Establishes Office of River Maintenance in DEP; repeals P.L.1993, c.376 concerning stream cleaning activities.

A126

ASSEMBLY, No. 126

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman AL BARLAS

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes Office of River Maintenance in DEP;
repeals P.L.1993, c.376 concerning stream cleaning activities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
establishing an
Office of River Maintenance
in the Department of Environmental Protection,
supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes
, and repealing P.L.1993,
c.376
.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� As used in this act:

���� �Bank� means the inclined side
of a channel, an excavated or impounded area, or a topographic depression,
which confines or conducts water.

���� �Bank stabilization or
restoration project� means activities conducted to restore to a stable
condition a bank or channel, which has become eroded, unstable, or ecologically
degraded.

���� �Category one waters� means,
for the purposes of sediment removal, those waters designated by the Department
of Environmental Protection, for purposes of implementing the antidegradation
policies of the �Water Pollution Control Act,� P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et
seq.), for protection from measurable changes in water quality characteristics
because of their clarity, color, scenic setting, other characteristics of
aesthetic value, exceptional ecological significance, exceptional recreational
significance, exceptional water supply significance, or exceptional fisheries
resources.� These waters may include, but are not limited to:

���� (1)� waters originating wholly
within federal, interstate, State, county, or municipal parks, forests, fish
and wildlife lands, and other special holdings that have not been designated by
the department as FW1;

���� (2)� waters classified by the
department as FW2 trout production waters and their tributaries;

���� (3)� surface waters classified
by the department as FW2 trout maintenance waters or FW2 non-trout waters that
are not more than 750 feet upstream of waters classified by the department as
FW2 trout production waters;

���� (4)� shellfish waters of
exceptional resource value; or

���� (5)� other waters and their
tributaries that flow through, or border, federal, State, county or municipal
parks, forest, fish and wildlife lands, and other special holdings.

���� �Channel� means a linear
topographic depression, either naturally occurring or of human origin through
excavation or construction, that continuously or intermittently confines or
conducts surface water, but shall not mean transient erosion gullies and other
ephemeral features that temporarily form after heavy rainfall.

���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Environmental Protection.

���� �FW� means the general surface
water classification applied to fresh waters.

���� �FW1� means those fresh waters
that originate in and are wholly within federal or State parks, forests, fish
and wildlife lands, and other special holdings, that are to be maintained in
their natural state of quality and not subjected to any man-made wastewater
discharges.

���� �FW2� means the general
surface water classification applied to those fresh waters that are not
designated as FW1 or pinelands waters.

���� �Sediment� means solid
material, mineral or organic, that is in suspension, is being transported or
has moved from its site of origin by air, water, ice, or gravity as a product
of erosion.

���� �Stream cleaning and
desnagging project� means the removal of accumulated sediments, debris,
garbage, or vegetation from a stream with a natural stream bed, or the removal
of any accumulated material from a stream previously channelized with concrete
or similar artificial material, to improve, for the purposes of flood control,
the use or function of any stream.

���� �Trout maintenance waters�
means waters designated by the department for the support of trout throughout
the year.

���� �Trout production waters�
means waters designated by the department for use by trout for spawning or
nursery purposes during their first summer.

���� 2.��� a.� There is established
the Office of River Maintenance in the Department of Environmental Protection.

���� b.��� The office shall be
under the immediate supervision of a director who shall be qualified to direct
the work of the office and be appointed by the Commissioner of Environmental
Protection.� The appointment of the director shall be made by the commissioner
within 30 days after the effective date of this act.

���� c.��� The office may employ,
subject to the provisions of Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey
Statutes, staff as necessary within the limits of available appropriations.

���� 3.��� a.� The Office of River
Maintenance shall administer, enforce, implement, and oversee all activities
related to stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or
restoration projects in the surface waters of the State.� The office shall have
the primary responsibility for undertaking all stream cleaning and desnagging
projects and bank stabilization or restoration projects in the State.

���� b.��� In addition to
conducting stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or
restoration projects, the office shall be the administering agency within the
department for implementing the provisions of:

���� (1)� P.L.2001, c.360
(C.58:4-11 et seq.), and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto,
specifically related to stream cleaning and desnagging;

���� (2)� sections 5, 16 through
18, and related sections specifically related to stream cleaning and desnagging
projects of the �Dam, Lake, Stream, Flood Control, Water Resources, and
Wastewater Treatment Project Bond Act of 2003,� P.L.2003, c.162; and

���� (3)� any other State or
federal laws, rules, and regulations specifically related to stream cleaning
and desnagging projects or bank stabilization or restoration projects.

���� c.��� A stream cleaning and
desnagging project conducted by the office shall meet the following conditions:

���� (1)� the project shall be
undertaken solely for the purpose of stream cleaning or desnagging;

���� (2)� the removal of any
material shall not extend below the historic depth of the stream bed and shall
not alter the natural stream bank beyond its historical contour;

���� (3)� every effort shall be
made to perform work from only one stream bank and ensure that vegetation and
canopy on the more southerly or westerly banks will be preserved for stream
shading;

���� (4)� if the stream is located in
a municipality known to have federally or State listed threatened or endangered
species associated with its wetlands or if the project is in a stream
classified as pinelands or category one waters, the project shall (a) be
coordinated with the appropriate federal and State agencies, and (b)
incorporate appropriate timing restrictions; and

���� (5)� the project shall comply
with any applicable requirements of �The Wetlands Act of 1970,� P.L.1970, c.272
(C.13:9A-1 et seq.), the �Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act,� P.L.1987, c.156
(C.13:9B-1 et seq.), the �Coastal Area Facility Review Act,� P.L.1973, c.185
(C.13:19-1 et seq.), the �Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act,�
P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et al.), and the �Flood Hazard Area Control Act,�
P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), and any rules and regulations adopted
pursuant thereto.

���� d.��� A bank stabilization or
restoration project conducted by the office shall meet the following
conditions:

���� (1)� the project shall not
obstruct flow in the channel or floodway, significantly alter the channel, or
impair surface water flow into or out of any wetland area;

���� (2)� the project shall not
reduce the stability of a steep slope or result in the permanent loss of any
upland forested area;

���� (3)� disturbance to vegetation
in the riparian zone shall be minimized, and all cleared or removed vegetation
shall be replanted with native, non-invasive vegetation except where the
cleared or removed vegetation has been replaced by non-vegetative stabilizing
material;

���� (4) the project shall not
result in the likelihood of the destruction or adverse modification of habitat
for federally or State listed threatened or endangered species;

���� (5)� if the stream is located
in a municipality known to have federally or State listed threatened or
endangered species associated with its wetlands or if the project is in a
stream classified as pinelands or category one waters, the project shall (a) be
coordinated with the appropriate federal and State agencies, and (b)
incorporate appropriate timing restrictions; and

���� (6)� the project shall comply
with any applicable requirements of the "Soil Erosion and Sediment Control
Act," P.L.1975, c.251 (C.4:24-39 et seq.), �The Wetlands Act of 1970,�
P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-1 et seq.), the �Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act,�
P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-1 et seq.), the �Coastal Area Facility Review Act,�
P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.), the �Highlands Water Protection and
Planning Act,� P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et al.), and the �Flood Hazard Area
Control Act,� P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), and any rules and
regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

���� e.��� Notwithstanding any
other State law, or rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, a stream
cleaning and desnagging project or bank stabilization or restoration project
conducted by the office pursuant to this section shall not require a permit,
approval, or other authorization issued by the Department of Environmental
Protection pursuant to any State law or rule or regulation adopted pursuant
thereto.

���� 4.��� On or before March 1 of
the first full year following the date of enactment of this act, and annually
thereafter, the commissioner shall issue a written report to the Legislature, pursuant
to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), summarizing the activities of
the Office of River Maintenance.� This annual report shall include:

���� a.��� a description of each
stream cleaning and desnagging project and bank stabilization or restoration
project

undertaken by the office
as of
December 31 preceding the submission of the annual report, including
a
description of the nature of the project,
the
name of the stream and a description of the reach of the stream in which the
project took place, and identification of the municipality and county in which
the project occurred;

���� b.��� the
cost of each stream cleaning and desnagging project
and bank
stabilization or restoration project

undertaken
by the office;

���� c.��� a
priority list of the stream cleaning and desnagging projects
and bank
stabilization or restoration projects

that
the office anticipates undertaking in the upcoming year, including a
description of each project and its anticipated cost; and

���� d.��� any

recommendations for any administrative or legislative actions that the
commissioner deems appropriate and necessary to assist the office with its
responsibilities.

���� 5.��� P.L.1993, c.376
(C.58:16A-67) is repealed.

���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would establish an
Office of River Maintenance (office) in the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP).� This new office would be responsible for conducting all
stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration
projects

in the State.

���� The bill defines �stream
cleaning and desnagging project� to mean the removal of accumulated sediments,
debris, garbage, or vegetation from a stream with a natural stream bed, or the
removal of any accumulated material from a stream previously channelized with
concrete or similar artificial material, to improve, for the purposes of flood
control, the use or function of any stream.� (This is the same definition used
in the �Dam, Lake, Stream, Flood Control, Water Resources, and Wastewater
Treatment Project Bond Act of 2003,� P.L.2003, c.162.)� The bill defines �bank stabilization
or restoration project� to mean activities conducted to restore an eroded,
unstable, or ecologically degraded bank or channel to a stable condition.� The
bill also defines the terms �bank,� �channel,� and �sediment� to be consistent
with the definitions of those terms in the DEP�s rules and regulations
implementing the �Flood Hazard Area Control Act,� P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50
et seq.).

���� In addition to conducting
stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration
projects, the office would be the primary administering agency within the DEP
for implementing P.L.2001, c.360 (C.58:4-11 et seq.) and sections 5, 16 through
18, and related sections of the �Dam, Lake, Stream, Flood Control, Water
Resources, and Wastewater Treatment Project Bond Act of 2003� (P.L.2003,
c.162), and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, specifically
pertaining to stream cleaning and desnagging projects, and any other State or
federal law concerning stream cleaning and desnagging activities or bank
stabilization or restoration projects.

����
The bill provides that
stream cleaning and desnagging projects and bank stabilization or restoration
projects undertaken by the office would not require a permit, approval, or
other authorization from the DEP pursuant to any other State law or rule or regulation
adopted pursuant thereto
.

���� Lastly, the bill repeals
P.L.1993, c.376 (C.58:16A-67), which set forth a process for local government
units to follow when undertaking stream cleaning activities, as stream cleaning
activities will be the responsibility of the office to be established pursuant
to this bill and the relevant provisions of P.L.1993, c.376 are included in
this bill.