Requires permit and compensatory reforestation plan for development projects that result in deforestation; establishes grant program for reforestation activities by private landowners; establishes "State Compensatory Reforestation Fund."

A1864

ASSEMBLY, No. 1864

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 permit and compensatory reforestation plan
for development projects that result in deforestation; establishes grant
program for reforestation activities by private landowners; establishes
"State Compensatory Reforestation Fund."

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

concerning deforestation caused by development
and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statues.

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

���� 1.��� a. The Department of
Environmental Protection shall establish a program to require a permit and the
approval of a compensatory reforestation plan for any development greater than
five acres in size that would result in deforestation, except that this
requirement shall not apply to a State entity subject to the requirements of
PL.1993, c.106 (C.13:1L-14.1 et seq.).� The development of an area greater than
five acres in size that would result in deforestation shall require permit
approval from the department pursuant to this section.� The department shall
issue a permit pursuant to this section only to a person that prepares and
implements a compensatory reforestation plan approved by the department pursuant
to this section and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.� The
requirements of this section shall be in addition to any other permits,
approvals, or other authorizations required by law, and the department may
consolidate the requirements of this section into the permitting requirement of
other regulatory programs administered by the department.

���� b.��� A compensatory reforestation
plan required pursuant to this section shall establish a goal of no net loss of
forested area in the State, using the Tree Replacement Factor set forth in
paragraph (7) of subsection b. of section 2 of P.L.1993, c.106 (C.13:1L-14.2).�
A compensatory reforestation plan shall include, at a minimum:

���� (1)�� the area of forested
land that would be deforested by the development;

���� (2)�� the proposed site of the
compensatory reforestation;

���� (3)�� the estimated cost of
the compensatory reforestation;

���� (4)�� the entity responsible
for carrying out the compensatory reforestation, if applicable;

���� (5)�� the amount to be
deposited in the "State Compensatory Reforestation Fund" created
pursuant to section 2 of this act, if applicable; and

���� (6)�� any other information
required by the department, as specified in rules and regulations adopted
pursuant to section 3 of this act.

���� c.���� A compensatory
reforestation plan approved and implemented pursuant to this act shall:

���� (1)�� occur on the same
property as the deforestation, whenever practicable.� Otherwise, the
reforestation shall be carried out in the same municipality as the site of the
deforestation, whenever practicable.� In no case shall the reforestation occur
outside the State;

���� (2)�� use trees purchased from
a nursery located in the State, whenever practicable;

���� (3)�� utilize species based
upon the approved planting plan and subject to the standards established by the
American Association of Nurserymen. �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;

���� (4)�� utilize species listed
as native to New Jersey on the United State's Department of Agriculture's
PLANTS Database;

���� (5)�� consider the effects of
climate change when selecting species; and

���� (6)�� meet any other
requirements established by the department in rules and regulations adopted
pursuant to section 3 of this act.

���� d.��� A person may meet the
compensatory reforestation requirements of this section by implementing a
compensatory reforestation plan approved by the department, contracting with a
third party to implement a compensatory reforestation plan approved by the
department, or by depositing an amount sufficient to cover the costs of
implementation of a compensatory reforestation plan, as determined by the
department, into the "State Compensatory Reforestation Fund" created
pursuant to section 2 of this act.

���� e.���� No later than 120 days
after receipt of a compensatory reforestation plan, the department shall make a
determination to approve the plan as submitted, approve the plan with
conditions, or disapprove the plan.� If the plan is disapproved, the department
shall inform the applicant of the reasons for the disapproval.� The applicant
shall have 30 days thereafter to submit a revised compensatory reforestation
plan to the department.� If the department does not provide notice of its
determination within 120 days after its receipt of a plan or a revised plan,
the plan shall be deemed to have been approved, and the applicant shall proceed
to implement the plan.

���� f.���� Commencing on the first
day of the third month after the effective date of the rules and regulations
adopted by the department pursuant to section 3 of this section, no project
that would result in development greater than five acres in size that would
result in deforestation shall be commenced without the approval of a permit
together with:

���� (1)�� an approved compensatory
reforestation plan; or

���� (2)�� the deposit of an amount
sufficient to cover the costs of implementation of a compensatory the
reforestation plan, as determined by the department, into the "State
Compensatory Reforestation Fund" created pursuant to section 2 of this
act.

���� g.��� The Department of
Environmental Protection shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of
this section.� The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the
provisions of the �Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,� P.L.1999, c.274
(C.2A:58-10 et seq.), in connection with this section.� The department may
institute a civil action for injunctive relief to enforce this section and to
prohibit and prevent a violation of this section, and the court may proceed in
the action in a summary manner.

���� h.��� As used in this section:

���� "Deforestation"
means the removal of all trees from a contiguous area greater than one-half
acre in size with a tree density greater than 204 mature trees per acre.

���� "Department" means
the Department of Environmental Protection.

���� �Development� means the same
as that term is defined in section 3.1 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-4).

���� "Division" means the
Division of Parks and Forestry in the Department of Environmental Protection.

���� 2.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of Environmental Protection a special, nonlapsing fund to be
known as the "State Compensatory Reforestation Fund."� Monies in the
fund shall be used by the department only to: (1) fund reforestation efforts,
including the reforestation of lands owned by the State or a local government
unit; or (2) to provide grants to private landowners to subsidize the costs of
tree plantings pursuant to section 3 of this act.� The fund shall be credited
with:

���� (1)�� compensatory
reforestation payments collected from developers pursuant to this act;

���� (2)�� any other moneys
appropriated by the Legislature or otherwise made available to the department
for the purposes of this act; and

���� (3)�� any interest earnings or
other investment income earned or received on the moneys in the fund.

���� b.��� The department may
establish other such reserves or subaccounts which, in the department�
discretion, are necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this act,
within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the department
for its purposes.

���� 3.��� The Department of
Environmental Protection shall develop and administer a grant program to
subsidize the costs of private landowners who plant trees on their property.�
The department shall develop an application method and criteria by which to
award a grant.� In no case shall a grant be awarded or used to fund the
implementation of a compensatory reforestation plan pursuant to this act.� The
department shall use moneys in the "State Compensatory Reforestation Fund,"
created pursuant to section 2 of this act, for the issuance of grants pursuant
to this section.

���� 4.��� The Commissioner of
Environmental Protection shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the
�Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be
necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill would require
development projects larger than five acres in size that would result in
deforestation to include the implementation of a compensatory reforestation
plan, in the form of tree plantings or moneys deposited into the "State
Compensatory Reforestation Fund," (fund), a special, nonlapsing fund in
the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that would be established by
the bill.� The bill would also direct the DEP to create a program that would
subsidize the costs of tree plantings for private landowners, using moneys from
the fund.

���� Specifically, under the bill,
the DEP would be required to create a new permitting program to review
compensatory reforestation plans submitted by persons seeking to carry out
development projects larger than five acres in size that would result in
deforestation.� The bill defines "deforestation" as the removal of
all trees from a contiguous area greater than one-half acre in size with a tree
density greater than 204 mature trees per acre.� The new permit would be
required beginning three months after the DEP adopts rules and regulations to
implement the bill.

���� The bill would establish
various requirements for a compensatory reforestation plan, as enumerated in
subsection b. of section 1 of the bill, including that the plan establish a
goal of no net loss of State forested area resulting from the development.� The
bill would also establish various requirements for the compensatory replanting,
as enumerated in subsection c. of section 1 of the bill, including that the
replanting be carried out on the same property as the deforestation, whenever
practicable, and in the same municipality, whenever practicable.

���� A person would be authorized
to meet the compensatory reforestation requirements of the bill by implementing
the reforestation plan, contracting with a third party to implement the
reforestation plan, or by depositing an amount sufficient to cover the costs of
the reforestation, as determined by the department, into the fund.

���� The bill would also direct the
DEP to develop and administer a grant program to subsidize the costs of private
landowners who plant trees on their property.� The DEP would use moneys in the

fund to issue the grants.� The bill
would specify that grants could not be awarded or used to fund the
implementation of a compensatory reforestation plan.