N.J. Admin. Code § 7:50-6.75

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

Section 7:50-6.75 - Landfills

(a) Landfills which accept only vegetative waste shall be ancillary to an agricultural use of the parcel on which they are located.

(b) Nothing in this Part shall be construed to prohibit the disposal of vegetative waste on the parcel on which it was generated, provided that the vegetative clearing or harvesting is otherwise authorized by this Plan. For agricultural operations, the disposal of vegetative waste on non-contiguous parcels in common ownership which have an active production history as a unit or where a farm management plan has been prepared which demonstrates that the parcels will be farmed as a unit, shall also be permitted.

(c) All landfills that ceased operation on or after September 23, 1980, if located in the Preservation Area or on or after January 14, 1981, if located in the Protection Area shall be capped with an impermeable material unless it can be clearly demonstrated that:

1. The landfill accepted only vegetative waste or construction debris for disposal;

2. An alternative means of addressing the public health and ecological risks associated with the landfill is available that will afford an equivalent level of protection of the resources of the Pinelands than would be provided if the landfill were capped with an impermeable material;

3. No leachate plume associated with the landfill exists and the landfill is not generating leachate; or

4. A leachate plume associated with the landfill exists, but poses no significant ecological risk to wetlands.

(d) Plans to cap landfills or carry out the alternative treatment methods set forth in (c)2 above shall be submitted to the Commission by May 20, 1997. Capping or alternative treatment of all landfills shall begin immediately following approval of such plans by the Commission pursuant to 7:50-4.51 through 4.58, except when an extension pursuant to (e) below has been granted.

(e) An extension of the requirement set forth in (d) above concerning the commencement of capping or alternative treatment methods immediately upon obtaining approval by the Commission shall be granted, provided that it can be clearly demonstrated that there are presently insufficient funds reasonably available to meet that requirement and one of the following standards is met and continues to be met:

1. The levels of chemical constituents in the leachate plume associated with the landfill do not exceed background levels of those pollutants as measured at the parcel line and the plume is not moving offsite; or

2. The levels of chemical constituents in the leachate plume associated with the landfill exceed background levels of those pollutants or the plume is moving offsite but:

i. The plume does not pose a significant public health risk, as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection; and

ii. The plume does not pose a significant ecological risk, as determined by examining whether the plume is located within an undisturbed subwatershed or is likely to impact publicly owned conservation lands or systems which support known populations of threatened or endangered species.

(f) In the event that an extension is granted pursuant to (e) above, capping or alternative treatment of the landfill in question must proceed immediately upon sufficient funds being obtained. Timely application for State or Federal funding assistance shall be made when such assistance becomes available.

(g) Closure techniques to reduce the volume or surface area of a landfill to be capped, including landfill mining, shall be permitted.

(h) Closure techniques involving the use of non-sludge derived composted materials, vegetative waste or the following recycled materials: source-separated non-putrescible glass, paper, plastic or cardboard; waste concrete, asphalt, brick or block; wood that has been processed through a chipper; or other similar materials, excluding those materials classified as dry industrial wastes (Type 27) pursuant to 7:26-2.13(g)1 vi, for landfill caps or covers shall be permitted, provided that the standards of this section and 7:50-6.81 through 6.87 are met and that the use of such techniques is part of a total financial commitment that ensures that final capping is completed. For purposes of this section, the use of such techniques shall not be considered land application of waste. Nothing herein shall be construed as permitting the height or extent of a landfill to be raised beyond what is necessary to complete final contouring to enable impermeable capping or provide for a limited final cover over the impermeable cap.

(i) Subject to the procedural and substantive requirements of this Plan, the landfill operated by the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority that was authorized to stay in operation after August 8, 1990 as a result of waivers of strict compliance previously approved by the Pinelands Commission pursuant to the provisions of this Plan may continue in operation provided that:

1. All landfilling is located within the Pinelands Town management area on approximately 167 acres of land owned by the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority as of May 1, 2006, north of a line running parallel approximately 900 feet south of the boundary between Upper Township and Woodbine Borough;

2. All landfilling occurs in the following areas:

i. At the previously approved cells 1A, 1B and 1C and on up to 42 acres of land which are contiguous with those existing cells, totaling approximately 93 acres; and

ii. On an additional 74 acres of land located northeast and southeast of the areas identified in (i)2i above;

3. The height of all existing cells may be increased beyond the currently permitted elevations subject to the approval of the Department of Environmental Protection. The height of any future cells shall be as approved by the Department of Environmental Protection;

4. Except as otherwise permitted by this Part, landfilling is limited to those wastes previously authorized by the Pinelands Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection;

5. Landfill mining operations may occur within the areas authorized for landfilling pursuant to (i)2 above;

6. Prior to May 1, 2006, the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority shall impose a permanent deed restriction on all lands owned by it in the Pinelands Area as of May 1, 2006. Said deed restriction shall be specifically enforceable by the Pinelands Commission and shall:

i. Prohibit any landfilling on lands owned by the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority in the Pinelands Area as of May 1, 2006, except on those lands authorized for landfilling pursuant to (i)2 above; and

ii. Prohibit any development on those lands owned by the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority as of May 1, 2006 which are located north of the areas authorized for landfilling pursuant to (i)2 above, consisting of approximately 90 acres.

7. In mitigation for the impacts upon the resources of the Pinelands caused by the landfill expansion and the continued use of the landfill after May 1, 1996:

i. A payment of $ 2.04 per ton of waste disposed in the landfill after May 1, 1996 shall be made to the Pinelands Commission by the operator of the landfill. Said payments shall be made until $ 2.25 million has been paid to the Pinelands Commission. Said payments shall be made quarterly within 45 days of the end of any quarter, with the first quarter ending on August 1, 1996. As an alternative to said quarterly payments, the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority and the Pinelands Commission may agree to the Authority's making a present value payment to the Pinelands Commission of the equivalent, based upon an agreed upon formula, to the $ 2.25 million paid quarterly as set forth above. Any such present value payment shall be made prior to May 1, 1996;

ii. A present value payment of $ 4,651,045 as of December 31, 2004 shall be made to the Pinelands Commission by the operator of the landfill based upon the projected landfilling capacity or tonnage gained as a result of the expansion permitted pursuant to (i)2ii above and one-half of the escalated host community benefit. Said payment shall be prior to May 1, 2006; and

iii. Should the total tonnage of solid waste materials landfilled during any five-year increment exceed the projections for that period upon which the required payment in (c)7ii above was based, a payment shall be made to the Pinelands Commission of the difference between the number of tons received and the number of tons originally projected, multiplied by one-half of then prevailing host community benefit paid to Upper Township and the Borough of Woodbine by the operator of the landfill. Such payment shall be in the form of a lump sum amount to be paid to the Commission by the operator of the landfill prior to April 30th of the first year immediately following the completion of each five year incremental calculation period. This analysis shall be conducted beginning May 1, 2011 and continue until 2034. In the event that an Act of God, including but not limited to floods and or hurricane category winds, cause the total tons landfilled to exceed the projected amount, the Commission may determine that all or a portion of the excess tonnage payment is unnecessary for a particular year; and

8. Use of funds:

i. Funds transmitted to the Commission pursuant to (i)7i above shall be used solely for the acquisition of conservation and recreation lands throughout the Pinelands National Reserve. The Commission shall devote at least eight percent of those funds to purchases in Cape May County. The Commission, where practicable, will seek matching funds for the funds used for acquisition in Cape May County.

ii. To the extent that the Commission elects to use any portion of the funds transmitted to the Commission pursuant to (i)7ii or iii above for the acquisition of conservation and recreation lands in the Pinelands National Reserve, the Commission shall devote at least eight percent of the funds to be used for acquisition to purchases in Cape May County.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:50-6.75

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 969(a), effective 3/5/2018