New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 7 - COASTAL PERMIT PROGRAM RULES
Subchapter 15 - USE RULES
Section 7:7-15.8 - Mining
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) New or expanded mining operations on land, and directly related development, for the extraction and/or processing of construction sand, gravel, ilmenite, glauconite, and other minerals are conditionally acceptable, provided that the following conditions are met (mining is otherwise exempted from the general land areas rule, but shall comply with the special areas and general water area rules):
(b) The proposed mining, extension of existing mining, or associated mining activities in freshwater wetlands or freshwater wetlands transition areas is subject to the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act ( 13:9B-1 et seq.) In addition, proposed mining extension of existing mining or associated mining activities within the 100-year floodplain is subject to the flood hazard areas rule at 7:7-9.25.
(c) Rationale: New Jersey's coastal zone includes important deposits and minerals. Mining these non-renewable resources is vital to certain sectors of the economy of selected regions of the coastal zone, the entire state and in some cases the nation, depending upon the specific type of mineral. For example, the high quality silica sands of Cumberland County supply an essential raw material for New Jersey's glass industry. Other industrial sands mined and processed in Cumberland County serve as basic ingredients in the iron and steel foundry industry. Ilmenite deposits in Ocean County provide titanium dioxide which is used in paint pigment. Construction grade sands are used in virtually all construction activity.
The extraction and processing of minerals from mines on land also produces short and long term adverse environmental impacts on agriculture. For example, open-pit mining removes all vegetation and soil, destroys wildlife habitat, changes the visual quality of the landscape, and irretrievably consumes the depletable mineral resource. Many of these impacts can be ameliorated by incorporating proper, imaginative and aggressive reclamation and restoration planning into the mine development process. However, the location of mineral deposits is an unquestionably limiting factor on the location of mining operations. Reasonable balances must therefore be struck between competing and conflicting uses of lands with mineral deposits.
Depending upon the diversity and strength of a local economy, depletion of mineral deposits through extraction may lead to serious adverse long-term economic consequences, particularly if the planned reclamation does not replace the direct economic contribution of the mining industry. The nonrenewable nature of mineral resources must also be considered carefully in light of the uses of some mined minerals.