New Jersey-2014-S2322-Introduced

An Act establishing an Office of River Maintenance in the Department of Environmental Protection, supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes, and repealing P.L.1993, c.376.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. There is established the Office of River Maintenance in the Department of Environmental Protection.

b. The office shall be under the immediate supervision of a director who shall be qualified to direct the work of the office and be appointed by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection. The appointment of the director shall be made by the commissioner within 30 days after the effective date of this act.

c. The office may employ, subject to the provisions of Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes, staff as necessary within the limits of available appropriations.

2. a. The Office of River Maintenance shall administer, enforce, implement, and oversee all activities related to stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration projects in the surface waters of the State. The office shall have the primary responsibility for undertaking all stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration projects in the State.

b. In addition to conducting stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration projects, the office shall be the administering agency within the department for implementing the provisions of:

(1) P.L.2001, c.360 (C.58:4-11 et seq.), and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, specifically related to stream cleaning and desnagging;

(2) sections 5, 16 through 18, and related sections specifically related to stream cleaning and desnagging projects of the "Dam, Lake, Stream, Flood Control, Water Resources, and Wastewater Treatment Project Bond Act of 2003," P.L.2003, c.162; and

(3) any other State or federal laws, rules, and regulations specifically related to stream cleaning and desnagging projects or bank stabilization or restoration projects.

c. A stream cleaning and desnagging project conducted by the office shall meet the following conditions:

(1) the project shall be undertaken solely for the purpose of stream cleaning or desnagging;

(2) the removal of any material shall not extend below the historic depth of the stream bed and shall not alter the natural stream bank beyond its historical contour;

(3) every effort shall be made to perform work from only one stream bank and ensure that vegetation and canopy on the more southerly or westerly banks will be preserved for stream shading;

(4) if the stream is located in a municipality known to have federally or State listed threatened or endangered species associated with its wetlands or if the project is in a stream classified as pinelands or category one waters, the project shall (a) be coordinated with the appropriate federal and State agencies, and (b) incorporate appropriate timing restrictions; and

(5) the project shall comply with any applicable requirements of "The Wetlands Act of 1970," P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-1 et seq.), the "Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act," P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-1 et seq.), the "Coastal Area Facility Review Act," P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.), the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et al.), and the "Flood Hazard Area Control Act," P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

d. A bank stabilization or restoration project conducted by the office shall meet the following conditions:

(1) the project shall not obstruct flow in the channel or floodway, significantly alter the channel, or impair surface water flow into or out of any wetland area;

(2) the project shall not reduce the stability of a steep slope or result in the permanent loss of any upland forested area;

(3) disturbance to vegetation in the riparian zone shall be minimized, and all cleared or removed vegetation shall be replanted with native, non-invasive vegetation except where the cleared or removed vegetation has been replaced by non-vegetative stabilizing material;

(4) the project shall not result in the likelihood of the destruction or adverse modification of habitat for federally or State listed threatened or endangered species;

(5) if the stream is located in a municipality known to have federally or State listed threatened or endangered species associated with its wetlands or if the project is in a stream classified as pinelands or category one waters, the project shall (a) be coordinated with the appropriate federal and State agencies, and (b) incorporate appropriate timing restrictions; and

(6) the project shall comply with any applicable requirements of the "Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act," P.L.1975, c.251 (C.4:24-39 et seq.), "The Wetlands Act of 1970," P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-1 et seq.), the "Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act," P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-1 et seq.), the "Coastal Area Facility Review Act," P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.), the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et al.), and the "Flood Hazard Area Control Act," P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

e. Notwithstanding any other State law, or rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, a stream cleaning and desnagging project or bank stabilization or restoration project conducted by the office pursuant to this section shall not require a permit, approval, or other authorization issued by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to any State law or rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto.

f. As used in this section:

"Bank" means the inclined side of a channel, an excavated or impounded area or a topographic depression, which confines or conducts water.

"Bank stabilization or restoration project" means activities conducted to restore to a stable condition a bank or channel, which has become eroded, unstable, or ecologically degraded.

"Category one waters" means, for the purposes of sediment removal, those waters designated by the Department of Environmental Protection, for purposes of implementing the antidegradation policies of the "Water Pollution Control Act," P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et seq.), for protection from measurable changes in water quality characteristics because of their clarity, color, scenic setting, other characteristics of aesthetic value, exceptional ecological significance, exceptional recreational significance, exceptional water supply significance, or exceptional fisheries resources. These waters may include, but are not limited to:

(1) waters originating wholly within federal, interstate, State, county, or municipal parks, forests, fish and wildlife lands, and other special holdings that have not been designated by the department as FW1;

(2) waters classified by the department as FW2 trout production waters and their tributaries;

(3) surface waters classified by the department as FW2 trout maintenance waters or FW2 non-trout waters that are not more than 750 feet upstream of waters classified by the department as FW2 trout production waters;

(4) shellfish waters of exceptional resource value; or

(5) other waters and their tributaries that flow through, or border, federal, State, county or municipal parks, forest, fish and wildlife lands, and other special holdings.

"Channel" means a linear topographic depression, either naturally occurring or of human origin through excavation or construction, that continuously or intermittently confines or conducts surface water, but shall not mean transient erosion gullies and other ephemeral features that temporarily form after heavy rainfall.

"FW" means the general surface water classification applied to fresh waters.

"FW1" means those fresh waters that originate in and are wholly within federal or State parks, forests, fish and wildlife lands, and other special holdings, that are to be maintained in their natural state of quality and not subjected to any man-made wastewater discharges.

"FW2" means the general surface water classification applied to those fresh waters that are not designated as FW1 or pinelands waters.

"Sediment" means solid material, mineral or organic, that is in suspension, is being transported or has moved from its site of origin by air, water, ice, or gravity as a product of erosion.

"Stream cleaning and desnagging project" means the removal of accumulated sediments, debris, garbage, or vegetation from a stream with a natural stream bed, or the removal of any accumulated material from a stream previously channelized with concrete or similar artificial material, to improve, for the purposes of flood control, the use or function of any stream.

"Trout maintenance waters" means waters designated by the department for the support of trout throughout the year.

"Trout production waters" means waters designated by the department for use by trout for spawning or nursery purposes during their first summer.

3. On or before March 1 of the first full year following the date of enactment of this act, and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall issue a written report to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), summarizing the activities of the Office of River Maintenance. This annual report shall include:

a. a description of each stream cleaning and desnagging project and bank stabilization or restoration project undertaken by the office as of December 31 preceding the submission of the annual report, including a description of the nature of the project, the name of the stream and a description of the reach of the stream in which the project took place, and identification of the municipality and county in which the project occurred;

b. the cost of each stream cleaning and desnagging project and bank stabilization or restoration project undertaken by the office;

c. a priority list of the stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration projects that the office anticipates undertaking in the upcoming year, including a description of each project and its anticipated cost; and

d. any recommendations for any administrative or legislative actions that the Commissioner of Environmental Protection deems appropriate and necessary to assist the office with its responsibilities.

4. P.L.1993, c.376 (C.58:16A-67) is repealed.

5. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes an Office of River Maintenance (office) in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This new office is charged with the responsibility for conducting all stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration projects in the State.

The bill defines "stream cleaning and desnagging project" to mean the removal of accumulated sediments, debris, garbage, or vegetation from a stream with a natural stream bed, or the removal of any accumulated material from a stream previously channelized with concrete or similar artificial material, to improve, for the purposes of flood control, the use or function of any stream. (This is the same definition used in the "Dam, Lake, Stream, Flood Control, Water Resources, and Wastewater Treatment Project Bond Act of 2003," P.L.2003, c.162.) The bill defines "bank stabilization or restoration project" to mean activities conducted to restore an eroded, unstable, or ecologically degraded bank or channel to a stable condition. The bill also defines the terms "bank," "channel," and "sediment" to be consistent with the definitions of those terms in the DEP's rules and regulations implementing the "Flood Hazard Area Control Act."

In addition to conducting stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration projects, the office would be the primary administering agency within the DEP for implementing P.L.2001, c.360 (C.58:4-11 et seq.) and sections 5, 16 through 18, and related sections of the "Dam, Lake, Stream, Flood Control, Water Resources, and Wastewater Treatment Project Bond Act of 2003" (P.L.2003, c.162), and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, specifically pertaining to stream cleaning and desnagging projects, and any other State or federal law concerning stream cleaning and desnagging activities or bank stabilization or restoration projects.

The bill provides that stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration projects undertaken by the office would not require a permit, approval, or other authorization from the DEP pursuant to any other State law or rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto.

Lastly, the bill repeals P.L.1993, c.376 (C.58:16A-67), which set forth a process for local government units to follow when undertaking stream cleaning activities, as stream cleaning activities will be the responsibility of the office to be established pursuant to this bill and the relevant provisions of P.L.1993, c.376 are included in this bill.