New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 13 - FLOOD HAZARD AREA CONTROL ACT RULES › Subchapter 7 - PERMITS-BY-RULE › Section 7:13-7.26 - Permit-by-rule 26-forest management activities

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Permit-by-rule 26 authorizes the forest
				management activities identified at (b) below, provided they are conducted in
				accordance with a forest management plan that has been approved by the New
				Jersey State Forester or designee before the activities are undertaken.
				Information and guidance related to forest management activities in flood
				hazard areas and riparian zones are provided in the document entitled, "New
				Jersey Forestry and Wetlands Best Management Practices Manual," dated October
				1995, which is available at
				https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/forest/nj_bmp_manual1995.pdf.
(b) This permit-by-rule authorizes the
				following forest management activities, provided the conditions at
				N.J.A.C.
				7:13-6.7 are met:
1. Silvicultural prescriptions, including
				planting trees and other vegetation, provided no grading or changes in
				topography occur in a fluvial flood hazard area;
2. Harvest of trees and other vegetation
				cultivated as forest products, provided:
i.
				Any clearing, cutting, and/or removal of riparian zone vegetation is limited to
				the area specified in the forest management plan; and
ii. Regeneration of the harvested area with
				vegetation, which is determined by the State Forester to be of equal or greater
				ecological function and value as the vegetation that was cleared, cut, and/or
				removed, is accomplished through replanting, natural regeneration, or a
				combination thereof;
3.
				Construction and maintenance of a fence to exclude deer and/or control other
				unwanted intrusions, provided:
i. The fence
				is not constructed within any channel; and
ii. Any fence located in a floodway has
				sufficiently large openings so as not to catch debris during a flood and
				thereby obstruct floodwaters, such as a barbed-wire, split-rail, or strand
				fence. A fence with little or no open area, such as a chain link, lattice, or
				picket fence, does not meet this requirement; and
4. Construction and maintenance of a
				temporary forest road, provided:
i. The sole
				purpose of the road is to support or provide access for forestry activities;
ii. The road is no greater than 14
				feet wide;
iii. No grading or
				changes in topography occur in a fluvial flood hazard area, except where
				unavoidable to accommodate the installation of a crossing of a regulated water.
				In such a case, grading and changes in topography shall be the minimum
				necessary to install the crossing;
iv. Any clearing, cutting, and/or removal of
				riparian zone vegetation and disturbance to channels is kept to the minimum
				necessary to successfully implement the project;
v. Temporary mats are used where feasible to
				minimize potential erosion and adverse impacts to riparian zone vegetation;
				and
vi. Any crossing of a regulated
				water is:
(1) Located as far downstream of the
				upstream property boundary of the site as feasible;
(2) Designed to not increase the frequency or
				depth of offsite flooding during any flood event described in
				N.J.A.C.
				7:13-12.1(i); and
(3) Accomplished through the placement of a
				temporary span across the channel in a stable location, without disturbance to
				the channel. Where placement of a temporary span is not feasible, the placement
				of one or more pre-case culverts in channel, without permanent footings or
				abutments is acceptable. In such a case, stable material may be placed above
				the culvert to establish a level roadway surface, but the roadway shall not be
				paved; and
vii. The road
				is removed and all disturbed areas are restored to their pre-construction
				condition within six months of the construction of the roadway, or within 30
				days of either of the following, whichever occurs first:
(1) The land use of the site being accessed
				by the road changes from forestry to another use; or
(2) The Department determines that the
				management activity at the site is not in compliance with the approved forest
				management plan.