New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 7 - COASTAL PERMIT PROGRAM RULES › Subchapter 15 - USE RULES › Section 7:7-15.8 - Mining

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) New or expanded
				mining operations on land, and directly related development, for the extraction
				and/or processing of construction sand, gravel, ilmenite, glauconite, and other
				minerals are conditionally acceptable, provided that the following conditions
				are met (mining is otherwise exempted from the general land areas rule, but
				shall comply with the special areas and general water area rules):
1. The location of mining operations, such as
				pits, plants, pipelines, and access roads, causes minimal practicable
				disturbance to significant wildlife habitats, such as wetlands and stands of
				mature vegetation;
2. The location
				of new or expanded mining operations is generally contiguous with or adjacent
				to sites of existing mining operations, or probable locations of mineral
				resources on nearby sites, in order to concentrate and not scatter the location
				of mineral extraction areas within a region, recognizing that mineral resources
				occur only in certain limited areas;
3. Buffer areas are provided in accordance
				with 7:7-16.11, using existing
				vegetation and/or new vegetation and landscaping, to provide maximum feasible
				screening of new on-land extractive activities and related processing from
				roads, water bodies, marshes, and recreation areas. The buffers and
				compatibility of uses rule, N.J.A.C. 7:7-16.11, provides guidance related to
				buffer treatment. A minimum buffer area of 500 feet will be required to
				existing residential development;
4. The mine development and reclamation plan,
				including the timetable, phasing, and activities of the new or expanded mining
				operations, has been designed with explicit and adequate consideration of the
				ultimate reclamation, restoration, and reuse of the site and use of its
				surrounding region, once the mineral resource is depleted;
5. The mineral extraction areas shall be
				reclaimed, contoured and replanted to ensure slope stability, control erosion,
				afford adequate drainage, provide as natural an appearance as possible, and
				increase the recreation potential of the restored site within two years of the
				termination of mining operations;
6. The mining operations control and minimize
				to the maximum extent practicable adverse impacts from noise and dust, surface
				and groundwater pollution, and disposal of spoils and waste materials and
				conform to all applicable Federal, State, and local regulations and
				standards;
7. The mineral
				extraction operation will not have a substantial or longlasting adverse impact
				on coastal resources, including local economies, after the initial adverse
				impact of removal of vegetation, habitat, and soils, and not including the
				long-term irretrievable impact of use of the non-renewable mineral resource;
				and
8. The mine development and
				reclamation plan minimizes the area and time of disruption of agricultural
				operations and provides for storage and restoration of all Agricultural Class
				I, II, and III soils, so that there will be no net loss in the area covered by
				these soils whenever feasible. The placement of soils may be acceptable to an
				alternate location if a need is demonstrated, there is no net loss in the area
				covered by these soils and the placement is consistent with this
				chapter.