For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein
unless their use in the text of this article clearly demonstrates
a different meaning. When not inconsistent with the context, words
used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural
number include the singular number, and words used in the singular
number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and not merely directory. The definitions below are the same as or
based on the corresponding definitions in the Stormwater Management
Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:8-1.2.
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Land uses normally associated with the production of food,
fiber, and livestock for sale. Such uses do not include the development
of land for the processing or sale of food and the manufacturing of
agriculturally related products.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP)
Structural device, measure, facility, or activity that helps
to achieve stormwater management control objectives at a designated
site.
CAFRA CENTERS, CORES OR NODES
Those areas with boundaries incorporated by reference or
revised by the Department in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.16.
CAFRA PLANNING MAP
The map used by the Department to identify the location of
Coastal Planning Areas, CAFRA Centers, CAFRA Cores, and CAFRA Nodes.
The CAFRA Planning Map is available on the Department's geographic
information system (GIS).
CATEGORY ONE (C1) WATERS
Waters of the state, including unnamed waterways that appear
on Soil Survey and USGS Topographic Quadrangle Maps within the same
HUC-14 watershed, designated in N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15(c) through (h)
for purposes of implementing the antidegradation policies set forth
at N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.5(d) 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.
COMMUNITY BASIN
An infiltration system, sand filter designed to infiltrate,
standard constructed wetland, or wet pond, established in accordance
with N.J.A.C. 7:8-4.2(c)14, that is designed and constructed in accordance
with the New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual, or
an alternate design, approved in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:8-5.2(g),
for an infiltration system, sand filter designed to infiltrate, standard
constructed wetland, or wet pond and that complies with the requirements
of this article.
CONTRIBUTORY DRAINAGE AREA
The area from which stormwater runoff drains to a stormwater
management measure, not including the area of the stormwater management
measure itself.
CORE
A pedestrian-oriented area of commercial and civic uses serving
the surrounding municipality, generally including housing and access
to public transportation.
COUNTY REVIEW AGENCY
An agency designated by the Bergen County Commissioners to
review municipal stormwater management plans and implementing ordinance(s).
The county review agency may either be:
A.
County planning agency; or
B.
County water resource association created under N.J.S.A. 58:16A-55.5,
if the ordinance or resolution delegates authority to approve, conditionally
approve, or disapprove municipal stormwater management plans and implementing
ordinances.
DEPARTMENT
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
DESIGN ENGINEER
A person professionally qualified and duly licensed in New
Jersey to perform engineering services that may include, but not necessarily
be limited to, development of project requirements, creation and development
of project design and preparation of drawings and specifications.
DESIGNATED CENTER
A State Development and Redevelopment Plan Center as designated
by the State Planning Commission, such as urban, regional, town, village,
or hamlet.
DEVELOPMENT
The division of a parcel of land into two or more parcels;
the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration,
relocation or enlargement of any building or structure; any mining
excavation or landfill; and any use or change in the use of any building
or other structure, or land or extension of use of land, by any person,
for which permission is required under the Municipal Land Use Law,
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. In the case of development of agricultural
lands, "development" means any activity that requires a state permit;
any activity reviewed by the County Agricultural Board (CAB) and the
State Agricultural Development Committee (SADC); and municipal review
of any activity not exempted by the Right to Farm Act, N.J.S.A. 4:1C-1
et seq.
DISTURBANCE
The placement or reconstruction of impervious surface or
motor vehicle surface, or exposure and/or movement of soil or bedrock
or clearing, cutting, or removing of vegetation. Milling and repaving
is not considered disturbance for the purposes of this definition.
DRAINAGE AREA
A geographic area within which stormwater, sediments, or
dissolved materials drain to a particular receiving water body or
to a particular point along a receiving water body.
EMPOWERMENT NEIGHBORHOOD
A neighborhood designated by the Urban Coordinating Council
in consultation and conjunction with the New Jersey Redevelopment
Authority pursuant to N.J.S.A. 55:19-69.
ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSTRAINED AREA
The following areas where the physical alteration of the
land is in some way restricted, either through regulation, easement,
deed restriction or ownership such as: wetlands, floodplains, threatened
and endangered species sites or designated habitats, and parks and
preserves. Habitats of endangered or threatened species are identified
using the Department's Landscape Project as approved by the Department's
Endangered and Nongame Species Program.
ENVIRONMENTALLY CRITICAL AREAS
An area or feature which is of significant environmental
value, including but not limited to stream corridors, natural heritage
priority sites, habitats of endangered or threatened species, large
areas of contiguous open space or upland forest, steep slopes, and
wellhead protection and groundwater recharge areas. Habitats of endangered
or threatened species are identified using the Department's Landscape
Project as approved by the Department's Endangered and Nongame
Species Program.
EROSION
The detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by
water, wind, ice, or gravity.
ESCAPE PROVISIONS
The permanent installation of ladders, steps, rungs, or other
features that provide easily accessible means of egress from stormwater
management basins.
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
A stormwater management measure that manages stormwater close
to its source by:
A.
Treating stormwater runoff through infiltration into subsoil;
B.
Treating stormwater runoff through filtration by vegetation
or soil; or
C.
Storing stormwater runoff for reuse.
GROUNDWATER
A body of water below the surface of the land in a zone of
saturation where the spaces between the soil or geological materials
are fully saturated with water.
HUC 14
An area within which water drains to a particular receiving
surface water body, also known as a "subwatershed," which is identified
by a fourteen-digit hydrologic unit boundary designation, delineated
within New Jersey by the United States Geological Survey.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
A surface that has been covered with a layer of material
so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water.
INFILTRATION
The process by which water seeps into the soil from precipitation.
LEAD PLANNING AGENCY
One or more public entities having stormwater management
planning authority designated by the regional stormwater management
planning committee pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:8-3.2, that serves as the
primary representative of the committee.
MAJOR DEVELOPMENT
A.
An individual development, as well as multiple developments
that individually or collectively result in:
(1)
The disturbance of one or more acres of land since February
2, 2004;
(2)
The creation of 1/4 acre or more of regulated impervious surface
since February 2, 2004;
(3)
The creation of 1/4 acre or more of regulated motor vehicle
surface since March 2, 2021 (or the effective date of this article,
whichever is earlier); or
(4)
A combination of Subsection A(2) and (3) above that totals an
area of 1/4 acre or more. The same surface shall not be counted twice
when determining if the combination area equals 1/4 acre or more.
B.
Major development includes all developments that are part of
a common plan of development or sale (for example, phased residential
development) that collectively or individually meet any one or more
of Subsection A(1), (2), (3), or (4) above. Projects undertaken by
any government agency that otherwise meet the definition of major
development, but which do not require approval under the Municipal
Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., are also considered major
development.
MITIGATION
An action by an applicant providing compensation or offset
actions for on-site stormwater management requirements where the applicant
has demonstrated the inability or impracticality of strict compliance
with the stormwater management requirements set forth in N.J.A.C.
7:8 in an adopted regional stormwater management plan or in this local
ordinance and has received a waiver from strict compliance from the
Borough of Emerson. Mitigation for the purposes of this article includes
both the mitigation plan detailing how the project's failure
to strictly comply will be compensated, and the implementation of
the approved mitigation plan.
MOTER VEHICLE
Land vehicles propelled other than by muscular power, such
as automobiles, motorcycles, autocycles, and low-speed vehicles. For
the purposes of this definition, motor vehicle does not include farm
equipment, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, motorized wheelchairs,
go-carts, gas buggies, golf carts, ski-slope-grooming machines, or
vehicles that run only on rails or tracks.
MOTER VEHICLE SURFACE
Any pervious or impervious surface that is intended to be
used by motor vehicles and/or aircraft, and is directly exposed to
precipitation including, but not limited to, driveways, parking areas,
parking garages, roads, racetracks, and runways.
NEW JERSEY STORMWATER BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMP) MANUAL
The manual maintained by the Department providing, in part, design specifications, removal rates, calculation methods, and soil testing procedures approved by the Department as being capable of contributing to the achievement of the stormwater management standards specified in this article. The BMP Manual is periodically amended by the Department as necessary to provide design specifications on additional best management practices and new information on already included practices reflecting the best available current information regarding the particular practice and the Department's determination as to the ability of that best management practice to contribute to compliance with the standards contained in this article. Alternative stormwater management measures, removal rates, or calculation methods may be utilized, subject to any limitations specified in this article, provided the design engineer demonstrates to the municipality, in accordance with §
247-4F of this article and N.J.A.C. 7:8-5.2(g), that the proposed measure and its design will contribute to achievement of the design and performance standards established by this article.
NODE
An area designated by the State Planning Commission concentrating
facilities and activities which are not organized in a compact form.
NONSTRUCTURAL STORMWATER MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
Techniques that control or reduce stormwater runoff in the
absence of stormwater structures (e.g., basins and pipe conveyances),
such as minimizing site disturbance, preserving important site features,
including but not limited to natural vegetation, reducing and disconnecting
impervious cover, minimizing slopes, utilizing native vegetation,
minimizing turf grass lawns, increasing time of concentration, and
maintaining and enhancing natural drainage features and characteristics.
NUTRIENT
A chemical element or compound, such as nitrogen or phosphorus,
which is essential to and promotes the development of organisms.
PERMEABLE
A surface or land cover capable of transmitting or percolating
a significant amount of precipitation into the underlying soils.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm,
association, Borough of Emerson or political subdivision of this state
and any state, interstate, or federal agency.
PLAN
A document approved at the site design phase that outlines
the measures and practices used to control stormwater runoff at the
site.
POLLUTANT
Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter
backwash, sewage, garbage, refuse, oil, grease, sewage sludge, munitions,
chemical wastes, biological materials, medical wastes, radioactive
substance [except those regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (42 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq.)], thermal waste, wrecked
or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, industrial, municipal,
agricultural, and construction waste or runoff, or other residue discharged
directly or indirectly to the land, groundwaters or surface waters
of the state, or to a domestic treatment works. "Pollutant" includes
both hazardous and nonhazardous pollutants.
POLLUTION
The man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical,
biological, and radiological integrity of water to the extent that
the pollutant concentration or level violates either the groundwater
quality standards (N.J.A.C. 7:9-6) or the surface water quality standards
(N.J.A.C. 7:9B) of New Jersey.
RECHARGE
The amount of water from precipitation that infiltrates into
the ground and is not evapotranspired.
REGULATED IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
Any of the following, alone or in combination:
A.
A net increase of impervious surface;
B.
The total area of impervious surface collected by a new stormwater
conveyance system (for the purpose of this definition, a "new stormwater
conveyance system" is a stormwater conveyance system that is constructed
where one did not exist immediately prior to its construction or an
existing system for which a new discharge location is created);
C.
The total area of impervious surface proposed to be newly collected
by an existing stormwater conveyance system; and/or
D.
The total area of impervious surface collected by an existing
stormwater conveyance system where the capacity of that conveyance
system is increased.
REGULATED MOTER VEHICLE SURFACE
Any of the following, alone or in combination:
A.
The total area of motor vehicle surface that is currently receiving
water;
B.
A net increase in motor vehicle surface; and/or
C.
Quality treatment either by vegetation or soil, by an existing
stormwater management measure, or by treatment at a wastewater treatment
plant, where the water quality treatment will be modified or removed.
REVIEW AGENCY (MUNICIPAL)
The municipal body or official that is responsible for the
review of a major development project for compliance with the stormwater
management requirements.
SEDIMENT
Solid material, mineral or organic, that is in suspension,
is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by
air, water, or gravity as a product of erosion.
SITE
The lot or lots upon which a major development is to occur
or has occurred.
SOIL
All unconsolidated mineral and organic material of any origin.
SOURCE MATERIAL
Any material(s) or machinery, located at an industrial facility
that is directly or indirectly related to process, manufacturing,
or other industrial activities, that could be a source of pollutants
in any industrial stormwater discharge to groundwater or surface water.
Source materials include, but are not limited to, raw materials, intermediate
products, final products, water materials, by-products, industrial
machinery and fuels, and lubricants, solvents, and detergents that
are related to process, manufacturing, or other industrial activities
that are exposed to stormwater.
STATE PLAN POLICY MAP
The geographic application of the State Development and Redevelopment
Plan's goals and statewide policies, and the official map of
these goals and policies.
STORMWATER
Water resulting from precipitation (including rain and snow)
that runs off the land's surface, is transmitted to the subsurface,
or is captured by separate storm sewers or other sewage or drainage
facilities or conveyed by snow removal equipment.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT BMP
An excavation or embankment and related areas designed to
retain stormwater runoff. A stormwater management BMP may either be
normally dry (that is, a detention basin or infiltration basin), retain
water in a permanent pool (a retention basin), or be planted mainly
with wetland vegetation (most constructed stormwater wetlands).
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MEASURE
Any practice, technology, process, program, or other method
intended to control or reduce stormwater runoff and associated pollutants,
or to induce or control the infiltration or groundwater recharge of
stormwater or to eliminate illicit or illegal nonstormwater discharges
into stormwater conveyances.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING AREA
The geographic area for which a stormwater management planning
agency is authorized to prepare stormwater management plans, or a
specific portion of that area identified in a stormwater management
plan prepared by that agency.
STORMWATER RUNOFF
Water flow on the surface of the ground or in storm sewers,
resulting from precipitation.
STREAM BUFFER
A strip of land located immediately adjacent to a stream
channel consisting of natural, undisturbed vegetative cover, which
serves as a transition area between uplands and riparian lands. A
stream buffer may encompass wetlands, may be contained with a floodplain
or floodway or may extend beyond a wetland, floodplain, or floodway
boundary.
STRUCTURAL STORMWATER TECHNIQUES
A stormwater management measure that involves control of
concentrated stormwater runoff or filtration such as stormwater basins,
piped conveyance systems and manufactured stormwater devices and can
include various types of basins, filters, surfaces, and devices located
on individual lots in a residential development or throughout a commercial,
industrial or institutional development site in areas not typically
suited for larger, centralized structural facilities.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES
Endangered species are those whose prospects for survival
in New Jersey are in immediate danger because of a loss or change
in habitat, over-exploitation, predation, competition, disease, disturbance,
or contamination. Assistance is needed to prevent future extinction
in New Jersey. Threatened species are those who may become endangered
if conditions surrounding them begin to or continue to deteriorate.
Habitats of endangered or threatened species are those identified
by the Department's Landscape Project as approved by the Department's
Endangered and Nongame Species Program.
TIDAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA
A flood hazard area in which the flood elevation resulting
from the two-, ten-, or 100-year storm, as applicable, is governed
by tidal flooding from the Atlantic Ocean. Flooding in a tidal flood
hazard area may be contributed to, or influenced by, stormwater runoff
from inland areas, but the depth of flooding generated by the tidal
rise and fall of the Atlantic Ocean is greater than flooding from
any fluvial sources. In some situations, depending upon the extent
of the storm surge from a particular storm event, a flood hazard area
may be tidal in the 100-year storm, but fluvial in more frequent storm
events.
TIME OF CONCENTRATION
The time it takes for stormwater runoff to travel from the
hydraulically most distant point of the watershed to the point of
interest within a watershed.
TRANSITION AREA
An area of protected upland adjacent to a freshwater wetland
that minimizes adverse impacts on the wetland or serves as an integral
component of the wetlands ecosystem. Also known as "buffer area."
URBAN ENTERPRISE ZONES
A zone designated by the New Jersey Enterprise Zone Authority
pursuant to the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zones Act, N.J.S.A. 52:27H-60
et seq.
URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AREA
Previously developed portions of areas:
A.
Delineated on the State Plan Policy Map (SPPM) as the Metropolitan
Planning Area (PA1), Designated Centers, Cores or Nodes;
B.
Designated as CAFRA Centers, Cores or Nodes;
C.
Designated as Urban Enterprise Zones; and
D.
Designated as Urban Coordinating Council Empowerment Neighborhoods.
WATER CONTROL STRUCTURE
A structure within, or adjacent to, a water, which intentionally
or coincidentally alters the hydraulic capacity, the flood elevation
resulting from the two-, ten-, or 100-year storm, flood hazard area
limit, and/or floodway limit of the water. Examples of a water control
structure may include a bridge, culvert, dam, embankment, ford (if
above grade), retaining wall, and weir.
WATERS OF THE STATE
The ocean and its estuaries, all springs, streams, wetlands,
and bodies of surface water or groundwater, whether natural or artificial,
within the boundaries of the State of New Jersey or subject to its
jurisdiction.
WETLANDS or WETLAND
An area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and
that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, commonly
known as "hydrophytic vegetation."
Any person who erects, constructs, alters, repairs, converts,
maintains, or uses any building, structure, or land in violation of
this article shall be subject to the following penalties:
A. Responsibility for administration. The Superintendent of the Department
of Public Works, Borough Engineer and Building Department Official
shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this article.
Any powers granted or duties imposed upon the Superintendent of the
Department of Public Works, Borough Engineer or Building Department
Official may be delegated, in writing, to the person(s) or entities
acting in the best interest of or in the employment of the Borough
of Emerson.
B. Enforcement of penalties and liens.
(1) Should the applicant/owner fail to take the corrective actions, the
Borough of Emerson shall then have the right to take the available
appropriate remedies it deems necessary to correct the violations,
including fining the owner pursuant to penalties for violations of
the Borough of Emerson Land Development Ordinance and to assert a
lien on the subject property in an amount equal to the costs of remedial
actions. The lien shall be enforced in the manner provided or authorized
by law for the enforcement of common law liens on personal property.
The lien shall be recorded with the Borough of Emerson and shall incur
legal interest from the date of recording. The imposition of any penalty
shall not exempt the offender from compliance with the provisions
of this article, including assessment of a lien on the property.
(2) Whenever a structural BMP is not implemented, operated, and/or maintained
in accordance with the stormwater management plan which has been approved
in accordance with this article. Any penalty invoked shall be in accordance
with penalties for violations of the Borough of Emerson Land Development
Ordinance.
Each section, subsection, sentence, clause, and phrase of this
article is declared to be an independent section, subsection, sentence,
clause and phrase, and the finding or holding of any such portion
of this article to be unconstitutional, void, or ineffective for any
cause, or reason, shall not affect any other portion of this article.
This article shall take effect immediately upon the approval
by the county review agency, or 60 days from the receipt of the article
by the county review agency if the county review agency should fail
to act.