N.J. Admin. Code § 7:13-1.2
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Additional definitions specifically applicable to N.J.A.C. 7:13-13, Mitigation, are set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:13-13.1.
"Actively disturbed area" means any expanse of land within a riparian zone in which vegetation has been permanently or periodically cleared, cut, removed, or otherwise altered by humans to accommodate an ongoing, lawfully existing land use. Forested areas and areas of non-ornamental woody vegetation are not part of an actively disturbed area. Examples of an actively disturbed area include:
"Actively farmed" means currently and continually in use for cultivation, grazing or other agricultural purposes, provided such activities are recognized as agricultural by the USDA. An area that lies fallow as part of a conventional rotational cycle that does not exceed five years is considered to be actively farmed. Farms that have been abandoned for more than five years are not actively farmed.
"Administratively complete" means that every item required on the application checklist for a verification, an authorization under a general permit, or an individual permit is included in the application.
"Anadromous water" means a regulated water that supports anadromous fish, as identified by the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife. Anadromous fish travel between salt water and fresh water or upstream to spawn, and 7:13-11.5(b) indicates how to determine which waters support anadromous fishery resources.
"Applicability determination" means the Department's official written statement of the applicability of this chapter to a water, proposed activity, and/or project described at N.J.A.C. 7:13-2.5.
"Aquatic habitat enhancement device" means a device placed within and/or adjacent to a channel to enhance aquatic habitat, typically consisting of boulders, brush, deflectors, felled shoreline trees, low-flow channel structures, mud sills, rubble reefs, spawning/nursery structures and/or tire structures.
"Architect" means a professional architect who is licensed to practice in New Jersey.
"Bank" means the inclined side of a channel, an excavated or impounded area or a topographic depression, which confines and/or conducts water.
"Barrier island complex" means the landforms surrounded by both bay and ocean, including barrier islands, spits, and peninsulas, which are situated along New Jersey's Atlantic coastline, and which extend from the northern tip of Sandy Hook, in Monmouth County, to the southern tip of Cape May County. The barrier island complex includes the barrier island corridor, as defined in the Department's Coastal Zone Management Rules at 7:7-9.20 , as well as any associated wetland complex adjacent to the corridor. A barrier island is a long, narrow island that generally lies parallel to the mainland and serves to protect the coast from erosion. A spit is a long, narrow depositional landform projecting outward from the shoreline associated with a barrier island corridor. A peninsula is a narrow expanse of land surrounded by both bay and ocean waters, which is connected to the mainland. The barrier island complex does not include the entire Cape May peninsula, but the Cape May peninsula does include barrier islands, spits and peninsulas along its Atlantic coastline. The barrier island complex does not include bay islands, which are islands or filled areas surrounded by tidal waters, wetlands, beaches, or dunes, lying between the mainland and barrier islands, but which may be connected to the mainland or barrier islands by elevated or fill-supported roads.
"Bed" means the floor of a channel over which water flows continuously or intermittently. Bed also means the floor of an excavated or impounded area or of a topographic depression that confines and/or conducts water.
"Building" means a structure enclosed with exterior walls or fire walls, erected and framed of component structural parts, designed for the housing, shelter, enclosure, and support of individuals, animals, or property of any kind. A building may have a temporary or a permanent foundation. A building that is intended for regular human occupation and/or residence is considered a habitable building.
"Category One water" means a water designated as such in the Department's Surface Water Quality Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:9B.
"Central Passaic Basin" means the regulated area along the following waters:
"Channel" means a linear topographic depression that continuously or intermittently confines and/or conducts surface water, not including transient erosional gullies and other ephemeral features that temporarily form after heavy rainfall. A channel can be naturally occurring or can be of human origin through excavation or construction, in which case it is referred to as "manmade." A channel includes both bed and banks.
"Channel modification" means the reconfiguration or reconstruction of all or part of a channel, such as by straightening, relocating, lining, or excavating the channel, or by enclosing the channel within a structure such as a pipe or culvert. The removal of accumulated sediment and debris in accordance with a stream cleaning approval under this chapter is not a channel modification.
"Charitable conservancy" means a corporation or trust that meets the definition of a charitable conservancy at 13:8B-2. (Note: Effective as of June 20, 2016, the definition of charitable conservancy at 13:8B-2is 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.)
"Coastal permit" means a permit or an authorization issued under the Coastal Zone Management Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:7, pursuant to the Coastal Area Facility Review Act, 13:19-1et seq., the Wetlands Act of 1970, 13:9A-1et seq., or the Waterfront Development Law, 12:5-3.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department, or his or her designated representative.
"Complete for review" means that an application for a verification, an authorization under a general permit, or an individual permit is both administratively and technically complete and is ready to be evaluated by the Department for compliance with the applicable requirements of this chapter.
"Conservation restriction" means a restriction, easement, covenant, or condition, in any deed, will, or other instrument, other than a lease, executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land, appropriate to retaining land or water areas predominantly in their natural state, scenic or open or wooded condition, or for conservation of soil or wildlife, or for outdoor recreation or park use, or for public access to tidal waterways and their shores, or as suitable habitat for fish or wildlife, to forbid or limit any or all of the following:
"Critical building" means a building that:
"Dam" means a structure defined as such in the Department's Dam Safety Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:20.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
"Department delineation" means the flood profiles, flood elevations and/or detailed mapping of the flood hazard area and/or floodway, promulgated by the Department. Appendix 2 of this chapter, incorporated herein by reference, lists the Department delineated waters of New Jersey.
"Documented habitat for threatened or endangered species" means an area for which:
"Drainage area" means a geographic area within which water, sediments and dissolved materials drain to a particular receiving waterbody or to a particular point along a receiving waterbody.
"Drawing" means a graphic depiction of land, vegetation, water, structures, and other physical features on paper, such as a blueprint, construction plan, cross-section, topographic map, architectural rendering or other similar illustration, which is submitted to the Department to describe an existing or proposed activity or condition.
"Duplex" means a residential structure of two attached units in which the interior living space of one unit directly abuts the interior living space of the other unit, either in a side-by-side arrangement sharing a common wall or in a lower unit-upper unit arrangement.
"Emergency authorization" means an authorization to undertake a regulated activity, which is issued by the Department when certain conditions exist that warrant immediate action to protect the environment and/or public health, safety, and welfare, as described at N.J.A.C. 7:13-16.
"Engineer" means a professional engineer who is licensed to practice in New Jersey.
"Engineering certification" means a document, signed and sealed by a New Jersey licensed professional engineer, which confirms that one or more requirements of this chapter are met, and which is accompanied by all supporting documentation, calculations, and other information upon which the certification is based. Upon clear and compelling evidence of a threat to public health, safety, welfare, and the environment, a New Jersey licensed professional engineer employed by the Department can reject an engineering certification submitted under this chapter.
"Erosion" means the detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice and/or gravity.
"Excavation" means removal or recovery of soil, minerals, mineral substances or organic substances other than vegetation, from the land surface or beneath the land surface, whether the land surface is exposed or submerged. Excavation does not include the movement of material due to erosion.
"FEMA" means the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"FEMA 100-year flood elevation" means the 100-year water surface elevation at a given location, most recently released as an effective FEMA base flood elevation, or any more recent advisory or proposed (preliminary) flood elevation, if either elevation is higher than the effective base flood elevation.
"FEMA flood mapping" means information published or publicly released by FEMA regarding the frequency, location, and/or extent of flooding in a community, such as flood elevations, flood profiles, flow rates, and floodway limits, and including FEMA 100-year flood elevation as defined above. For the purposes of this chapter, such information shall include only that information adopted as part of the most recent effective FEMA Flood Insurance Study, dated on or after January 31, 1980, or any more recent advisory or proposed (preliminary) flood mapping, if the more recent advisory or proposed (preliminary) mapping results in higher flood elevations, wider floodway limits, or greater flow rates than depicted in the most recent effective FEMA Flood Insurance Study, or indicates a change from an A zone to a V zone or coastal A zone. Effective and proposed (preliminary) FEMA flood mapping can be viewed at http://msc.fema.gov and advisory flood mapping for coastal areas, where available, can be viewed at http://www.region2coastal.com. Questions regarding the availability, use, derivation, or modification of FEMA flood mapping should be directed to FEMA at (800) 358-9616.
"Fill" means to deposit or place material on the surface of the ground and/or under water. "Fill" also means the material being deposited or placed. Fill includes, but is not limited to, concrete, earth, pavement, rock, sand, soil, structures or any stored material such as building material, construction equipment, landscaping material, piles of soil, stone or wood, trash, vegetation in planters and/or root balls, and vehicles. Fill does not include vegetation rooted in the ground, whether naturally occurring or planted.
"Flood control project" means a structural or topographic modification to a channel, flood hazard area and/or riparian zone, performed for the public benefit and undertaken by a public entity, which is designed primarily to reduce flood elevations, reduce the risk of damage from flooding and/or protect an area from flooding or flood damage.
"Flood fringe" means the portion of the flood hazard area that is outside the floodway.
"Flood hazard area design flood" means a flood equal to the 100-year flood plus an additional amount of water in fluvial areas to account for possible future increases in flows due to development, climate change, and other factors. This additional amount of water also provides a factor of safety in cases when the 100-year flood is exceeded. N.J.A.C. 7:13-3 describes the various methods of determining the flood hazard area design flood for a particular water, as well as the additional amount of water to be added in various situations.
"Flood hazard area" means land, and the space above that land, which lies below the flood hazard area design flood elevation. Structures, fill and vegetation that are situated on land that lies below the flood hazard area design flood elevation are described as being "in" or "within" the flood hazard area. The inner portion of the flood hazard area is called the floodway and the outer portion of the flood hazard area is called the flood fringe. Figures A and B at 7:13-2.3 illustrate these areas as well as the riparian zone along a typical water. The flood hazard area on a particular site is determined using the methods set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:13-3. There are two types of flood hazard areas:
"Flood hazard area design flood" means a flood equal to the 100-year flood plus an additional amount of water in fluvial areas to account for possible future increases in flows due to development or other factors. This additional amount of water also provides a factor of safety in cases when the 100-year flood is exceeded. N.J.A.C. 7:13-3de scribes the various methods of determining the flood hazard area design flood for a particular water as well as the additional amount of water to be added in various situations.
"Flood hazard area design flood elevation" means the peak water surface elevation that will occur in a water during the flood hazard area design flood.
"Flood hazard area permit" or "permit" means a permit or an authorization issued under this chapter pursuant to the Flood Hazard Area Control Act.
"Flood-proofing" means measures applied to a building that are intended to prevent or provide resistance to displacement, buoyancy, and damage from flooding up to a certain elevation, so as to eliminate or reduce potential flood damage to the building and its contents. There are two types of flood-proofing:
"Floodway" means land, and the space above that land, which lies within the inner portion of the flood hazard area, and which is mathematically determined to be required to carry and discharge floodwaters resulting from the 100-year flood under certain conditions. The floodway always includes the channel and often includes land adjacent to the channel. The floodway is normally characterized by faster and deeper flows than the flood fringe, which is the portion of the flood hazard area outside the floodway.
"Freshwater wetlands" means an area defined as such under the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act rules at 7:7A-1.4.
"Grace period" means the period of time afforded under the Grace Period Law, 13:1D-125 et seq., for a person to correct a minor violation in order to avoid imposition of a penalty that would otherwise be applicable for such violation.
"Grading" means the movement of soil or other material on the surface of the ground by humans resulting in a change in topography.
"Habitable building" means a building that is intended for regular human occupation and/or residence. Examples of a habitable building include a single-family home, duplex, multi-residence building, or critical building; a commercial building such as a retail store, restaurant, office building, or gymnasium; an accessory structure that is regularly occupied, such as a garage, barn, or workshop; mobile and manufactured homes, and trailers intended for human residence, which are set on a foundation and/or connected to utilities, such as in a mobile home park (not including campers and recreational vehicles); and any other building that is regularly occupied, such as a house of worship, community center, or meeting hall, or animal shelter that includes regular human access and occupation. Examples of a non-habitable building include a bus stop shelter, utility building, storage shed, self-storage unit, construction trailer, or an individual shelter for animals such as a doghouse or outdoor kennel.
"Hazardous substance" means material defined as such in the Spill Compensation and Control Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10 23.11.
"Highlands Preservation Area" means that geographic portion of the State described in the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act at 13:20-7(b)1.
"Hydraulic capacity" means the ability of a channel, flood hazard area or structure to conduct water. Hydraulic capacity is a function of cross-sectional area, hydraulic friction, shape, skew, slope and the presence or absence of obstructions.
"Impervious surface" means a surface that is covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water.
" In-kind" or "in-kind replacement" means the reconstruction or replacement of all or a portion of a lawfully existing structure without altering the location, orientation, physical dimensions, and hydraulic capacity of the structure. For example, the in-kind replacement of a bridge or culvert is one in which the reconstructed or replaced structure is the same shape, cross-sectional area, width, height, and length as the existing structure, is constructed of materials hydraulically equivalent to the existing structure, and is situated in the same location, and at the same orientation and invert elevation, as the existing structure.
"Invasive plant species" means a plant species that is non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.
"Invert" means the lowest point in a given cross-section of a channel, as well as the lowest point on the inside of a pipe, culvert or any other structure with an opening such as a flood vent.
"Jacking" means the placement of an underground utility line beneath a channel by means of horizontally pushing, drilling or otherwise forcing through the earth below the channel in such a way that the channel is not disturbed.
"Land surveyor" means a professional land surveyor who is licensed to practice in New Jersey.
"Lawfully existing" means an existing fill, structure and/or use, which meets all Federal, State and local laws, and which is not in violation of this chapter because it was established:
"Low dam" means an artificial dike, levee or other barrier, which is constructed for the purpose of impounding water on a permanent or temporary basis, but which does not raise the water surface elevation enough to meet the definition of a dam.
" Low-flow aquatic passage" means the ability of aquatic species to travel upstream and downstream in a waterway without impediment during low-flow conditions in a channel. Natural channel beds often possess small rivulets that serve to provide aquatic passage in this way during low-flow conditions, which can occur during dry periods of the year. Bridges, culverts and other manmade structures may also be designed to provide low-flow aquatic passage by inclusion of a linear depression throughout the bottom of the structure in the direction of flow, which collects water during low-flow conditions and allows aquatic species to pass through the structure without impediment.
"Lowest floor" means:
"Method 1" or the "Department delineation method" means the method of determining the flood hazard area design flood elevation and floodway limit from State adopted delineations, as described at 7:13-3.3.
"Method 2" or the "FEMA tidal method" means the method of determining the tidal flood hazard area design flood elevation and floodway limit from FEMA flood mapping, as described at 7:13-3.4(d) .
"Method 3" or the "FEMA fluvial method" means the method of determining the fluvial flood hazard area design flood elevation and floodway limit from FEMA flood mapping, as described at 7:13-3.4(e) .
"Method 4" or the "FEMA hydraulic method" means the method of determining the flood hazard area design flood elevation and floodway limit by calculation using flow rate data from FEMA flood mapping, as described at 7:13-3.4(f) .
"Method 5" or the "approximation method" means the method of determining the flood hazard area design flood elevation from the charts in chapter Appendix 1, incorporated herein by reference, as described at 7:13-3.5.
"Method 6" or the "calculation method" means the method of determining the flood hazard area design flood elevation and floodway limit by calculation using flow rates provided by an applicant for a verification under this chapter, as described at 7:13-3.6.
"Mitigation bank" means an operation in which riparian zone vegetation is created, restored, enhanced, or preserved by a mitigation bank operator, for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation for disturbances to riparian zone vegetation.
"Modification" means a document issued by the Department to revise a valid, previously issued verification, authorization under a general permit, or individual permit as described at N.J.A.C. 7:13-22.5 and 6.
"Multi-residence building" means any building intended to provide three or more units of temporary or permanent residence for humans. Examples of a multi-residence building include an apartment building, condominium complex, townhouse complex, hotel, motel, and any mixed-use building that contains three or more units of temporary or permanent residence. A single-family home, duplex, or critical building as defined in this section is not a multi-residence building.
"NGVD" means the national geodetic vertical datum of 1929, which is the reference datum for all surveying, topography and elevations described in this chapter.
" Non-trout water" means a water that is defined as such in the Department's Surface Water Quality Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:9B. A non-trout water is a water that is not trout production, trout maintenance or trout stocked.
"NRCS" means the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service.
"Obstruction" means material placed and/or situated in a flood hazard area that can impede or change the direction of the flow of water, either by itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water.
" 100-year flood" in fluvial areas means a flood that has a one percent probability of being equaled or exceeded within a one-year period for a given geographic location and/or watershed. In tidal areas, a "100-year flood" means a flood caused by a tidal surge in the Atlantic Ocean, which has a one percent probability of being equaled or exceeded within a one-year period.
"100-year flow rate" means the peak rate at which floodwaters would flow in a given water during a 100-year flood.
"Permit-by-rule" means a flood hazard area permit to undertake a regulated activity for which the terms and conditions are established in a rule promulgated under this chapter at N.J.A.C. 7:13-6 and 7 and that is effective without prior written approval from the Department, provided all requirements established for that activity in the applicable permit-by-rule are satisfied.
"Person" means an individual, corporation, corporate officer, partnership, association, the Federal government, the State, a municipality, a commission or political subdivision of the State or any interstate body.
"Pinelands water" means a water designated as such in the Department's Surface Water Quality Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:9B.
"Private roadway" means a roadway for use by vehicles, including a driveway or access road, which is not a public roadway as defined in this section.
"Project" means all regulated activities occurring and proposed on a site, whether undertaken concurrently or in phases.
"Public roadway" means a roadway for use by vehicles, including a driveway or access road, which is intended for public use and is constructed by or on behalf of the Federal, State, county, or municipal government. A public roadway does not include a roadway constructed as part of a private development, regardless of whether the roadway is ultimately to be dedicated to and/or maintained by a governmental entity.
"Public transportation entity" means a Federal, State, county, or municipal government, an independent State authority, or a statutorily authorized public-private partnership program pursuant to P.L. 2018, c. 90 (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-52 et seq.), that performs a public roadway or railroad project that includes new construction, expansion, reconstruction, or improvement of a public roadway, parking area, or railroad.
"Reconstruct" means to patch, mend, replace, rebuild and/or restore a lawfully existing structure to a usable condition after decay or damage has occurred, in which 50 percent or greater of the structure is replaced and/or the size, shape or location of the structure is altered. For habitable buildings, the percentage of replacement shall be determined by comparing the cost of the reconstruction to the market value of the building as determined before the start of construction; where the percentage of replacement is 50 percent or greater, such reconstruction shall also constitute a substantial improvement as defined in this section. For all other structures, the percentage of replacement shall be determined by comparing the area of the structure being reconstructed to the total area of the structure.
"Regulated activity" or "activity" means an activity that is regulated under this chapter as described at 7:13-2.4 . Some regulated activities, when performed in a certain manner or to a specified degree, are permitted-by-rule at N.J.A.C. 7:13-6 and 7. All regulated activities that are not permitted-by-rule require a general permit-by-certification under N.J.A.C. 7:13-6 and 8, a general permit under N.J.A.C. 7:13-6 and 9, an individual permit under N.J.A.C. 7:13-10, 11, and 12, an emergency authorization under N.J.A.C. 7:13-16, or a coastal permit under N.J.A.C. 7:7 prior to commencement.
"Regulated area" means the flood hazard area and riparian zone along a regulated water, as described at N.J.A.C. 7:13-2.3.
"Regulated water" means a water subject to this chapter as described at 7:13-2.2.
"Repair" means to patch, mend, replace, rebuild and/or restore a lawfully existing structure to a usable condition after decay or damage has occurred, in which less than 50 percent of the structure is replaced and the size, shape or location of the structure is not altered. For habitable buildings, the percentage of replacement shall be determined by comparing the cost of the repair to the market value of the building as determined before the start of construction; where the percentage of replacement is less than 50 percent, such repair shall not constitute a substantial improvement as defined in this section. For all other structures, the percentage of replacement shall be determined by comparing the area of the structure being repaired to the total area of the structure.
"Revision" means a document issued by the Department to revise a Department delineation as described at N.J.A.C. 7:13-3.7 and 3.8.
"Riparian zone" means the land and vegetation within and adjacent to a regulated water as described at 7:13-4.1 and illustrated at N.J.A.C. 7:13-2.3.
"Sediment" means solid material, mineral or organic, that is in suspension, is being transported or has been moved from its site of origin by air, water, ice or gravity as a product of erosion.
"Site" means the area within the legal boundary of the property, properties or right-of-way upon which any action under this chapter is requested, proposed, occurring or has occurred, plus any contiguous land owned or controlled by the same person(s). The legal boundary of a property is set forth in the deed(s) of the property. The legal boundary of a right-of-way is set forth in the document creating the right-of-way.
"Site plan" means a graphic depiction of land, vegetation, water, structures, and other physical features on paper, such as a blueprint, construction plan, cross-section, topographic map, architectural rendering, or other similar illustration, which is submitted to the Department to describe an existing or proposed activity or condition.
"Soil bioengineering" means the method of stabilizing eroded banks using vegetation, and sometimes in conjunction with other natural materials, as described at section 650.1601(d)(2) of Chapter 16 in the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service Engineering Field Handbook, published December 1996, incorporated herein by reference. Copies of the Engineering Field Handbook can be obtained from local NRCS offices.
"Soil Conservation District" means a governmental subdivision of this State, and a public body corporate and politic, organized in accordance with 4:24-1et seq. Each Soil Conservation District administers New Jersey Department of Agriculture programs for one or more counties. Soil Conservation Districts are overseen by the New Jersey State Soil Conservation Committee in the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, which promulgates the Standards for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control in New Jersey at N.J.A.C. 2:90. For the purposes of this chapter only, the term "Soil Conservation District" shall include any exempt municipality authorized to enforce the Standards for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control by ordinance pursuant to 4:24-48.
"Solid waste" means any garbage, refuse, sludge or any other material defined as solid waste in the Solid Waste Rules at 7:26-1.6.
"Solid waste facility" means a facility that is licensed by the State to receive, store and/or process solid waste.
"Species of special concern" means a species that warrants special attention because of inherent vulnerability to environmental deterioration or habitat modification that would result in its becoming threatened if conditions surrounding the species begin or continue to deteriorate. Factors that can lead to classification as special concern include, but are not limited to, species rarity in the State, highly specialized food and/or habitat requirements, low reproductive rate, isolated populations of the species within the State, and/or other characteristics that make the species particularly susceptible to environmental or habitat changes. This category includes a species that meets the foregoing criteria and for which there is little understanding of its current population status in the State.
"Stormwater" means water resulting from precipitation (including rain and snow) that runs off the land's surface, is transmitted to the subsurface or is captured by separate storm sewers or other sewage or drainage facilities.
"Stormwater management basin" means an impoundment created by constructing an embankment, excavating a pit and/or erecting or placing a structure, for the purpose of managing stormwater runoff. A stormwater management basin can be designed to be normally dry (as in a detention or infiltration basin), retain a permanent pool of water (as in a retention basin or wet pond), and/or be planted mainly with vegetation suitable for freshwater wetlands (as in most constructed stormwater wetlands).
"Stormwater runoff" means water flow on the surface of the ground or in storm sewers, resulting from precipitation.
"Structure" means any assemblage of material by humans, including, but not limited to, a berm, bridge, bulkhead, building, cable, causeway, culvert, dam, dike, embankment, fence, guiderail, jetty, levee, pavement, piling, pipe, post, railroad, retaining wall, roadway, stormwater management basin or facility, tower, utility pole, or wire. Vegetation is not a structure. Soil bioengineering material that includes vegetation as well as other material is a structure.
"Substantial damage" means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its condition before damage would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. Restoration of a substantially damaged structure shall constitute a substantial improvement as defined in this section.
"Substantial improvement" means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure as determined before the start of construction of the improvement. This term includes structures that have sustained substantial damage regardless of the actual repair work performed. Substantial improvement does not include:
"Technically complete" means that each item included in an application for a verification, an authorization under a general permit, or an individual permit provides sufficient information for the Department to declare the application complete for review.
"Temporary" means a regulated activity that occupies, persists, and/or occurs on a site for no more than six months. For example, a fill or structure is temporary if, within six months of its placement, the fill or structure is removed from the site, all disturbed regulated areas are restored to their original topography, and all necessary measures are implemented to ensure that the original vegetative cover onsite is restored to its previous (or an improved) condition. Where a disturbance associated with certain regulated activities, such as hazardous substance remediation or solid waste facility closure, is intended to be temporary but will exceed six months in duration because of the nature of the activity, the Department will consider the disturbance to be temporary for purposes of this chapter provided the disturbed areas are restored to their original topography, and all necessary measures are implemented to ensure that the original vegetative cover onsite is restored to its previous (or an improved) condition.
"Threatened or endangered species" means a species identified pursuant to the Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act, 23:2A-1 et seq., the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531 et seq. or the Endangered Plant Species List, 7:5C-5.1, and any subsequent amendments thereto.
"Top of bank" means the upper limit of the bank of a regulated water, which is typically characterized by an observable change or break in the slope of the land. Where the top of bank is not discernible along the regulated water, the top of bank shall be considered:
"Trout maintenance water" means a section of water designated as trout maintenance in the Department's Surface Water Quality Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:9B.
"Trout production water" means a section of water identified as trout production in the Department's Surface Water Quality Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:9B.
"Trout stocked water" means a section of water stocked with trout by the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife and listed in N.J.A.C. 7:25-6.
"Unsecured material" means the following:
"USDA" means the United States Department of Agriculture.
"USGS quad map" means a topographic quadrangle map issued by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), 7.5 minute series, drawn at a scale of 1:24,000.
"Utility line" means a pipe, cable, line or wire for the transport or transmission of gases, liquids, electrical energy or communications. This term includes a pole or tower required to support a utility line, but does not include a tower that only transmits or receives electromagnetic waves through the air, such as for radio, television or telephone transmission.
"Verification" means a document issued by the Department under 7:13-5.1 , which establishes the flood hazard area design flood elevation, flood hazard area limit, floodway limit, and/or riparian zone limit on a site or any portion of a site.
"Water" means a collection of water on the surface of the ground, including, but not limited to, a bay, brook, creek, ditch, lake, pond, reservoir, river, or stream. A water also includes the path or depression through which the water flows or is confined. A water can be either naturally-occurring or resulting from human activity, in which case it is referred to as "manmade." A naturally-occurring water that is piped, relocated, or otherwise modified remains a naturally-occurring water for the purposes of this chapter. An underground pipe or culvert that conveys stormwater runoff is not a water unless the pipe or culvert was constructed to enclose, replace, or divert a previously existing, naturally-occurring water. (Note: Not all waters are regulated.)
"Water control structure" means a structure within or adjacent to a water, which intentionally or coincidentally alters the hydraulic capacity, design flood elevation, flood hazard area limit and/or floodway limit of the water. Examples of a water control structure include a bridge, culvert, dam, embankment, ford (if above grade), retaining wall and weir.
"Water surface elevation" means the elevation of the surface of a water, measured in feet NGVD, and determined either by special calculation or gauge. For the purposes of determining compliance with a requirement of this chapter, a water surface elevation is rounded to the nearest 0.1 feet.
N.J. Admin. Code § 7:13-1.2