New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 7A - FRESHWATER WETLANDS PROTECTION ACT RULES › Subchapter 11 - MITIGATION › Section 7:7A-11.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
In addition to the terms defined at
N.J.A.C.
				  7:7A-1.3
, the following words and
				  terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless
				  the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Charitable conservancy" means a corporation or trust that
				  meets the definition of a charitable conservancy at
				  13:8B-2,
				  and amendments thereto. As of September 4, 2001,
				  13:8B-2
				  defines a charitable conservancy as a corporation or trust whose purposes
				  include the acquisition and preservation of land or water areas or of a
				  particular land or water area, or either thereof, in a natural, scenic or open
				  condition, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any
				  private shareholder or individual, and which has received tax exemption under
				  section 501(c) of the 1954 Internal Revenue Code.
"Council" means the Wetlands Mitigation Council.
"Creation" means the establishment of freshwater wetland or
				  State open water characteristics and functions in uplands.
"Credit purchase" means the purchase of credits from a
				  mitigation bank, as that term is defined at
N.J.A.C.
				  7:7A-1.3
, as a substitute for
				  performance of restoration, creation, enhancement, or upland preservation by a
				  permittee. Each credit counts for a certain acreage amount of mitigation type.
				  Once a credit is applied to satisfy a mitigation obligation under this
				  subchapter, it is exhausted and may not be sold or used again.
"Degraded wetland" means a wetland in which there is
				  impaired surface water flow or groundwater hydrology, or excessive drainage; a
				  wetland that has been partially filled or excavated, contaminated with
				  hazardous substances, or that has an ecological function substantially less
				  than that of undisturbed wetlands in the region.
"Enhancement" means the improvement of the ability of an
				  existing, degraded wetland or intertidal and subtidal shallow to support
				  natural aquatic life through substantial alterations to the soils, vegetation,
				  and/or hydrology. Improvement of a wetland or water that is not degraded does
				  not constitute enhancement.
"Fee simple" means absolute ownership in land, unencumbered
				  by any other interest or estate.
"In-kind mitigation" means mitigation that provides similar
				  or higher values and functions as the area disturbed, including similar
				  wildlife habitat, similar vegetative species coverage, and density, equivalent
				  flood water storage capacity, and equivalency of other relevant values or
				  functions. In the case of a mitigation bank, this is accomplished through the
				  purchase of credits in a bank at which similar values and functions have been
				  established.
"In-lieu fee program" or "ILF Program" means a program
				  approved by the Department and the USEPA that involves the restoration,
				  creation, enhancement, and/or preservation of wetland and State open water
				  habitats through funds paid to a government or non-profit entity to satisfy
				  compensatory mitigation requirements. An in-lieu fee mitigation program sells
				  compensatory mitigation credits to permittees whose obligation to provide
				  mitigation is transferred to the in-lieu fee mitigation program.
"In-lieu fee program instrument" or "ILF Instrument" means
				  the legal document for the establishment, operation, and use of an in-lieu fee
				  mitigation program.
"Mitigation" means activities carried out in accordance with
				  this subchapter in order to compensate for the loss or disturbance of wetlands,
				  intertidal and subtidal shallows, submerged aquatic vegetation, riparian zones,
				  or shellfish habitat.
"Mitigation area" means the portion of a site or piece of
				  property upon which mitigation is proposed or performed. If a mitigation area
				  includes a wetland, a transition area is included as part of the mitigation
				  area in accordance with
				  N.J.A.C.
				  7:7A-11.12(c).
"Mitigation banking instrument" means documentation of
				  Department approval of the objectives and administration of the bank including,
				  as appropriate:
1. Bank goals and objectives;
2. Ownership of bank lands;
3. Bank size and classes of wetlands and/or other aquatic
				  resources proposed for inclusion in the bank, including a site plan and
				  specifications;
4. Description of baseline conditions at the bank
				  site;
5. Geographic service area;
6. Wetland classes or other aquatic resource impacts suitable
				  for compensation;
7. Methods for determining credits and debits;
8. Accounting procedures;
9. Performance standards for determining credit availability
				  and bank success;
10. Reporting protocols and monitoring plan;
11. Contingency and corrective actions and
				  responsibilities;
12. Financial assurances;
13. Compensation ratios; and
14. Provisions for long-term management and maintenance.
"Mitigation bank site" means the portion of a site, or piece
				  of property, upon which a mitigation bank is proposed or developed.
"Monetary contribution" or "monetary contribution to the
				  in-lieu fee program" means giving money to the Wetlands Mitigation
				  Council.
"Out-of-kind mitigation" means mitigation that is not
				  in-kind mitigation.
"Restoration" means:
1. The reestablishment of wetland and/or State open water
				  characteristics and functions in an area that was once a wetlands and/or State
				  open water but is no longer; or
2. The reversal of a temporary disturbance and the
				  reestablishment of the functions and values of the wetlands and/or State open
				  water that was temporarily disturbed.
"Service area" means the geographic area within which impacts
				  can be mitigated at a specific mitigation bank.
"Upland preservation" means the permanent protection of
				  transition areas or other uplands from disturbance or development, through
				  transfer of the property to a charitable conservancy and the execution of legal
				  instruments to prevent development, such as a conservation restriction.
"Watershed Management Area" means an aggregation of HUC 11s
				  designated by the Department as a watershed management area and shown on the
				  map entitled "New Jersey's Watersheds, Watershed Management Areas, and Water
				  Regions," dated April 2000, as amended and supplemented. The map of watershed
				  management areas may be viewed on the internet at
http://www.nj.gov/dep/gis
.
"Wetlands Mitigation Council" or "Council" means the body
				  established under
				  13:9B-14
				  to perform the functions enumerated at
				  13:9B-15.
				  The Wetlands Mitigation Council administers the Wetlands Mitigation
				  Fund.
"Wetlands Mitigation Fund" means the repository for monetary
				  contributions made for mitigation purposes, established at N.J.S.A. 13:9B-14aas
				  the "Wetlands Mitigation Bank."