New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 2 - AGRICULTURE › Chapter 76 - STATE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE › Subchapter 2A - AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: GENERALLY ACCEPTED OPERATIONS AND PRACTICES › Section 2:76-2A.12 - Agricultural management practice for the construction, installation, operation or maintenance of solar energy generation facilities, structures and equipment on commercial farms

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) As used in this section, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Ambient sound level" means that measured value, which represents the summation of the sound from all of the discrete sources affecting a given site at a given time.
"Board" means the county agriculture development board established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-14 or a subregional agriculture retention board established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-17.
"Commercial farm" means:
1. A farm management unit of no less than five acres producing agricultural or horticultural products worth $ 2,500 or more annually, and satisfying the eligibility criteria for differential property taxation pursuant to the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq.; or
2. A farm management unit less than five acres, producing agricultural or horticultural products worth $ 50,000 or more annually and otherwise satisfying the eligibility criteria for differential property taxation pursuant to the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq.
"Committee" means the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-4.
"Conservation plan" means a site-specific plan that prescribes land treatment and related conservation and natural resources management measures that are deemed to be necessary, practical and reasonable for the conservation, protection and development of natural resources, the maintenance and enhancement of agricultural or horticultural productivity, and the control and prevention of non-point source pollution.
"dBA" means the sound level as measured using the "A" weighting network with a sound level meter.
"dBZ" means the sound level as measured using the "Z" weighting network with an octave band sound level meter.
"Decibel" means the practical unit of measurement for sound pressure level as defined in N.J.A.C. 7:29.
"Geotextile fabrics" means permeable, woven and non-woven fabrics that allow for water infiltration into the underlying soil.
"L90" means the sound level exceeded for 90 percent of the duration of a measurement period.
"Lmin" means the minimum sound level measured during a measurement period.
"New Jersey Field Office Technical Guide (NJ-FOTG)" means the USDA-NRCS technical reference, which is incorporated herein by reference, as amended and supplemented, customized for the State of New Jersey, prescribing practices and standards for the conversation and management of soil, water and related natural resources, which is available at
http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/efotg_locater.aspx?map=NJ
.
"Occupied area" means the total contiguous or noncontiguous area(s) supporting the solar energy generation facilities and related infrastructure. The total area calculation shall include land devoted to the solar energy generation facilities; nonfarm roadways; roadway or utility easements accessing the solar generation facilities; any areas of the farm used for underground piping or wiring to transmit solar energy or heat where the piping or wiring is less than three feet from the surface; and any other buildings or site amenities deemed necessary for the production of solar energy on the farm.
"Octave band sound level meter" means an instrument that conforms to ANSI S1.4-1983 or its successors and ANSI S1.11-1986 or its successors.
"Operator" means the person or entity that installs, owns or controls the solar energy generation facilities, structures and equipment.
"Owner" means the owner of record of the commercial farm.
"Prime farmlands" means lands so defined by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
"Setback" means the distance measured from the nearest vertical component within the occupied area, including, but not limited to, solar arrays, inverters and fencing.
"Site plan" means a plot plan that includes the following:
1. Property lines and physical dimensions of the commercial farm;
2. Location, configuration and size of the occupied area measured in square feet and acres;
3. Method of mounting, system height and generating capacity (in alternating current) of the solar energy generation facilities;
4. Computed distances for setbacks and screening where required;
5. Proposed new roadways and existing roadways to access the facilities;
6. Use of concrete, asphalt, gravel, geotextile fabrics and the nature and extent of any site disturbances within the occupied area;
7. A copy of the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service soil map that uses the most current Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database with a summary of the soil mapping units and designation of prime farmlands for the entire property;
8. A copy of the conservation plan that was approved by the soil conservation district, which is referenced in this section;
9. A copy of the farmland assessment form approved by the local tax assessor for the commercial farm; and
10. A copy of the analysis demonstrating that the solar energy generation system has been designed to comply with the sound standards in (j) below.
"Solar energy" means electricity or heat that is generated through a system that employs solar radiation.
"Solar energy generation facilities" means all the components of a solar energy generation system, including, but not limited to, structures and equipment, photovoltaic panels and films, arrays, collectors, piping, footings, supports, mounting and stabilization devices, inverters, pumps, transformers, electrical distribution and transmission wires, utility poles and other on-farm infrastructure necessary to operate and maintain the system for the generation of power or heat.
"Sound level meter" means an instrument that conforms to ANSI S1.4-1983 or its successors.
"System height" means the highest point of any component of the solar energy generation facilities, structures and equipment at any point in time, as measured from the ground beneath that point.
"Vegetative screen" means the planting of deciduous and non-deciduous trees, shrubs, grasses and other vegetation to serve as a visual screen to obstruct the view of the solar energy generation facilities.