Any person proposing to construct or cause to be constructed, or to undertake or cause to be undertaken, as the case may be, a development in the coastal area shall file an application for a permit, if so required pursuant to section 5 of P.L. 1973, c.185 (C.13:19-5), with the commissioner, on forms and with any information the commissioner may prescribe. The application shall include an environmental impact statement which shall provide the information needed to evaluate the effects of a proposed development upon the environment of the coastal area. The department shall adopt rules and regulations that set forth the contents required in an environmental impact statement, and the conditions under which the commissioner may vary the content requirements of an environmental impact statement or waive the requirement that an environmental impact statement be submitted.
N.J.S. § 13:19-6