NJDEP Land Use Regulation Program (DLUR) - Mitigation

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

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Accretion - the gradual build-up sediments in a wetland.

ACOE or Corps - the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Acid producing soils - soils that contain geologic deposits of iron sulfide minerals (pyrite or marcasite) which, when exposed to oxygen from the air or from surface waters, oxidize to produce sulfuric acid. Acid producing soils, upon excavation, generally have a pH of 4.0 or lower. After exposure to oxygen, these soils generally have a pH of 3.0 or lower. Information regarding the location of acid producing soils in New Jersey can be obtained from local Soil Conservation District offices.

Aerenchyma - plant tissue made of air filled spaces that transport air from the leaves, and stems to the roots.

Anaerobic - a condition where little or no oxygen is present.

Aquatic ecosystem - waters of the United States, including wetlands, that serve as habitat for interrelated and interacting communities and populations of plants and animals.

Atlantic white-cedar wetlands - type of forested freshwater wetlands where Atlantic white-cedar tree is the dominant vegetation, as described in the Federal Manual.

Buttressed - enlarged tree trunk that is wider at the base than normal and narrows as you move up the tree trunk.

Charitable conservancy - a corporation or trust that meets the definition of a charitable conservancy at N.J.S.A. 13:8B-2, and amendments thereto. As of September 4, 2001, N.J.S.A. 13:8B-2 defines a charitable conservancy as a corporation or trust whose purposes include the acquisition and preservation of land or water areas or of a particular land or water area, or either thereof, in a natural, scenic or open condition, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and which has received tax exemption under section 501(c) of the 1954 Internal Revenue Code.

Creation - the establishment of freshwater wetland or State open water characteristics and functions in uplands.

Credit purchase - the purchase of credits in a mitigation bank, as defined below, as a substitute for performance of restoration, creation, enhancement, or upland preservation by the purchaser. Each credit counts for a certain acreage amount of restoration, creation, or enhancement. Once a credit is applied to satisfy a mitigation obligation under this subchapter, it is exhausted and may not be sold or used again.

Council - the Wetlands Mitigation Council.

Cultivating - physical methods of soil treatment, employed upon planted farm, ranch or forest crops to aid and improve the growth, quality or yield of the crops.

Degraded wetland - a wetland in which there is impaired surface water flow or groundwater hydrology, or excessive drainage; a wetland which has been partially filled or excavated, contaminated with hazardous substances, or which has an ecological value substantially less than that of undisturbed wetlands in the region.

Delineation - the determination of the boundary between wetland/open water area and nonwetland/open water areas.

Deposition - the gradual buildup of sediments over time.

Developable upland - an upland area that could be developed under the laws that apply to the site.

Drainage - active or passive methods for changing the hydrologic conditions of wetlands or State open water, such as lowering groundwater or surface water levels through pumping, ditching, or otherwise altering water flow patterns.

Emergent - refers to plants that have the ability to establish its roots below normal water level and project its leaves and stems above normal water level.

Enhancement - the improvement of the ability of an existing, degraded wetland or State open water to support natural aquatic life, through substantial alterations to the soils, vegetation and/or hydrology. Improvement of a wetland or water that is not degraded does not constitute enhancement. Conversion of a State open water to a wetland does not by itself constitute enhancement, although the Department may approve a mitigation proposal that includes this in some cases as part of a larger mitigation project. The addition of human-made habitat improvement devices such as duck boxes does not constitute enhancement.

EPA priority wetlands - wetlands which are designated as priority wetlands by EPA, and are listed on the "Priority Wetlands List for the State of New Jersey," which is available from the Department's Office of Maps and Publications at the address listed at N.J.A.C. 7:7A-1.3.

Excavation - to dig or remove soil, rocks, etc., resulting in a change in site elevation.

FAC - plant species that are likely to occur either in a wetland or nonwetland system.

FACU - plant species that are likely to occur in uplands, but may occasionally be found in wetlands.

FACW - plant species that are likely to occur in wetlands but may occasionally be found in nonwetlands.

Forested - that tree species with an average height greater than 20 feet are the predominant vegetation present.

Freshwater wetlands permit - a permit to engage in a regulated activity in a freshwater wetland issued pursuant to the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act and this chapter.

Gabion - a shore or stream bank protection structure, that is made of wire mesh basket(s) or mattress(es) filled with rocks and usually used in multiples as a structural unit installed to withstand the forces of waves and currents.

General permit - means a permit, adopted as a rule, under which the Department issues authorizations. A general permit may authorize regulated activities in freshwater wetlands, State open waters, and/or transition areas. An authorization issued under a general permit satisfies the requirement for a freshwater wetlands permit, open water fill permit, and/or transition area waiver, as applicable.

Gleyed - soil that develops under anaerobic, reducing conditions. These soils are generally grayish, bluish, or greenish in color and are characteristic of many hydric soils.

Hydric soil - a soil that in its undrained condition is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions that favor the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation. These soils may be described in several places, including New Jersey's Official List of Hydric Soils, developed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service; the National Wetlands Inventory, entitled "The Wetlands of New Jersey", published in 1985 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; or in the 1989 Federal manual. Alluvial land, as mapped on soil surveys, or other soils exhibiting hydric characteristics identified through field investigation as described in Part III of the 1989 Federal manual may also be considered a hydric soil for the purposes of wetland classification. Also, wet phases of somewhat poorly drained soils not on New Jersey's Official List of Hydric Soils may be associated with a wetland and therefore for the purposes of this chapter shall be considered a hydric soil.

Hydrophyte - plant life adapted to growth and reproduction under periodically saturated root zone conditions during at least a portion of the growing season. A listing of these plants can be found in the "National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands: 1988-New Jersey" and amendments thereto, compiled by the USFWS, ACOE, EPA and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

In-kind mitigation - mitigation that provides similar values and functions as the area disturbed, including similar wildlife habitat, similar vegetative species coverage and density, equivalent flood water storage capacity, and equivalency of other relevant values or functions. In the case of a mitigation bank, this is accomplished through the purchase of credits in a bank at which similar values and functions have been established.

Isolated wetlands - a freshwater wetland that is not "part of a surface water tributary system," as defined in this section.

Land donation - performing mitigation through giving land that has been determined acceptable for donation by the Wetlands Mitigation Council.

Manual, 1989 Federal - the Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands, published in 1989 by the EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service), as amended and/or supplemented, which Manual is incorporated herein by reference.

Mitigation - activities carried out pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:7A-15 in order to compensate for freshwater wetlands or State open waters loss or disturbance caused by regulated activities.

Mitigation area - the portion of a site, right-of-way, or piece of property upon which mitigation is proposed or performed. If a mitigation area includes a wetland, a transition area is required in addition to the mitigation area in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:7A-15.8(b).

Mitigation bank - an operation in which wetlands, uplands and/or other aquatic resources are restored, created, enhanced, or preserved by a mitigation bank operator, for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation for disturbances to freshwater wetlands and/or State open waters.

Mitigation bank service area - a geographic area within which a mitigation bank's credits may be used to compensate for a disturbance.

Mitigation bank site - the portion of a site, right-of-way, or piece of property upon which a mitigation bank is proposed or created.

Monetary contribution - giving money to the Wetlands Mitigation Fund.

Mottles - blotches or spots of nondominant color interspirsed on the matrix or dominant color. These are often the result of oxidation-reduction processes.

OBL - plant species that are almost always found in a wetland system.

Palustrine emergent - a wetlands vegetation pattern in which persistent and nonpersistent grasses, rushes, sedges, forbs and other herbaceous or grass-like plants are the dominant vegetation. "Part of a surface water tributary system" means connected to a surface water that discharges into a lake, pond, river, stream or other surface water feature. The connection may be through any surface water feature, whether regulated or not, including a stormwater or drainage pipe. The connection may be through a secondary flow channel or other feature. However, the connection may be through overland flow only if there is evidence of scouring, erosion, or concentrated flows. The connection may not be through groundwater alone. Wetlands adjacent to a surface water are connected to the surface water and are part of the surface water tributary system.

Restoration - The reestablishment of wetland and/or State open water characteristics and functions in an area that was once a freshwater wetlands and/or State open water but is no longer; or the reversal of a temporary disturbance and the reestablishment of the functions and values of the freshwater wetlands and/or State open water that was temporarily disturbed.

Special aquatic site - a site described in subpart E of the 404(b)1 guidelines (40 C.F.R. 230 et seq.), except freshwater wetlands which, for the purposes of this chapter, shall not be considered special aquatic sites. In general, special aquatic sites are geographic areas, large or small, possessing special ecological characteristics of productivity, habitat, wildlife protection, or other important and easily disrupted functions and values. These areas are generally recognized as significantly influencing or positively contributing to the general overall environmental health or vitality of the entire ecosystem of a region. As of September 4, 2001, the following special aquatic sites are described in subpart E of the 404(b)1 guidelines (40 C.F.R. 230 et seq.): sanctuaries and refuges, wetlands (note: while freshwater wetlands are excluded from the definition of a special aquatic site for purposes of this chapter, other wetlands, such as most coastal wetlands, would be considered special aquatic sites), mud flats, vegetated shallows, coral reefs, and riffle and pool complexes.

State open waters - all waters of the State as defined in this section, including waters of the United States as defined in this section, but excluding ground water as defined at N.J.A.C. 7:14A, and excluding freshwater wetlands as defined in this section. The following waters will generally not be considered State open waters for the purposes of this chapter. However, the Department shall determine, on a case-by-case basis, if a particular watercourse or water body listed below is a State open water:

Non-tidal drainage and irrigation ditches excavated on dry land;
Artificially irrigated areas, which would revert to upland if the irrigation ceased;
Artificial lakes or ponds created by excavating and/or diking dry land to collect and retain water and which are used exclusively for such purposes as stock watering, irrigation, settling basins, or rice growing;
Artificial reflecting or swimming pools or other small ornamental bodies of water created by excavating and/or diking dry land to retain water for primarily aesthetic reasons;
Water-filled depressions created in dry land incidental to construction or remediation activity and pits excavated in dry land for the purpose of obtaining fill, sand, or gravel unless and until the construction or excavation operation is abandoned and the resulting body of water meets the definition of "waters of the United States";
Waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons designed to meet the requirements of the Federal act (other than cooling ponds);
Erosional channels less than two feet wide and six inches deep in upland areas resulting from poor soil management practices; and
Stormwater management facilities created in uplands.

Swale - a linear topographic depression, either naturally occurring or of human construction, which meets all of the following criteria:

It is surrounded by uplands except where runoff flows out of it. A depression is not a swale if it is located within a larger wetland or if it is merely an undulation in a wetland boundary;
It has formed or was constructed in uplands to convey surface water runoff from the surrounding upland areas;
It drains less than 50 acres;
It is not a seep or spring;
It is not an intermittent stream;
It has no definite bed and banks; and
At its widest point, it is generally 50 feet wide or narrower.

Transition area - an area of upland adjacent to a freshwater wetland which minimizes adverse impacts on the wetland or serves as an integral component of the wetlands ecosystem.

Upland preservation - the permanent protection of transition areas or other uplands from disturbance or development, through transfer of the property to a charitable conservancy as defined in this section, and the execution of legal instruments to prevent development, such as a conservation restriction.

USGS - the United States Geological Survey.

USGS quad map - a topographic quadrangle map issued by the USGS, 7.5 minute series, drawn at a scale of 1:24,000, available from the Department's Maps and Publications Office at the address listed in N.J.A.C. 7:7A-1.3.

Vernal habitat - a wetland or water that meets all of the criteria at 1 through 4 below. Evidence of breeding by an obligate species under 2i below creates a rebuttable presumption that the criteria at 3 and 4 below are met:

Occurs in a confined basin depression without a permanent flowing outlet;
Features evidence of breeding by one or more species of fauna adapted to reproduce in ephemeral aquatic conditions, identified in N.J.A.C. 7:7A, Appendix 1.

The following shall constitute evidence of breeding by such a species:
1. One or more obligate species listed in Appendix 1, or evidence of such a
  species, is found in the area of ponded water; or
2. Two or more facultative species listed in Appendix 1, or evidence of the
  presence of such a species, are found in the area of ponded water;
Maintains ponded water for at least two continuous months between March and September of a normal rainfall year; and
Is free of fish throughout the year, or dries up at some time during a normal rainfall year.

Water-dependent activity - an activity that cannot physically function without direct access to the body of water along which it is proposed. An activity that can function on a site not adjacent to the water is not considered water dependent regardless of the economic advantages that may be gained from a waterfront location.

"Wetlands Mitigation Council" or "Council" - the body established under N.J.S.A. 13:9B-14 to perform the functions enumerated at N.J.S.A. 13:9B-15. The Wetlands Mitigation Council administers the Wetlands Mitigation Fund.

Wetlands Mitigation Fund - the repository for monetary contributions made for mitigation purposes, established at N.J.S.A. 13:9B-14a as the "Wetlands Mitigation Bank."

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