N.J. Admin. Code § 7:13-9.10

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:13-9.10 - General permit 10 - reconstruction of a bridge or culvert across a regulated water with a drainage area of 50 acres or more

(a) General permit 10 authorizes the reconstruction of one existing bridge or culvert that crosses a regulated water that has a drainage area of 50 acres or more, provided the conditions at N.J.A.C. 7:13-6.7 are met and:

1. The applicant provides an engineering certification confirming that the proposed bridge or culvert is designed to not increase the frequency or depth of offsite flooding during any flood event described in 7:13-12.1(i);

2. In order to ensure that the hydraulic capacity of the reconstructed bridge or culvert is substantially equivalent to the hydraulic capacity of the existing bridge or culvert, all the following are met:

i. The cross-sectional area of the new structure is at least equal to, and not more than five percent greater than, the cross-sectional area of the existing structure;

ii. The width-to-height ratio of the new structure does not deviate by more than 10 percent from the width-to-height ratio of the existing structure;

iii. The length of the new structure does not deviate by more than 10 feet from the length of the existing structure or more than 10 percent of the length of the existing structure, whichever is greater;

iv. The orientation of any new abutments and headwalls is aligned as closely as feasible to the orientation of the existing abutments and headwalls; and

v. The elevation of the crown of the roadway profile above the bridge or culvert is not altered within the flood hazard area;

3. The bridge or culvert is designed to remain stable, scour resistant, and resistant to displacement and/or damage. At a minimum, each bridge shall have stable abutments, each culvert shall have stable headwalls, and each abutment and headwall shall have footings that extend no less than three feet below the invert of the channel;

4. The bridge or culvert is designed to avoid any adverse impacts to aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial resources. Where possible, a stable, natural, earthen channel with low-flow aquatic passage shall be preserved and/or provided within the bridge or culvert as well as any section of channel disturbed to accommodate its construction;

5. No armoring is placed under or across the channel bed, unless such armoring is necessary to prevent scour along the proposed abutments or footings. In such a case, the armoring shall be buried beneath at least two feet of native substrate, where feasible;

6. Any temporarily disturbed sections of the channel are restored to pre-construction conditions immediately after completion of the disturbance. Characteristics that shall be replicated include channel shape, width, and meandering, ratio of shallow areas to deep areas, anticipated flow rate, and velocity and substrate type;

7. No riparian zone vegetation is cleared, cut, and/or removed, except for vegetation within 20 feet of the bridge or culvert, where such disturbance is necessary to facilitate its reconstruction; and

8. The timing restrictions set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:13-11.5(d) are observed.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:13-9.10

Adopted by 48 N.J.R. 1067(a), effective 6/20/2016

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 2246(a), effective 7/17/2017