N.J. Admin. Code § 7:25-6.25

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

Section 7:25-6.25 - Water lowering

(a) Except as otherwise permitted in this section, no person shall shut off water to, or draw off waters from any pond, stream or lake, public or private within the State.

(b) Water withdrawals authorized for water supply purposes pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:19 or for agricultural, aquacultural or horticultural uses pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:20A shall not require a water lowering permit pursuant to this section.

(c) Water lowering permits are issued for the sole purpose of protecting the State's aquatic biological resources.

(d) An application for a water lowering, including all information required by this section, shall be submitted at least 60 days prior to the requested lowering date. In the event the lowering is required due to unsafe or hazardous dam conditions, as determined by the Department's Division of Dam Safety, the dam owner or the owner or operator of the outlet structure shall submit a completed application form within 15 days of notification from the Division of Dam Safety. The application shall include a copy of the written documentation received from the Department's Division of Dam Safety.

(e) Application forms may be obtained from and, when complete, shall be submitted to the Division at:

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries

P.O. Box 394

Lebanon, New Jersey 08833

(f) An application for a water lowering permit shall include the following information, as well as any supplemental information required by this section:

1. Applicant name;

2. Applicant address;

3. Applicant phone number;

4. Waterbody location;

5. Reason the lowering is requested;

6. Date requested to begin;

7. Refill date;

8. Water body size;

9. Maximum depth;

10. Extent of drawdown requested;

11. Method of water release;

12. Department of Environmental Protection permits applied for relative to the project;

13. Applicant signature;

14. Property owner's certification; and

15. Contact information for agent acting on behalf of the applicant, if applicable.

(g) For applications submitted for flood control purposes, the application shall additionally include a written justification identifying the need for the water lowering, flood storage capacities gained and their beneficial impacts to the community, as well as the adverse impacts of repeated lowerings on the associated waterway.

(h) If information submitted to the Division is incomplete, the Division may either deny the application or request that the applicant provide additional information within a specified timeframe. Failure to provide the additional information within the time frame specified shall result in denial of the application.

(i) Except as provided in (s) below, the following time restrictions shall apply:

1. Lowering may not occur from February 1 to March 15, when reproducing populations of rainbow trout may be adversely impacted;

2. Lowering may not occur from March 1 to June 30, when anadromous fish populations may be adversely impacted;

3. Lowering may not occur from March 15 to June 15, when trout maintenance waters and/or the stocking of trout may be adversely impacted by the lowering;

4. Except when the extent of the lowering requires the collection and relocation of aquatic biota, lowering may not occur from April 1 to June 15, when warmwater fish populations, which include pickerel are present, otherwise lowering may not occur from May 1 to June 15;

5. Except in the event the Division determines that the lowering will have no adverse impacts to aquatic biota present, lowerings may not occur from July 1 to September 15;

6. Lowering may not occur from September 15 to March 15, when reproducing populations of brook and brown trout may be adversely impacted;

7. Lowering may not occur from September 15 to December 1, when reproducing populations of lake trout may be adversely impacted;

8. For waterways located north of Route 195, water levels must be lowered to the full approved extent by November 1; or

9. For waterways located south of Route 195, water levels must lowered to the full approved extent by November 15.

(j) Additional timing restrictions may be imposed pursuant to (i) above to minimize impacts to growth, spawning, breeding, and or hibernation, of threatened or endangered species, in accordance with 7:25-4.13 and 4.17, which may also be adversely affected by the lowering.

(k) In the event multiple timing restrictions would apply, the Director will assess the impacts to the spawning, breeding, growth and hibernation of biota present and determine the most appropriate timing for the lowering.

(l) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an application for a water lowering permit shall be approved if the Director determines that the lowering is necessary, timing restrictions, pursuant to (i) above, are satisfied and the applicant demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Director, that impacts to aquatic biota, as a result of the lowering, have been minimized to the maximum extent possible. In determining whether to approve a water lowering permit application, the Director shall consider potential impacts to growth, spawning, stocking, breeding and hibernation of biota, as well as impacts to endangered species dependent upon the waterbody, or otherwise affected by the lowering.

(m) A water lowering permit shall be authorized by the Division when a draw down is required due to unsafe or hazardous dam conditions, as determined by the Department's Division of Dam Safety. Emergency water lowering permits issued pursuant to this subsection will be exempt from timing restrictions, as specified in (i) through (k) above. The permittee, however, must abide by all other permit conditions, including the collection and relocation of biota if determined necessary by the Division.

(n) In no event shall a water lowering permit be approved if maximum minimization of impacts continues to result in the potential for significant mortality to the aquatic biota present.

(o) In the event the Division determines the lowering is necessary, and the extent and duration necessary poses an unavoidable threat to aquatic biota present, permittees may be required to collect and relocate aquatic biota to waters designated by the Division, or hold biota for reintroduction purposes. Appropriate timing restrictions shall still apply. A scientific collecting permit, scientific holding permit and/or stocking permit may also be required for the collection, relocation or retention of biota.

(p) For the duration of the lowering, permittees are responsible for the welfare of aquatic biota and are required to alleviate harmful conditions that may result from either the water level manipulation or from unforeseen changes in environmental conditions, including, but not limited to, unseasonably warm temperatures or periods of low water.

(q) The following general conditions shall apply to any permit for water lowering:

1. The permittee shall notify the Division 24 hours prior to lowering, and again 24 hours prior to refilling;

2. Initial water lowering shall not begin prior to the effective date of the water lowering permit, and refilling must commence no later than the expiration date;

3. At no point shall the water lowering exceed the amount specified on the permit;

4. For water lowering to be accomplished by a release of water from the waterbody, the rate of release at the time of lowering must be controlled to prevent any over-bank flow of the primary downstream channel, or increased turbidity; and

5. During the period that the waterbody is lowered downstream flow must be maintained at a flow equivalent, including amount and rate of flow, to conditions present immediately upstream of the waterbody for which the permit is issued.

(r) Requests to modify the expiration date of an existing water lowering permit must be submitted by the permittee in writing. Requests to extend the permit's expiration date must be submitted at least 21 days prior to the original expiration date. Requests shall include the permit number, waterbody name, location, owner, the change requested and the reason the modification is necessary. Requests shall be submitted to the Division at:

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries

P.O. Box 394

Lebanon, New Jersey 08833

1. In determining whether to approve a modification to an existing water lowering permit, the Director shall consider the impacts to the growth, spawning, stocking, breeding and hibernation of biota present, as well as impacts to endangered species dependent upon the waterbody, that may result from the change.

(s) For water lowering permits issued for flood control purposes, lowering may begin within 24 hours prior to a forecasted storm event of one inch of rain or more in the area. Permits are valid from January 1 to December 31. A written log, including the date, extent of lowering, forecasted amount of rain, source of the weather forecast, resulting water elevation after the rain event, the duration and the date the waterbody level was returned to full pool, must be recorded and submitted to the Division.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:25-6.25

New Rule, R.2008 d.65, effective 3/17/2008.
See: 39 N.J.R. 4988(a), 40 N.J.R. 1635(b).
Former N.J.A.C. 7:25-6.25, "Revocation of permits; penalties", recodified to N.J.A.C. 7:25-6.27.
Amended by R.2011 d.301, effective 12/19/2011 (operative January 1, 2012).
See: 43 N.J.R. 1632(a), 43 N.J.R. 3332(a).
In (s), inserted the last sentence.