to prescribed burns.

13:9-44.13 Definitions relative to prescribed burns.  3. As used in this act: "Assistant Commissioner" means the Assistant Commissioner of Natural and Historic Resources in the Department of Environmental Protection. "Certified" means having completed and received the certification from a program of education, approved by the department, about the design and implementation of prescribed burns that, upon completion, results in issuance of a certification to the participant. "Certified" shall not mean completion of the training provided by the Forest Fire Service.  "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection." "Forest Fire Service" means the Forest Fire Service in the Department of Environmental Protection. "Landowner or lessee" means (1) the person responsible for the land upon which a prescribed burn is to be conducted who (a) either owns or leases the land, and (b) has full access and control of the land at all times during the prescribed burn; or (2) an agent, employee, or other representative of that person who, for the purposes of complying with this act, (a) is authorized to act on the person's behalf, and (b) has full access and control of the land at all times during the prescribed burn. "Mechanically manage vegetation" means to mow or cut vegetation to reduce wildland fire fuels contained in the forest or other open lands. "Person" means an individual, trust, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, society, association, joint stock company, corporation, public corporation or public authority, estate, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee, fiduciary and any other legal entity. "Prescribed burn" or "prescribed burning" means the deliberate ignition and controlled open burning of wildland fire fuels, under specified environmental conditions which allow the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and produces the fireline intensity and rate of spread required to attain planned resource management objectives such as public safety, wildfire control, ecological, silvicultural, agricultural, or other natural resource management purposes. "Prescribed burn plan" or "plan" means a written plan prepared in accordance with this act and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to section 7 thereof, for starting, executing, and controlling a prescribed burn. "Wildland fire fuels" means fuels including herbaceous and other plant life found in forests, fields, grasslands, coastal marshlands and other open lands whether in their natural state or having been cut. L.2018, c.107, s.3.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.14 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.14 - Program for prescribed burning, fees.

13:9-44.14 Program for prescribed burning, fees.  4. a. The Department of Environmental Protection shall develop and administer a program for prescribed burning on public and private lands under which the department may authorize a person to conduct a prescribed burn pursuant to a prescribed burn plan approved by the department.  b. The department may charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs associated with the program. All such fees collected shall be credited to a special dedicated account in the General Fund and appropriated to the Forest Fire Service to help pay for the administration and operation of its forest fire programs. c. A person who desires to conduct a prescribed burn only on land for which the person is the landowner or lessee shall not be required to become certified. L.2018, c.107, s.4.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.16 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.16 - Prescribed burn deemed to be in public interest; immunity from liability.

13:9-44.16 Prescribed burn deemed to be in public interest; immunity from liability.  6. a. A prescribed burn, including the smoke and ash and other air pollution deriving therefrom, conducted in accordance with the requirements of this act and an approved prescribed burn plan, shall be deemed to be in the public interest and shall not constitute arson, trespass, or a public or private nuisance.  b. A landowner or lessee who conducts or authorizes a prescribed burn in accordance with an approved prescribed burn plan, the requirements of this act, and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto shall not be liable in a civil action for any damages or injury to persons or property from fire or the resulting smoke or ash caused by the prescribed burn, unless it is proven that the landowner or lessee was negligent in starting, executing, or controlling the prescribed burn. c. Any person who conducts or authorizes a prescribed burn in accordance with an approved prescribed burn plan, the requirements of this act, and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto shall not be liable for any penalties for violations of the "Air Pollution Control Act (1954)," P.L.1954, c.212 (C.26:2C-1 et seq.).  d. In a private civil action arising from the conducting of a prescribed burn and any damages or injury caused by the fire or the resulting smoke or ash, proof of compliance with the requirements and standards established pursuant to this act shall be admissible evidence that the duty of care for conducting of a prescribed burn has been met. e. No provision of this act shall be construed to relieve a landowner or lessee of the obligation to reimburse the department for the reasonable and normal costs associated with a prescribed burn, regardless of whether fire escapes from the prescribed burn conducted or authorized to be conducted by the landowner or lessee and the fire requires intervention by the Forest Fire Service. If the fire escapes due to the negligence of the landowner or lessee, the landowner or lessee shall also be subject to penalties established by the department by rule or regulation for such negligence. Any reimbursement of costs paid pursuant to this subsection shall be credited to a special dedicated account in the General Fund and appropriated to the Forest Fire Service to pay for the administration and operation of its forest fire programs. f. Without affecting any other limitations on liability that may be applicable, and notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the department and any designee, agent, or employee thereof shall be immune from liability for any damages or injury arising from or related to any act or omission taken in the good faith performance of the department and any designee, agent, or employee thereof in carrying out the provisions of this act. L.2018, c.107, s.6.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-44.17 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-44.17 - Rules, regulations.

13:9-44.17 Rules, regulations.  7. The department, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, shall develop and adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to implement this act, which shall include, but need not be limited to, the issuance of appropriate notice to the public of prescribed burns conducted by the Forest Fire Service and the design, approval, and implementation of prescribed burn plans. L.2018, c.107, s.7.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9-52 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9-52 - Drought; closing of forests and suspension or curtailment of open seasons for game and fish; proclamation of commissioner

13:9-52. Drought; closing of forests and suspension or curtailment of open seasons for game and fish; proclamation of commissioner  Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary: Whenever, by reason of drought, the forests of the State are in danger of fires, the commissioner shall have the authority to forbid by proclamation any person or persons, except those authorized by such proclamation, from entering forests in such parts of the State as the department deems the public interest requires, and may by such proclamation suspend or curtail any open season for taking fish, game birds, game animals and furbearing animals, or any of them, therein. Such proclamation shall be in effect at such time as the commissioner may determine after notice is given in the manner the commissioner may determine and remain in force and effect until rescinded by the commissioner. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, except those authorized by written permission of the commissioner, to enter such forests while such proclamation shall be in effect. L.1948, c. 11, p. 59, s. 1, eff. April 5, 1948. Amended by L.1981, c. 369, s. 33, eff. Dec. 30, 1981.
NJ Rev Stat § 13:9A-1 (2021)
2021 New Jersey Revised Statutes|Title 13 - Conservation and Development--Parks and Reservations|Section 13:9A-1 - Legislative intent; inventory and mapping of tidal wetlands; filing in office of county recording officer

13:9A-1. Legislative intent; inventory and mapping of tidal wetlands; filing in office of county recording officer  a. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that one of the most vital and productive areas of our natural world is the so-called "estuarine zone," that area between the sea and the land; that this area protects the land from the force of the sea, moderates our weather, provides a home for water fowl and for 2/3 of all our fish and shellfish, and assists in absorbing sewage discharge by the rivers of the land; and that in order to promote the public safety, health and welfare, and to protect public and private property, wildlife, marine fisheries and the natural environment, it is necessary to preserve the ecological balance of this area and prevent its further deterioration and destruction by regulating the dredging, filling, removing or otherwise altering or polluting thereof, all to the extent and in the manner provided herein. b. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall, within 2 years of the effective date of this act, make an inventory and maps of all tidal wetlands within the State. The boundaries of such wetlands shall generally define the areas that are at or below high water and shall be shown on suitable maps, which may be reproductions or aerial photographs. Each such map shall be filed in the office of the county recording officer of the county or counties in which the wetlands indicated thereon are located. Each wetland map shall bear a certificate of the commissioner to the effect that it is made and filed pursuant to this act. To be entitled to filing no wetlands map need meet the requirements of R.S. 47:1-6. L.1970, c. 272, s. 1, eff. Nov. 5, 1970.