Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Where an area is
excluded from being eligible for sewer service area in accordance with
7:15-4.4 on the basis that it
is within a habitat Rank 3, 4, or 5 on the Department's Landscape Maps of Habitat
for Endangered, Threatened and Other Priority Wildlife, or within a Natural Heritage
Priority Site, an applicant may seek a Habitat Impact Assessment from the Department
for a proposed project or activity to determine if the area may be included within
the sewer service area. The Habitat Impact Assessment shall consider the likely
effects of the proposed development on the local populations of the particular
wildlife species or on the natural resource elements. The impacts shall be assessed
using accepted ecological principles and scientific literature on each species or
natural resource element and both direct and indirect impacts of the proposed
development shall be considered. This assessment shall be based on habitat
requirements and life history of each species, or natural resource element
occurrence, and the manner in which the proposed development may alter habitat,
including, but not limited to, vegetation, soils, substrate, bathymetry, salinity,
hydrology, wildlife movement corridors, human disturbance, and effects on
competitor, parasite, or predator species.
(b) The information submitted in support of an
application for a Habitat Impact Assessment in accordance with (d) below shall
demonstrate that the proposed development will not adversely affect the
population(s) or habitat of endangered or threatened wildlife species that resulted
in identification of the site, or an area surrounding the site, as endangered or
threatened wildlife species habitat, or the natural resource element occurring
within the Natural Heritage Priority Site.
(c) If a project or activity requires a permit
from the Department that addresses habitat for endangered and threatened wildlife
species or natural resource elements occurring within a Natural Heritage Priority
Site, the applicant may submit the permit application, request for Habitat Impact
Assessment, and plan amendment application concurrently, so that the Department may
review a single Habitat Impact Assessment for a particular project or activity. A
Habitat Impact Assessment is based upon conditions and information available at the
time of the assessment. A Habitat Impact Assessment obtained prior to permit
application may be subject to review to ensure that conditions and/or information
have not changed since the issuance of the original assessment. Issuance of a
favorable Habitat Impact Assessment does not guarantee that other Department permits
or approvals will be granted.
(d) An
application for a Habitat Impact Assessment shall be submitted to the Department in
accordance with 7:15-1.6 and shall include the
information required in
N.J.A.C.
7:15-4.6(c) and all the
information required below, unless the Department advises the applicant in writing
that any particular item(s) is not required for the area that is the subject of the
application:
1. An introduction describing the
goals of the Habitat Impact Assessment;
2. A USGS quad map(s) meeting the standards
identified at 7:15-1.7 showing the location
of the site, with the State plane coordinates of the site. The accuracy of these
coordinates shall be within 50 feet of the actual center point of the site. For
linear sites, 2,000 feet in length and longer, additional coordinates shall be
provided at each 1,000-foot interval;
3.
The lot, block, municipality, and county in which the site is located;
4. For Habitat Impact Assessments for wildlife
species, a digital map identifying the site, and the areas mapped as endangered or
threatened wildlife species habitat on the Landscape Maps onsite and surrounding the
site, along with a list of the endangered or threatened species that resulted in the
mapping of endangered or threatened species habitat;
5. For Habitat Impact Assessments for natural
resource elements, a map identifying the location of the natural resource element
habitat and Natural Heritage Priority Site boundaries on the site or surrounding the
site along with a list of the potential plant species and other natural resource
elements from the Department's Natural Heritage Database;
6. A description of the habitat requirements for
each of these wildlife species and natural resource elements identified at (d)4 and
5 above, specific to New Jersey/regional populations including appropriate
literature citations;
7. The names,
addresses, and professional qualifications of all persons who performed habitat
evaluations, species surveys, and/or impact assessments; and
8. A narrative, including supporting
documentation, such as maps and photographs, which contains the following:
i. A description for each wildlife species and
natural resource element, of how the proposed development will alter habitat,
including vegetation, soils, hydrology, human disturbance, and effects on
competitor, parasite, or predator species. The impact assessment shall describe the
likely effects of the proposed development on the local populations of the
particular wildlife species or natural resource element on or surrounding the site
and why the development would not directly or through secondary impacts adversely
affect each endangered or threatened wildlife species habitat or natural resource
element; and
ii. Literature citations
used to reach the conclusions in (d)8i above.
(e) Based on the available information, the
Department will:
1. Issue a written finding that
the proposed project or activity will not adversely impact local populations or
habitat of endangered or threatened wildlife species or the natural resource
element(s), within the Natural Heritage Priority Site because:
i. The project or activity will avoid the habitat
of endangered or threatened wildlife species that resulted in identification of the
site, as endangered or threatened wildlife species habitat, or the natural resource
element(s) within the Natural Heritage Priority Site;
ii. The proposed project or activity will result
in insignificant or discountable effects on the maintenance of local breeding,
resting, and feeding of the endangered or threatened wildlife species, or on the
natural resource elements occurring within the Natural Heritage Priority Site. This
determination is based upon assessment of the landscape context of the habitat, the
location or absence of essential ecological features, and the location and scope of
proposed activities. For purposes of this section, insignificant impacts are
responses that are incapable of being detected, measured, or evaluated. This
analysis relates to the extent of the impacts. If the impacts will likely be
negative but the consequences are so minute that a person could not measure or
detect such responses, then the Department will find that there are insignificant
impacts. Discountable impacts means impacts that are extremely unlikely to occur;
or
iii. The proposed project or activity
will include conservation measures that will minimize to the maximum extent
practicable all adverse modification of suitable habitat, and will mitigate for any
such adverse modification of habitat so that there is no net loss of habitat value
for the local population of endangered or threatened wildlife species documented
on-site or their suitable habitat. Conservation measures under this paragraph may
not be used to mitigate for adverse impacts to natural resource elements;
2. Issue a written finding that the
proposed project or activity will adversely impact the local populations or habitat
of endangered or threatened wildlife species that resulted in identification of the
site or an area surrounding the site, as endangered or threatened wildlife species
habitat, or a natural resource element occurring within the Natural Heritage
Priority Site. A finding of adverse impacts under this paragraph shall preclude the
inclusion of this area in sewer service area; or
3. Issue a written finding with respect to
7:15-4.4(i) 2
that the proposed project or activity will or will not adversely impact an area
critical to the survival of a local population of endangered or threatened wildlife
species.
(f) A finding issued
by the Department pursuant to (e) above, shall be based upon the best information
available to the Department at the time of issuance, and is subject to revision at
any time based on new information.
