Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section,
shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise. Terms not defined in this section have the same meaning
as those defined in N.J.A.C. 7:29.
CONSTRUCTION
Any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration
or similar action of buildings or structures.
dBC
The sound level as measured using the C weighting network
with a sound level meter meeting the standards set forth in ANSI S1.4-1983
or its successors. The unit of reporting is dB(C). The C weighting
network is more sensitive to low frequencies than is the A weighting
network.
DEMOLITION
Any dismantling, destruction or removal of buildings, structures,
or roadways.
DEPARTMENT
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
EMERGENCY WORK
Any work or action necessary at the site of an emergency
to restore or deliver essential services, including, but not limited
to, repairing water, gas, electricity, telephone, sewer facilities,
or public transportation facilities, removing fallen trees on public
rights-of-way, dredging navigational waterways, or abating life-threatening
conditions or a state of emergency declared by a governing agency.
IMPULSIVE SOUND
Either a single pressure peak or a single burst (multiple
pressure peaks) that has a duration of less than one second.
MINOR VIOLATION
A violation that is not the result of the purposeful, reckless
or criminally negligent conduct of the alleged violator; and/or the
activity or condition constituting the violation has not been the
subject of an enforcement action by any authorized local, county or
state enforcement agency against the violator within the immediately
preceding 12 months for the same or substantially similar violation.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Any vehicle that is propelled other than by human or animal
power on land.
MUFFLER
A properly functioning sound-dissipative device or system
for abating the sound on engines or equipment where such device is
part of the normal configuration of the equipment.
MULTIDWELLING-UNIT BUILDING
Any building comprising two or more dwelling units, including,
but not limited to, apartments, condominiums, co-ops, multiple-family
houses, townhouses, and attached residences.
MULTI-USE PROPERTY
Any distinct parcel of land that is used for more than one
category of activity. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(1)
A commercial, residential, industrial or public service property
having boilers, incinerators, elevators, automatic garage doors, air
conditioners, laundry rooms, utility provisions, or health and recreational
facilities, or other similar devices or areas, either in the interior
or on the exterior of the building, which may be a source of elevated
sound levels at another category on the same distinct parcel of land;
or
(2)
A building, which is both commercial (usually on the ground
floor) and residential property, located above, below or otherwise
adjacent to.
NOISE CONTROL INVESTIGATOR (NCI)
An employee of a municipality, county or regional health
commission that has a Department-approved model noise control ordinance
and the employee has not received noise enforcement training as specified
by the Department in N.J.A.C. 7:29. However, he or she is knowledgeable
about the model noise ordinance and enforcement procedures. A noise
control investigator may only enforce sections of the ordinance that
do not require the use of a sound level meter. The employee must be
acting within his or her designated jurisdiction and must be authorized
to issue a summons.
NOISE CONTROL OFFICER (NCO)
An employee of a local, county or regional health agency
which is certified pursuant to the County Environmental Health Act
(N.J.S.A. 26:3A2-21 et seq.) to perform noise enforcement activities
or an employee of a municipality with a Department-approved model
noise control ordinance. All NCOs must receive noise enforcement training
as specified by the Department in N.J.A.C. 7:29 and be currently certified
in noise enforcement. The employee must be acting within his or her
designated jurisdiction and must be authorized to issue a summons.
PLAINLY AUDIBLE
Any sound that can be detected by an NCO or an NCI using
his or her unaided hearing faculties of normal acuity. As an example,
if the sound source under investigation is a portable or vehicular
sound amplification or reproduction device, the detection of the rhythmic
bass component of the music is sufficient to verify plainly audible
sound. The NCO or NCI need not determine the title, specific words,
or the artist performing the song.
PRIVATE RIGHT-OF-WAY
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley
or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a nongovernmental
entity.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley
or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental
entity.
PUBLIC SPACE
Any real property or structures thereon that are owned, leased,
or controlled by a governmental entity.
REAL PROPERTY LINE
Either a) the vertical boundary that separates one parcel
of property (i.e., lot and block) from another residential or commercial
property; b) the vertical and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling
unit that is part of a multidwelling-unit building; or c) on a multi-use
property as defined herein, the vertical or horizontal boundaries
between the two portions of the property on which different categories
of activity are being performed (e.g., if the multi-use property is
a building which is residential upstairs and commercial downstairs,
then the real property line would be the interface between the residential
area and the commercial area, or if there is an outdoor sound source
such as an HVAC unit on the same parcel of property, the boundary
line is the exterior wall of the receiving unit). Note: this definition
shall not apply to a commercial source and a commercial receptor which
are both located on the same parcel of property (e.g., a strip mall).
SOUND-PRODUCTION DEVICE
Any device whose primary function is the production of sound,
including, but not limited to, any musical instrument, loudspeaker,
radio, television, digital or analog music player, public address
system or sound-amplifying equipment.
SOUND-REDUCTION DEVICE
Any device, such as a muffler, baffle, shroud, jacket, enclosure,
isolator, or dampener, provided by the manufacturer with the equipment,
or that is otherwise required, that mitigates the sound emissions
of the equipment.
WEEKDAY
Any day that is not a federal holiday, and beginning on Monday
at 7:00 a.m. and ending on the following Friday at 6:00 p.m.
WEEKENDS
Beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending on the following
Monday at 7:00 a.m.