New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 15 - WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANNING › Subchapter 4 - WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT PLANS › Section 7:15-4.6 - Habitat Suitability Determinations

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Where an area is excluded from being
				eligible for sewer service area in accordance with
7:15-4.4
on the basis that
				it is within a habitat Rank 3, 4, or 5 on the Department's Landscape Maps of
				Habitat for Endangered, Threatened and Other Priority Wildlife, or within a
				Natural Heritage Priority Site, an applicant may seek a Habitat Suitability
				Determination from the Department to rebut the presumption that the habitat
				patch rank is accurate or that the habitat is suitable for the natural resource
				elements contained in a Natural Heritage Priority Site.
(b) If a project or activity requires a
				permit from the Department that addresses habitat for endangered and threatened
				wildlife species or natural resource elements occurring within a Natural
				Heritage Priority Site, the applicant may submit the permit application,
				request for habitat suitability determination, and plan amendment application
				concurrently, so that the Department may review a single Habitat Suitability
				Determination for a particular project or activity for compliance with this
				chapter and any relevant permit requirements. A habitat suitability
				determination is based upon conditions and information available at the time of
				the determination. A habitat suitability determination obtained prior to permit
				application may be subject to review to ensure that conditions and/or
				information have not changed since the issuance of the original determination.
				Issuance of a favorable Habitat Suitability Determination does not guarantee
				that other Department permits or approvals will be granted.
(c) An application for a Habitat Suitability
				Determination shall be submitted to the Department in accordance with
7:15-1.6
and shall include
				all the information required below, unless the Department advises the applicant
				in writing that any particular item(s) is not required for the area that is the
				subject of the application:
1. A letter from
				the Department's Natural Heritage Program issued within six months of the date
				of application stating if any endangered or threatened wildlife species or
				natural resource elements (plant species and/or ecological communities) listed
				in the Natural Heritage Database exist on or near the site. Information and
				forms relating to the Natural Heritage Program may be found on the State
				Forestry Services web page at
www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/natural/heritage
or obtained from the Office of Natural Lands Management, Natural Heritage
				  Program at:
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
State Forestry Services
Office of Natural Lands Management
Mail Code 501-04, P.O. Box 420
501 East State Street
Station Plaza #5, 4th Floor
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0420
Phone: (609) 984-1339;
2. A description of the local/regional
				habitat requirements for each species identified by the Natural Heritage
				Program, including citations to appropriate literature and studies specific to
				local or New Jersey populations;
3.
				A description of the parcel, including, but not limited to:
i. Vegetation, elevation, slope, and aspect,
				and a description of any important topographic features such as cliffs, bluffs,
				and sinkholes on or within 0.25 miles from the boundary of the site;
ii. The geology of the site as described in
				the most current USGS bedrock geologic maps, a description of bedrock and
				surficial deposits, and the location and description of any important geologic
				features such as talus and caves within 0.25 miles from the boundary of the
				site;
iii. The soil types on the
				site as most currently classified and mapped by the U.S. Department of
				Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and the location and
				description of any important soil features present within 0.25 miles from the
				boundary of the site;
iv. The
				location and a description of all hydrologic features on the site such as
				rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, seeps, vernal pools and waterfalls, as
				well as those located within 0.25 miles from the boundary of the
				site;
v. The location and a
				description of all evidence of natural or man-made disturbance both on the site
				and within 0.25 miles from the boundary of the site;
vi. The location and a description of all
				upland, wetland, and aquatic ecological vegetative communities on the site,
				based on quantitative data collected during the optimal time(s) of the year
				using appropriate, scientifically accepted terms of description and analysis
				techniques. Guidance with regard to appropriate classification systems and
				techniques may be found in Guidelines for Describing Associations and Alliances
				of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification by Jennings et al. (2003), The
				Ecological Society of America--Vegetation Classification Panel, available at:
www.vegbank.org/vegdocs/panel/NVC_guidelines_v3.pdf
;
				Ecological Systems of the United States: A Working Classification of U.S.
				Terrestrial System by Comer et al. (2003), NatureServe, available at:
www.natureserve.org/library/usEcologicalsystems.pdf
;
				Classification of Vegetation Communities of New Jersey: Second Iteration by
				Breden et al. (2001), Association for Biodiversity Information and New Jersey
				Natural Heritage Program, available at:
http://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/37114/
;
				and Northeastern Terrestrial Wildlife Habitiat Classification by Morton et al.
				(2014) available at:
http://rcngrants.org/content/northeastern-terrestrial-wildlife-habitat-classification
.
				For each ecological community identified on the site, the evaluation shall
				include physiognomy, species composition with a list of the most abundant plant
				species by strata (canopy tree, subcanopy tree, shrub, vine, herbaceous,
				bryophyte), a description of successional stage, slope degrees, and aspect,
				geologic substrate (as indicated in the most recent USGS bedrock geologic
				maps), soil texture and pH (as indicated in the most recent Soil Survey and
				verified by field sampling), depth to water table (as indicated in the most
				recent Soil Surveys), and hydrologic influences;
vii. A map showing the location and
				composition of ecological communities on the site and the location of important
				topographical, geological and hydrological features identified in (b)3iv
				above;
viii. The results of
				endangered or threatened wildlife or plant species surveys, or biodiversity
				inventory, if such surveys or inventory were conducted for the purpose of
				supplementing scientific data regarding the suitability of a particular habitat
				for particular species or natural resource elements. Any such survey must be
				conducted in consultation with the Department and in accordance with all
				Federal and State laws and regulations, including for each species or natural
				resource element surveyed: the survey method, the surveyor's name(s), dates and
				times surveys were performed, number of samples, and number of replications.
				Note that negative survey results will not be interpreted by the Department as
				conclusive evidence that a site does not feature suitable habitat for an
				endangered or threatened wildlife species or natural resource
				element;
ix. The names, addresses,
				and professional qualifications of all persons who performed habitat
				evaluations and/or species surveys relied upon to support the
				application;
x. A copy of any or
				all other relevant survey(s) or report(s) conducted regarding the subject site
				to which the applicant or their agent has access; and
xi. Any other information relevant to
				assessing the suitability of habitat on the site for any endangered or
				threatened wildlife species or natural resource element occurrence.