The purpose of this chapter is to designate riparian zones and to provide for land use regulation therein in order to protect the streams, lakes, and other surface water bodies of Woolwich Township and to comply with N.J.A.C. 7:15-5.25(g)3, which requires municipalities to adopt an ordinance that prevents new disturbance for projects or activities in riparian zones as described herein. Compliance with the riparian zone requirements of this chapter does not constitute compliance with the riparian zone or buffer requirements imposed under any other federal, state or local statute, regulation or ordinance. Further, nothing contained in this chapter shall supersede the protections afforded to landowners under the state's Right to Farm Act (N.J.S.A. 4:1C-1 et seq.) and the Township's Right To Farm Ordinance (§
203-18 of the Woolwich Township Municipal Code).
The definitions of the words and/or terms utilized in this chapter
shall be as defined or described in the Water Quality Management Planning
Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:15, the Stormwater Management Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:8,
and/or the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:13, as
they exist as of the effective date of this chapter and as they may
be amended over time. The following definitions are exactly as the
NJDEP defines them as of the date of this chapter:
ACID-PRODUCING SOILS
Soils that contain geologic deposits of iron sulfide minerals
(pyrite and marcasite) which, when exposed to oxygen from the air
or from the surface waters, oxidize to produce sulfuric acid. Acid-producing
soils, upon excavation, generally have a pH of 4.0 or lower. After
exposure to oxygen, these soils generally have a pH of 3.0 or lower.
Information regarding the location of acid-producing soils in New
Jersey can be obtained from local Soil Conservation District offices.
APPLICANT
A person, corporation, government body or other legal entity
applying to the Planning Board, Board of Adjustment or the Construction
Office proposing to engage in an activity that is regulated by the
provisions of this chapter and that would be located in whole or in
part within a regulated riparian zone.
CATEGORY ONE WATERS or C1 WATERS
Shall have the meaning ascribed to this term by the Surface
Water Quality Standards, N.J.A.C. 7:9B, for the purpose of implementing
the antidegradation policies set forth in those standards, for protection
from measurable changes in water quality characteristics because of
their clarity, color, scenic setting and other characteristics of
aesthetic value, exceptional ecological significance, exceptional
recreational significance, exceptional water supply significance,
or exceptional fisheries resources.
DISTURBANCE
The placement of impervious surface, the exposure or movement
of soil or bedrock, or the clearing, cutting or removing of vegetation.
INTERMITTENT STREAM
A surface water body with definite bed and banks in which
there is not a permanent flow of water and which is shown on the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Geographic Information
System (GIS) hydrography coverage or, in the case of a special water
resource protection area (SWRPA) pursuant to the Stormwater Management
Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:8-5.5(h), C1 waters as shown on the USGS Quadrangle
Map or in the County Soil Surveys.
LAKE, POND or RESERVOIR
Any surface water body, shown on the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection's Geographic Information System (GIS)
hydrography coverage or, in the case of a special water resource protection
area (SWRPA) pursuant to the Stormwater Management Rules at N.J.A.C.
7:8-5.5(h), C1 waters as shown on the USGS Quadrangle Map or in the
County Soil Surveys, that is an impoundment, whether naturally occurring
or created in whole or in part by the building of structures for the
retention of surface water. This excludes sedimentation control and
stormwater retention/detention basins and ponds designed for treatment
of wastewater.
PERENNIAL STREAM
A surface water body that flows continuously throughout the
year in most years and is shown on the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection's Geographic Information System (GIS) hydrography
coverage or, in the case of a special water resource protection area
(SWRPA) pursuant to the Stormwater Management Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:8-5.5(h),
C1 waters shown on the USGS Quadrangle Map or in the County Soil Surveys.
RIPARIAN ZONE
The land and vegetation within and directly adjacent to all
surface water bodies, including, but not limited to, lakes, ponds,
reservoirs, perennial and intermittent streams, up to and including
their point of origin, such as seeps and springs, as shown on the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's GIS hydrography
coverage or, in the case of a special water resource protection area
(SWRPA) pursuant to the Stormwater Management Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:8-5.5(h),
C1 waters as shown on the USGS Quadrangle Map or in the County Soil
Surveys. There is no riparian zone along the Atlantic Ocean or along
any man-made lagoon or oceanfront barrier island, spit or peninsula.
SPECIAL WATER RESOURCE PROTECTION AREA or SWRPA
A three-hundred-foot area provided on each side of a surface
water body designated as a C1 water or tributary to a C1 water that
is a perennial stream, intermittent stream, lake, pond or reservoir,
as defined herein and shown on the USGS Quadrangle Map or in the County
Soil Surveys, within the associated HUC 14 drainage, pursuant to the
Stormwater Management Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:8-5.5(h).
SURFACE WATER BODY(IES)
Any perennial stream, intermittent stream, lake, pond or
reservoir, as defined herein; in addition, any regulated water under
the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:13-2.2, or state
open waters identified in a letter of interpretation issued under
the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:5C-5.1,
and any subsequent amendments thereto.
THREATENED OR ENDANGERED SPECIES
A species identified pursuant to the Endangered and Nongame
Species Conservation Act, N.J.S.A. 23:2A-1 et seq., the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq., or the Endangered
Plant Species List, N.J.A.C. 7:5C-5.1, and any subsequent amendments
thereto.
TROUT MAINTENANCE WATER
A section of water identified as trout production in the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Surface Water
Quality Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:9B.
To the extent allowed by the Stormwater Management Rules (N.J.A.C.
7:8) and the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules (N.J.A.C. 7:13),
new disturbances for projects or activities in the riparian zone established
by this chapter may be allowed through the Zoning Board Component
of Woolwich Township's Joint Land Use Board review and approval
of a variance, provided the disturbance is proposed to be located
on a preexisting lot (existing as of the effective date of this chapter)
when there is insufficient room outside the riparian zone for the
proposed use otherwise permitted by the underlying zoning; there is
no other reasonable or prudent alternative to placement in the riparian
zone, including obtaining variances from setback or other requirements
that would allow conformance with the riparian zone requirements;
and upon proof, by virtue of submission of appropriate maps, drawings,
reports and testimony, that the disturbance is:
A. Necessary to protect public health, safety or welfare;
B. To provide an environmental benefit;
C. To prevent extraordinary hardship on the property owner peculiar
to the property; or
D. To prevent extraordinary hardship, provided the hardship was not
created by the property owner, by not allowing a minimum economically
viable use of the property based upon reasonable investment.
To the extent allowed under the Stormwater Management Rules
(N.J.A.C. 7:8) and the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules (N.J.A.C.
7:13), and subject to review and approval by the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection to the extent required by those rules,
the following disturbances for projects or activities in the riparian
zone established by this chapter are allowed:
A. Redevelopment within the limits of existing impervious surfaces.
B. Linear development with no feasible alternative route.
C. Disturbance that is in accordance with the stream corridor restoration
or stream bank stabilization plan or project approved by the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection.
D. Disturbance necessary to provide for public pedestrian access or
water-dependent recreation that meets the requirements of the Freshwater
Wetlands Protection Act Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:7a, the Flood Hazard Area
Control Act Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:13, or the Coastal Zone Management Rules,
N.J.A.C. 7:7E.
E. Disturbance with no feasible alternative required for the remediation
of hazardous substances performed with New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection or federal oversight pursuant to the Spill Compensation
and Control Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11a et seq., or the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, 42
U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.
F. Normal farming, horticulture, silviculture, and ranching activities,
including but not limited to: plowing, seeding, cultivating, and harvesting
for the production of food and fiber, or soil and water conservation
practices, when part of an established and/or ongoing farming, horticulture,
silviculture, or ranching operation, on properties which have received
or are eligible for a farmland assessment under the New Jersey Farmland
Assessment Act, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq.
A prompt investigation shall be made by the Township Engineer
and/or Zoning Officer of any person or entity believed to be in violation
hereof. If, upon inspection, a condition which is in violation of
this chapter is discovered, a civil action in the Special Part of
the Superior Court, or in the Superior Court, if the primary relief
sought is injunctive or if penalties may exceed the jurisdictional
limit of the Special Civil Part, by the filing and serving of appropriate
process. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude the
right of Woolwich Township, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:3A2-25, to initiate
legal proceedings hereunder in Municipal Court. The violation of any
section or subsection of this chapter shall constitute a separate
and distinct offense independent of the violation of any other section
or subsection or of any order issued pursuant to this chapter. Each
day a violation continues shall be considered a separate offense,
and the fine shall be up to $1,000 maximum.
This chapter shall take effect upon final adoption and publication
in accordance with the law on the date it is filed with the County
Planning Board after adoption.