N.J. Admin. Code § 7:50-6.69 - Restoration standards

(a)All parcels of land which are used for resource extraction operations shall be restored as follows:

1. Restoration shall be a continuous process, and each portion of the parcel shall be restored such that ground cover be established within two years and tree cover established within three years after resource extraction is completed for each portion of the site mined;

2. Restoration shall proceed in the same sequence and time frame set out in the extraction schedule required in 7:50-6.68(a)9;

3. All restored areas shall be graded so as to conform to the natural contours of the parcel to the maximum extent practical. Grading techniques that help to control erosion and foster revegetation shall be utilized. The slope of surface of restored surfaces shall not exceed one foot vertical to three feet horizontal except as provided in (a)6 below;

4. Topsoil shall be restored in approximately the same quality and quantity as existed at the time the resource extraction operation was initiated. All topsoil removed shall be stockpiled and used for the next area to be restored unless it is immediately reused for reclamation that is currently underway;

5. Drainage flows, including direction and volume, shall be restored to the maximum extent practical to those flows existing at the time the resource extraction operation was initiated;

6. Any body of water created by the resource extraction operation shall have a shoreline not less than three feet above and three feet below the projected average water table elevation. The shoreline both above and below the surface water elevation shall have a slope of not less than five feet horizontal to one foot vertical. This requirement shall apply to any water body or portion of a water body created after December 5, 1994. For any water body or portion of a water body created prior to December 5, 1994, this requirement shall apply to the extent that it does not require grading of areas which have not been disturbed by mining activities. Where grading would require such disturbance, a reduction in the distance of the graded shoreline above and below the average water table elevation shall be permitted;

7. Slopes beyond a water body's shoreline shall be permitted at the natural angle of repose to the bottom of the pond;

8. All equipment, machinery and structures, except for structures that are useable for recreational purposes or any other use authorized in the area, shall be removed within six months after the resource extraction operation is terminated and restoration is completed;

9. Reclamation shall to the maximum extent practical result in the re-establishment of the vegetation association which existed prior to the extraction activity and shall include:

i. Stabilization of exposed areas by establishing ground cover vegetation; and

ii. Re-establishment of the composition of the natural forest and shrub types that existed prior to the extraction activity through one of the following:

(1) The planting of a minimum of 1,000 one-year-old pitch pine seedlings or other native Pinelands tree species per acre in a random pattern;

(2) Cluster planting of characteristic Pinelands oak species, such as blackjack oak, bear oak, chestnut oak and black oak, and shrubs such as black huckleberry, sheep laurel and mountain laurel, at a spacing sufficient to ensure establishment of these species;

(3) A combination of the planting techniques set forth in (a)9ii(1) and (2) above; or

(4) The use of other planting techniques or native Pinelands species as may be necessary to restore the vegetation association which existed prior to the extraction activity.

10. The letter of credit, surety bond, or other guarantee of performance which secures restoration for each section shall be released after the requirements of (a)1 through 9 above are determined by a certified municipality or the Commission, as appropriate, as being met and is replaced with a maintenance guarantee for a period of two years thereafter.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:50-6.69

Amended by 46 N.J.R. 1877(b), effective 9/2/2014.