Chapter
251
In
1975, the State Legislature passed Chapter 251, P.L. 1975,
the Soil Erosion
and Sediment Control Act of New Jersey.
This legislation gave local conservation districts
the power to control soil erosion and sedimentation by
requiring the submission of a Soil Erosion and Sediment
Control Plan for almost all soil disturbances over 5,000
square feet.
Within
the legislative findings of Chapter 251 is this statement:
"The Legislature finds that sediment is a source of pollution and
that soil erosion continues to be a serious problem throughout
the State, and that rapid shifts in land use, from agricultural
and rural to nonagricultural and urbanizing uses, construction
of housing, industrial and commercial developments, and
other land disturbing activities have accelerated the
process of soil erosion and sediment deposition resulting
in pollution of the waters of the State and damage to
domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational, fish
and wildlife, and other resource uses. It is, therefore,
declared to be the policy of the State to strengthen and
extend the present erosion and sediment control activities
and programs of this State for both rural and urban lands,
and to establish and implement, through the State Soil
Conservation Committee and the Soil Conservation Districts,
in cooperation with the counties, the municipalities and
the Department of Environmental Protection, a Statewide
comprehensive and coordinated erosion and sediment control
program to reduce the danger from storm water runoff,
to retard nonpoint pollution from sediment and to conserve
and protect the land, water, air and other environmental
resources of the State."
Inasmuch
as the land disturbance activities outlined in the legislative
findings are one of the primary causes of soil erosion
and sedimentation, the Ocean County Soil Conservation
District maintains a staff of erosion control and conservation
specialists whose primary responsibilities are the review
of erosion control plans submitted by applicants, and
the performance of on-site inspections to insure that
approved erosion control practices are followed.
In the course of those inspections, OCSCD staff
are on the site of single and multi-family unit subdivisions,
commercial and industrial sites, roads, utilities, public
construction, mining, quarrying, landfills, land grading,
and bulkheading sites. During the year 2004, close
to 900 Soil Erosion and Sediment Control plans for new
construction were certified by OCSCD, and 7,400 site inspections
were performed by OCSCD staff.
OCSCD staff are also available to engineers and developers
in Ocean County for consultation and guidance in following
the mandates of the New Jersey State Standards for Soil
Erosion and Sediment Control.
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