Township of Woolwich, NJ Chapter 173 Topsoil

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Woolwich 8-21-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-21. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Grading plans — See Ch. 109.

Site plan review — See Ch. 149.

Soil removal — See Ch. 253.

Subdivision of land — See Ch. 163.

Zoning — See Ch. 203.

§ 173-1 Definitions.

The words or terms not interpreted or defined by this chapter shall be used with common or standard utilization. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.

PROJECT

Any construction for which the State Uniform Construction Code would require a construction permit.

SITE

Any plot or parcel of land.

TOPSOIL

The original surface of soil, containing organic content as specified within the body of this chapter.

§ 173-2 Topsoil definition and requirements.

A. Unacceptable topsoil sources from either on site or off site of the project limits.

(1) Material stripped from the following sources shall not be considered suitable for use as topsoil:

(a) Soils having less than 4.1 pH value.

(b) Chemically contaminated soils.

(c) Areas from which the original surface has been stripped and/or covered over such as borrow pits, open mines, demolition sites, dumps and sanitary landfills.

(d) Wet excavation.

(2) Topsoil furnished from either on site or off site of the project limits shall have a minimum organic content of not less than 2.75% by weight. When the organic content is less than 2.75%, it shall be increased by adding peat conforming to Subsection 909.11 of the NJDOT section for peat specification, at a rate necessary to attain this minimum organic content. The organic content of soils will be determined according to AASHTO T 194, except that the sample is to be taken from over-dried soil passing a No. 10 sieve. The organic content of all topsoil used for planting shall conform to the requirements specified above.

B. Gradation of topsoil sources.

(1) The gradation of the topsoil furnished from sources outside the limits of the project will be determined using the Bouyoucos Hydrometer Analysis conforming to AASHTO T 88. The gradation of the topsoil shall be within the following:

(a) Not more than 20% of the material submitted from any on-site or off-site sample shall be retained on a No. 10 sieve.

(b) If more than 1/2 of the sand is smaller than 20 mils:

		Percent
	Sand (80 mils to 2 mils)	40 to 80
	Silt (2 mils to 0.2 mils)	0 to 30
	Clay (0.2 mils and smaller)	0 to 30

(c) If more than 1/2 of the sand is larger than 20 mils:

		Percent
	Sand (80 mils to 2 mils)	40 to 80 or 40 to 75
	Silt (2 mils to 0.2 mils)	0 to 30 or 0 to 30
	Clay (0.2 mills and smaller)	15 to 30 or 0 to 30

(2) Material outside these ranges is not suitable for use as topsoil.