New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 20 - DAM SAFETY STANDARDS
Subchapter 1 - APPLICATION PROCEDURE; DESIGN CRITERIA FOR DAM CONSTRUCTION; DAM INSPECTION PROCEDURE
Section 7:20-1.7 - Application stage

Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 7:20-1.7

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

(a) The application shall be on forms specified and supplied by the Department and must be accompanied by two copies of the final design report, construction specifications and all plans, drawings, and designs. Upon the written request of the applicant, the Department may waive certain requirements for documentation in the application stage set forth at (b) to (h) below for a permit to modify, repair or remove an existing dam.

(b) The application shall include a Final Design Report, which must contain the following:

1. A report of the field and laboratory investigation(s) of the foundation soils and/or bedrock, a location map to identify borings and the materials that will comprise the dam and any dikes or levees. Stability and settlement analyses and seepage and underseepage studies are required, unless the applicant can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Department that these analyses are not necessary.

2. The bases, references, calculations and conclusions relative to hydrologic studies and design of spillway.

3. Structural and hydraulic design studies and calculations. Structural, hydraulic and hydrologic design procedures should be used, as established by one of the following: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service and other procedures universally accepted as sound engineering practice.

(c) The application must include all drawings necessary to fully describe the proposal. Drawings must be prepared in accordance with the following:

1. All drawings must be prepared by a New Jersey licensed professional engineer or land surveyor, as appropriate. Each drawing shall have a title block which meets the requirements of the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.

2. Drawings must clearly show the datum to which elevations shown are referred. The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (N.G.V.D.), formerly known as the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Datum, should be used wherever possible. If the N.G.V.D. datum is not used, an appropriate conversion equation must be indicated on the drawings.

3. The applicant must submit drawings showing the following information:
i. A general plan of the dam, drawn to an appropriate scale, which must show accurately the position of all essential details, such as the spillway and its point of discharge into the stream, pipes through the dam, inlets, outlets, screen chambers, gate or valve houses, head-races, the canal mill or power plant, tailraces and downstream bridges which might cause backwater on the dam;

ii. A longitudinal section of the dam and cross-section of the valley at the site of the dam, showing the elevation of the crest of the dam, the elevation of the normal and design storm flow line of the lake or reservoir, the original surface of the ground, the nature and depth of the underlying strata, the probable depth of the excavation for the foundation of the dam and for the cutoff, foundation treatment, elevation of the restored surface of the ground, the location and elevation of all pipes or conduits passing through the dam, the core wall, if any, and the spillway structure;

iii. Typical cross sections, including a maximum section of the dam and of a spillway section which shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Cross sections must show the original surface of the ground, subsurface conditions as disclosed by test pits or borings, the probable depth of excavations for the foundation and for cutoff, the elevations of the top of the dam, the crest of the spillway and the normal flow line or water surface in the reservoir;

(2) For earth dams, the depth of stripping must be shown, as well as the position, material and dimensions of the cutoff or core wall, the width of the crest, the slopes and the nature and dimensions of the slope protection, the position and dimensions of the outlet pipes or conduits and the cutoff to prevent seepage along such structures, the disposition of different classes of embankment material if of varying composition, toe drains and clay blankets;

(3) For concrete or other composite dams, the cross sections shall show all dimensions and shall indicate the position and kinds of material to be included in the structure.

iv. If not clearly indicated on one or more of the drawings listed above, the following details shall be shown on additional detail sheets:
(1) Detail of spillway or overflow, showing the length and depth of opening, together with the width and shape of the crest, grade and shape of the approach and discharge channels, if any, methods of protecting the toe of the dam or end of the discharge channel from erosion and the dimensions of all walls, floors and paving;

(2) Details of the intake and outlet works, showing the location and dimensions of all valves or sluice gates, intakes, screen chambers, racks, outlet towers and gate houses and appurtenances;

(3) For reinforced concrete dams, detailed drawings must also be submitted, showing the size, spacing and arrangement of all reinforcing steel and expansion joints; and

(4) Special drawings shall be submitted showing any special construction features not otherwise shown, such as piling, fishways, aprons, materials used in the core wall, movable dams, tainter gates and mechanical devices, drains and instrumentation.

(d) The application must include specifications, containing the following:

1. General provisions, specifying the rights, duties and responsibilities of the owner, applicant, applicant's engineer and the builder;

2. The estimated project schedule and sequence of work; and

3. Technical provisions, describing carefully and in detail the approved work methods and procedures, standards for equipment and testing, materials to be used and the results to be obtained.

(e) The application shall complete all investigations, including the following, prior to submission of the final design report which shall meet the following requirements:

1. The scope and the degree of precision of investigations required for a specific project shall be based on the complexities of the site, the importance of the proposed structure and the hazard created by the proposed structure.

2. The foundation investigation shall consist of borings, test pits, seismic investigations or other subsurface explorations and must be performed so as to accurately define the soil and rock stratigraphy and the ground water conditions to the satisfaction of the Department.

3. Laboratory testing of undisturbed and remolded soil specimens and rock samples may be required by the Department.

4. The applicant must determine the nature and extent of materials which are proposed for use in the structure (e.g. borrow material, concrete aggregate, riprap stone, filter materials) and their structural properties when incorporated into the proposed structure.

5. Stability analysis and calculations for the proposed structure to ensure safety against failure due to overturning, sliding or overstressing must be submitted and approved by the Department.

6. Topographic surveys must be performed with sufficient accuracy to locate the proposed construction and to define the volume of the storage in the reservoir and the flowage limits. The upstream and downstream area must be investigated in order to delineate the area of potential damage in case of failure or flooding. Locations of baselines, centerlines and other horizontal and vertical control points must be shown on the topographic map of the site.

7. The drainage area must be accurately determined. Both present and projected future land use must be considered in determining the runoff characteristics of the drainage area. The most severe of these two conditions must be used in the design. The hydrologic assumptions and design calculations used in spillway designs shall be specified and shall include:
i. Drainage area size;

ii. Rainfall and runoff data;

iii. Reservoir inflow hydrographs;

iv. Reservoir area-capacity-elevation data;

v. Spillway elevation-discharge data; and

vi. Reservoir flood routings, except as otherwise provided in this subchapter.

(f) All applicants must submit an Operation and Maintenance Manual in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:20-1.11 and applicants for Class I and II dams (see N.J.A.C. 7:20-1.8) shall prepare and submit an Emergency Action Plan which shall at least include a Dam Breach Analysis, Inundation Maps and Emergency Notification and Evacuation Plans.

(g) The Department may require the submission of an Environmental Impact Statement, as defined in N.J.A.C. 7:20-1.2, by any applicant for a dam permit.

(h) The application to remove or breach a dam shall include the following:

1. Design report, and plans and computations to effect the breach including size of breach, shape of breach, disposal of spoil material;

2. Plans and computations for stabilization of the lake bed including the channel upstream of the breach, and for the control of sediment within the lake downstream of the breach during and after the breach has been effected;

3. Computations for design of the method and timing for dewatering the lake;

4. Computations detailing the effects of the breach on the downstream channel and demonstrating that the project will not adversely affect flooding conditions downstream during the 10, 50 and 100 year storms;

5. Specifications containing the technical provisions which describe in detail the proposed work methods and equipment and, in addition, a work schedule for the entire project;

6. A plan of the existing dam and lake along with surrounding property lines;

7. Evidence that all adjoining property owners of the impoundment and the municipality where the reservoir or dam is located have received notification that an application has been submitted to the Department to remove or breach a dam and proof of publication of notice of the proposed removal application in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the municipality where the reservoir or dam is located;

8. A description of the potential effects of the dam removal or breach upon the environment; and

9. A description of the potential effects of the dam removal or breach upon life and property downstream of the dam.

(i) When a petition has been filed in accordance with the Safe Dam Act, N.J.S.A. 58:4-9, protesting against the removal of any reservoir, water or dam or against the decommissioning of any reservoir or dam, the Commissioner shall, pursuant to the requirements of N.J.S.A. 58:4-10, hold a public hearing, upon 30 days notice to all parties interested, and following prior notice published 30 days before the hearing in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the municipality in which the reservoir or dam is located.

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