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A1863
ASSEMBLY, No. 1863
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JAMES J. KENNEDY
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires State entities engaging in projects
resulting in deforestation of any size to submit plan to DEP for no net loss of
forested areas.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning the removal of trees by State entities and
amending P.L.1993, c.106
.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 2 of P.L.1993,
c.106 (C.13:1L-14.2) is amended to read as follows:
���� 2.��� a.� Each State entity,
by July 1, 1993, and at least annually thereafter, shall develop, and submit to
the Division of Parks and Forestry in the Department of Environmental
Protection, a plan for compensatory reforestation for
[
all
]
any
areas
[
at
least one-half acre in size
]
that are owned or maintained by that State entity and are scheduled for
deforestation.� A reforestation plan required pursuant to this act shall
establish a goal of no net loss of existing forested area based upon a
reasonable and practical Tree Replacement Factor developed due to the act of
deforestation and in accordance with this act.� The plan shall be subject to
approval of the division after review and comment by the Community Forestry
Council established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1996, c.135 (C.13:1L-17.5).�
No project that would deforest land
[
at
least one-half acre in size
]
that is owned or maintained by a State entity may be commenced without approval
of that State entity's plan by the division.
���� A reforestation plan shall
provide that, if tree planting adjacent to the deforested area is not feasible,
it shall be conducted in the following order: within the municipality in which
the deforestation occurred, within five miles of the site of deforestation, or
off-site.
���� b.��� A reforestation plan
developed pursuant to this section shall include appropriate and approved
methods for the planting, protection, care and management of trees and other
related natural resources.� With the advice and assistance of the Community
Forestry Council, the division shall develop and make available to State
entities a list of guideline elements that shall be required in a reforestation
plan.� These guidelines shall establish but not limit the basic framework of an
approved reforestation plan.
���� A reforestation plan developed
pursuant to this section shall provide that:
���� (1)�� if the division
determines that it is not feasible to conduct the tree planting efforts
on-site, then the tree planting shall be conducted first on State property
within the municipality in which the deforestation occurred or municipal
property within the municipality in which the deforestation occurred.�
Municipal property may include property owned or maintained by that
community including but not limited
to parks, streets, schools, municipal facilities, and open space and recreation
areas;
���� (2)�� if the division
determines that it is not feasible to conduct the tree planting efforts on-site
or within that municipality, then the tree planting shall be conducted within
five miles of the site of the deforestation.� Sites within five miles of the
site of deforestation may include property owned or maintained by the State,
county or other municipal entity;
���� (3)�� if the division
determines that it is not practicable to conduct the tree planting efforts
on-site, within the municipality or five miles of the site, then the tree
planting shall be conducted off-site by the State entity.� Off-site property
may include property owned or maintained by a State entity other than the one
developing and implementing the plan if the State entity that is to receive the
benefits of the off-site tree planting efforts agrees thereto;
���� (4)�� the State entity shall
use native species when practicable;
���� (5)�� the shape or
configuration of the reforested area may be substantially similar to the shape
or configuration of the deforested area;
���� (6)�� the replacement of trees
shall be determined by the Tree Replacement Factor and shall be based upon
accepted forestry research and practices which show the average tree density
within urban areas to be 204 trees per acre of tree cover;
���� (7)�� in using the Tree
Replacement Factor (TRF) for sites that are deforested the following number of
stems shall be calculated for seeding, caliper and whip/container trees:
����������� TRF = 204 (2" - 2
1/2") caliper trees per acre
����������� ������� = 408
whip/container (4' - 6') trees per acre
����������� ������� = 1210 tree
seedlings per acre;
���� (8)�� the seedlings shall be
planted from six to 10 feet apart, or at a distance mutually agreed to by the
division and the State entity, and that the seedlings are obtainable from a
tree nursery owned and operated by the State.� Subject to availability from a
State tree nursery, the seedlings used in reforestation by a State entity
pursuant to this act shall be those that are the most suitable for the site;
and
���� (9)�� the species of caliper
nursery grown trees measured at two and one half inches and whips at one and
one half inches shall be planted based upon the approved planting plan and
subject to the standards established by the American Association of Nurserymen.�
Trees to be planted shall be selected from those recommended in the publication
entitled "Trees for New Jersey Streets" published by the New Jersey
Shade Tree Federation and in accordance with the recommended planting
specifications.� Diversity in species composition shall be required to reduce
the risk of widespread loss of trees to single insect and disease infestation
and, therefore, similar species shall not exceed 30 percent of the total
planting.
���� c.���� The State entity shall
enter into a memorandum of agreement with the division that guarantees the
division reimbursement for actual labor hours attributable to the review and
implementation of that State entity's reforestation plan pursuant to this act.�
If the compensatory reforestation as required by this act cannot be
accomplished on the site of the project by the State entity, the division and
the State entity may mutually agree within the memorandum of agreement that the
State entity responsible for the deforestation shall pay an amount equal to the
value of the number of trees required as determined by the Tree Replacement
Factor and in accordance with an approved plan.� This payment shall be
deposited in the "Shade Tree and Community Forest Preservation License
Plate Fund," established pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1996, c.135
(C.39:3-27.81), and shall be expended for reforestation by the division with
the advice of the Community Forestry Council and the approval of the director
of the division.� The memorandum of agreement shall be part of the State
entity's plan for compensatory reforestation.
(cf: P.L.2001, c.10, s.1)
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would expand current
law to require State entities engaging in projects of any size resulting in
deforestation to submit a plan to DEP for no net loss of forested areas.� The
requirement to develop a reforestation plan, commonly called the no net loss
compensatory reforestation program, currently applies to State entities that
are engaging in projects that would deforest land at least one-half acre in
size.
���� This bill would eliminate the
one-half acre threshold and require State entities to develop and submit a plan
for compensatory reforestation of areas of any size that are scheduled for
deforestation.� The New Jersey Global Warming Response Act 2020 80x50 Report
recommended that lowering or eliminating the one-half acre threshold could help
to ensure greater protection of the State�s natural resources.
���� Compensatory reforestation
plans are required to be approved by the Division of Parks and Forestry in the
Department of Environmental Protection prior to the commencement of a
deforestation project.� Compensatory reforestation plans provide for the maturity
of the forest that is to be deforested to be assessed and for the reforestation
plan to provide for comparable tree density based on accepted forestry and
research practices, so that there is no
net loss of trees across the State
as a result of deforestation projects.� This effort will help to ensure that
trees deforested, as a result of construction projects, are replanted
elsewhere.