New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 7 - COASTAL PERMIT PROGRAM RULES › Subchapter 6 - GENERAL PERMITS › Section 7:7-6.26 - General permit 26 - construction of wind turbines less than 250 feet in height and having a cumulative rotor swept area no greater than 20,000 square feet

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) This general
				permit authorizes the construction of wind turbines less than 250 feet in
				height, measured from the ground surface to the tip of the blade at its highest
				position, and having a cumulative rotor swept area no greater than 20,000
				square feet provided:
1. No portion of the
				wind turbine(s), including blades, tower and site disturbance, shall be located
				in, on or over dunes, beaches, wetlands, coastal bluffs, or wild and scenic
				river corridors;
2. No wind turbine
				tower(s) or site disturbance shall be located in floodways;
3. The wind turbine(s), including blades,
				tower and site disturbance, is set back a minimum of 50 feet, as measured
				parallel to the ground:
i. Landward of the
				mean high water line and the inland limit of any beach or dune. This setback
				does not apply to manmade lagoons and manmade ditches; and
ii. From the boundary of any
				wetlands;
4. No portion
				of the wind turbine(s), including blades, tower, and site disturbance shall be
				located within:
i. An area mapped as
				threatened or endangered species habitat on the Department's Landscape Maps of
				Habitat for Endangered, Threatened and Other Priority Wildlife (Landscape
				Maps). The Landscape Maps are available from the Department's Division of Fish
				and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program at
http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/landscape/index.htm
;
ii. An area identified on the Department's
				Large Scale Wind Turbine Siting Map, dated August 8, 2009, incorporated by
				reference into this chapter. The Department's Large Scale Wind Turbine Siting
				Map is available on the Department's interactive mapping website at
http://www.nj.gov/dep/gis
;
				or
iii. One-quarter mile of an area
				identified on the Department's Large Scale Wind Turbine Siting Map;
5. The wind turbine(s) shall
				comply with
				7:7-9.37, Critical wildlife
				habitats;
6. Development under this
				general permit shall not result in construction of turbines with a cumulative
				rotor swept area greater than 20,000 square feet on a site, either solely or in
				conjunction with a previous wind turbine development;
7. If the wind turbine(s) is more than 120
				feet tall, measured from the ground surface to the tip of the blade at its
				highest position, the tower shall be a freestanding monopole(s);
8. No lighting shall be placed on or directed
				at the wind turbine except that lighting required by the Federal Aviation
				Administration and shielded ground level security lighting may be used.
				Lighting is shielded when it is covered in a way that light rays are not
				emitted above the horizontal plane of the light; and
9. In order to assess the impact of the
				operation of wind turbines authorized under this coastal general permit on
				avian species and bats, post-construction monitoring shall be required. The
				monitoring shall be conducted for one full year beginning immediately after the
				wind turbines begin operation and shall include bird and bat carcass searches
				as well as removal and efficiency trials. The monitoring methodology shall be
				approved by the Department prior to initiation and a complete report of
				findings submitted to the Department within three months of completion of the
				monitoring. The Department has prepared a technical manual titled, "Technical
				Manual for Evaluating Wildlife Impacts of Wind Turbines Requiring Coastal
				Permits," which provides guidance on monitoring and reporting. The technical
				manual is available from the Department's Division of Land Use Regulation
				website
http://www.nj.gov/dep/landuse
.