New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 7 - COASTAL PERMIT PROGRAM RULES › Subchapter 15 - USE RULES › Section 7:7-15.12 - Dredged material placement on land

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Dredged material placement is the
				disposal or beneficial use of sediments removed during dredging operations.
				Beneficial uses of dredged material include, but are not limited to, fill,
				capping material, topsoil, bricks, and lightweight aggregate. This rule applies
				to the placement of dredged material landward of the spring high water line.
				The standards for dredged material disposal in water areas are found at
				7:7-12.9.
(b) Dredged material placement on land is
				conditionally acceptable provided that the use is protective of human health,
				groundwater quality, and surface water quality, and manages ecological risks.
				Testing of the dredged material may be required as needed to determine the
				acceptability of the placement of the material on a particular site in
				accordance with Appendix G.
(c)
				Dredged material disposal and/or construction of a confined disposal facility
				is prohibited in wetlands unless the criteria found at
				7:7-9.27 are met.
(d) The beneficial use of dredged material of
				appropriate quality and particle size for purposes such as restoring landscape,
				enhancing farming areas, capping and remediating landfills and brownfields,
				transportation projects, beach protection, creating marshes, capping
				contaminated dredged material disposal areas, and making new wildlife habitats
				is encouraged.
(e) Adverse effects
				associated with the transfer of the dredged materials from the dredging site to
				the upland confined disposal facility or upland placement site shall be
				minimized to the maximum extent feasible.
(f) Dredged material placement in wet and dry
				borrow pits is conditionally acceptable (see
				7:7-9.14 and 9.33).
(g) If pre-dredging sediment analysis
				indicates contamination, then special precautions shall be imposed including
				but not necessarily limited to increasing retention time of water in the
				disposal site or rehandling basin through weir and dike design modifications,
				use of coagulants, ground water monitoring, or measures to prevent biological
				uptake by colonizing plants.
(h)
				All potential releases of water from confined (diked) disposal facilities and
				rehandling basins shall meet existing State Surface Water Quality Standards
				(N.J.A.C. 7:9B) and State Ground Water Quality Standards (N.J.A.C.
				7:9C).
(i) Rationale: Dredged
				material disposal and/or beneficial use is an essential coastal land and water
				use that is linked inextricably to the coastal economy. Dredged material
				placement on land could have serious impacts in the coastal environment. In the
				past decade, evolving State and Federal policies for protection of the marine
				and estuarine coastal environment have sharply limited the designation of new
				open water dredged material disposal areas. Yet maintenance dredging must
				continue if inlets and navigation channels are to be maintained. This rule
				recognizes the importance of this use of coastal resources and the need for
				sites landward of the spring high water line where this material can be placed.
Dredged material may contain pollutants and thus dredging
				  and dredged material placement must be managed to minimize impacts on water,
				  air, and habitat. Further, every precaution should be taken to ensure that the
				  placement of dredged material on land does not endanger the natural coastal
				  resources, human health, or the environment. Therefore, due investigation is
				  required prior to approval of dredged material placement on
				  land.