Monroe Township (Middlesex County), NJ Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Land disturbance trigger
- One or more acres
- Impervious surface trigger
- One-quarter acre or more
- Water quality standard
- 80 percent TSS removal
- Water quality design storm
- 1.25 inches of rainfall in two hours
- Groundwater recharge
- 100% of average annual pre-construction volume
- Township's own projects
- Covered by the same section
Summary
In Monroe Township, Middlesex County, § 108-5.27 sets minimum stormwater controls for major development: one or more acres disturbed, or one-quarter acre or more of new impervious surface. Projects must remove 80 percent of total suspended solids from new motor vehicle surface runoff.
§ 108-5.27. Stormwater management. ... (2) Purpose. ... The purpose of this section is to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls for "major development," as defined below in Subsection B. ... MAJOR DEVELOPMENT (1) An individual development, as well as multiple developments that individually or collectively result in: (a) The disturbance of one or more acres of land since February 2, 2004; ... (17) Stormwater runoff quality standards. (a) This subsection contains the minimum design and performance standards to control stormwater runoff quality impacts of major development. Stormwater runoff quality standards are applicable when the major development results in an increase of one-quarter acre or more of regulated motor vehicle surface. (b) Stormwater management measures shall be designed to reduce the post-construction load of total suspended solids (TSS) in stormwater runoff generated from the water quality design storm as follows: [1] Eighty percent TSS removal of the anticipated load, expressed as an annual average, shall be achieved for the stormwater runoff from the net increase of motor vehicle surface.
Full Breakdown
Section 108-5.27 of the Monroe Township land development chapter applies to major developments in Monroe Township, Middlesex County. Its policy statement says flood control, groundwater recharge and pollutant reduction shall be achieved through stormwater management measures, including green infrastructure best management practices and nonstructural strategies, to maintain natural hydrology and encourage infiltration.
The section applies to nonresidential major developments, to aspects of residential major developments not preempted by the Residential Site Improvement Standards at N.J.A.C. 5:21, and to all major developments undertaken by the Township of Monroe itself. Applications submitted before October 7, 2024 stay under the requirements in effect on October 6, 2024.
Major development is defined as development that results in the disturbance of one or more acres of land since February 2, 2004, the creation of one-quarter acre or more of regulated impervious surface since that date, or the creation of one-quarter acre or more of regulated motor vehicle surface since March 2, 2021. Phased projects that are part of a common plan of development or sale count together.
The design standards are in paragraph D. Every major development needs a maintenance plan for its stormwater measures. Groundwater recharge requires the design engineer to show either that 100% of the average annual pre-construction recharge volume is maintained, or that the increase in runoff volume for the projected two-year storm is infiltrated. For water quality, an increase of one-quarter acre or more of regulated motor vehicle surface triggers 80 percent total suspended solids removal on the net increase, measured against the water quality design storm of 1.25 inches of rainfall in two hours. Stormwater from high pollutant loading areas and industrial stormwater exposed to source material shall not be recharged.
Approvals under the section do not relieve the applicant of other permits, and where another rule is stricter, the more restrictive provision controls. Separate rules for municipal storm sewer systems appear in Chapter 67A.
Violations & Fines
Section 108-5.27 is a condition of development approval, so a major development that does not meet it cannot obtain Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment approval. A variance or a waiver from strict compliance is available only on the showings the section spells out, such as an alternatives analysis for enlarging a public roadway. No separate fine appears in the section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a major development in Monroe Township?
Do single-family house lots have to meet the section?
How much pollution must the stormwater system remove?
Does the township follow its own rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monroe Township (Middlesex County)
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Stormwater Management in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle stormwater management.