Environmental Rules in New Jersey (2026)

New Jersey Stormwater Management Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:8 set uniform statewide design and water-quality standards that…

East Brunswick Township Code § 192-53 requires green infrastructure stormwater management for major development, which…

Elizabeth requires every major development, and many smaller residential and nonresidential projects, to control…

Hamilton bars dumping anything but stormwater into its municipal storm sewer system and outlaws illicit sewer…

City Code Section 425-72 sets Vineland's stormwater management standards for "major development," covering any project…

New Jersey's Stormwater Management rules, N.J.A.C. 7:8, govern every Atlantic County municipality. Any major…

In the City of Bayonne, any major development, generally one disturbing an acre or more of land or creating a quarter…

Bergenfield's Chapter 268 requires green infrastructure and stormwater controls for every major development project to…

Chapter 494 of the Bloomfield Township Code sets minimum stormwater management requirements and controls for major…

Brick Township requires stormwater management measures for major development disturbing one or more acres of land…

Cherry Hill Township prohibits any illicit connection that discharges domestic sewage, industrial waste or process…

Clifton's 2024 stormwater ordinance makes every qualifying "major development" design green infrastructure BMPs for…

In the City of East Orange, Article XXX of the Land Use Chapter, adopted by Ordinance No. 1-2022, requires green…

Edison Township requires any 'major development', one acre or more of land disturbance, or a quarter acre of new…

Connecting a development to Essex County's stormwater system during site plan or subdivision review requires a county…

Major development in Freehold Township must meet the stormwater management standards in Code § 190-80, which requires…

Hackensack regulates stormwater runoff from new development under Chapter 141, Article VIII, Stormwater Control…

In the City of Hoboken, Chapter 166 requires major developments in the W(RDV), W(N) and I-1(W) zones to control…

Howell Township's stormwater article, added to the Land Use chapter in 2024, applies to major development: one or more…

Chapter 550 of the Irvington Township Code requires stormwater management measures for any major development disturbing…

Jackson Township requires developers to dedicate completed stormwater management systems to the Township under § 244-40…

Jersey City requires Major and Minor Developments that add, replace, or disturb 1,000 or more square feet of impervious…

Lakewood Township requires storm drain inlets on private property to be retrofitted with debris-blocking grates…

Linden regulates stormwater runoff from "major development" under City Code § 26-17, requiring green infrastructure and…

Long Branch, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, requires most private properties to retrofit existing storm drain inlets…

Mercer County Code § 5.03.050 bans diverting stormwater, sump-pump discharge or runoff onto County roadways, gutters…

In Monroe Township, Gloucester County, section 175-140 requires major development outside the Pinelands to manage…

In Monroe Township, Middlesex County, § 108-5.27 sets minimum stormwater controls for major development: one or more…

The City of New Brunswick charges an annual stormwater user fee of seventy-seven dollars ($77.00) per equivalent…

Newark regulates stormwater runoff from new construction under Chapter 41:17 of the Revised General Ordinances. Major…

Old Bridge Township regulates stormwater for 'major development,' defined as projects disturbing one acre or more of…

Parsippany-Troy Hills requires stormwater controls on major and minor development under Article XVI of the land use…

Passaic's Chapter 258A regulates stormwater from "major development", nonresidential projects and the aspects of larger…

Paterson requires green infrastructure and stormwater management measures for non-residential and larger residential…

In the City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Chapter 384 controls stormwater for major developments and, under § 384-11, for…

Piscataway Township Code Chapter 32, Article II requires "major development," projects disturbing one acre of land or…

In the City of Plainfield, all development needs a stormwater management plan under § 17:12-1. The peak rate of runoff…

The Village of Ridgewood regulates stormwater under § 190-83, requiring green infrastructure and nonstructural measures…

Major development in Toms River Township must control flooding, groundwater recharge and pollution through green…

Trenton requires major and minor developments to control stormwater with green infrastructure, cap runoff, and recharge…

Union County bans illicit connections and improper discharges to the county's municipal separate storm sewer system…

In Wayne Township, Passaic County, New Jersey, Chapter 177 of the Township Code regulates stormwater. Article III…

In the Town of West New York, New Jersey (Hudson County), every site plan or subdivision plat must include a grading…

Woodbridge Township Code Article III bars new development from increasing stormwater runoff beyond what the Township's…

The New Jersey Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act gives Soil Conservation Districts uniform statewide authority to…

In Bloomfield Township, New Jersey, § 315-30(Q) bars all soil disturbance on slopes of 35% or greater, limits slopes of…

Jackson Township requires a land disturbance permit before disturbing any soil under § 363-2 of Chapter 363, Soil…

Any tie-in to a County drainage structure or storm drain system requires a Mercer County road construction/right-of-way…

In the City of New Brunswick, New Jersey, Section 17.07.100 bars new development, grading or vegetation stripping on…

In Wayne Township, Passaic County, New Jersey, § 134-94.1 requires a soil erosion and sediment control plan with every…

Atlantic County requires erosion and sediment control measures once a subdivision disturbs more than 5,000 square feet…

In the City of Bayonne, any major development project must meet erosion control standards set by the state's Soil…

Bergenfield's stormwater ordinance requires erosion control for every major development project to meet the state Soil…

Before any grading, excavation, or fill work, Brick Township requires an engineer-sealed site plan under Chapter 383…

Cherry Hill Township ties erosion control to its residential grading-plan review: every single-family building permit…

Before hauling dirt off a Clifton construction site for sale or off-site use, an owner needs a Council-issued…

East Brunswick Township Code § 192-51 requires every development application to follow the New Jersey State Soil…

In the City of East Orange, City Code section 51-199 requires that soil erosion and sediment control devices, whether…

Edison Township requires a land disturbance permit before clearing over 5,000 square feet of vegetative cover or…

Elizabeth ties construction-site erosion control to New Jersey's own minimum standard: Section 13.24.030 requires every…

Freehold Township requires a Township Engineer-approved erosion and sediment control plan and a permit before any land…

Hackensack folds erosion control into its development approval process rather than running a separate ordinance…

Before any land in Hamilton Township can be disturbed for development, § 550-71 requires a soil erosion and…

Hoboken requires major development, meaning projects needing site plan or subdivision approval in the W(RDV), W(N) and…

In Howell Township, every land use plan must include a soil erosion and sediment control program that the Monmouth…

Irvington Township Code § 560-24 requires every construction project reviewed under Chapter 560 to install permanent or…

Jersey City will not issue a construction permit for a project disturbing 5,000 square feet of land or more until the…

Lakewood Township requires a land disturbance permit before any grading, clearing or soil disturbance begins under Code…

Linden requires a City Engineer-approved lot grading plan before construction that disturbs 5,000 square feet or more…

Long Branch requires 'major development,' meaning projects disturbing an acre or more of land or creating a quarter…

In Monroe Township, Gloucester County, § 175-136 requires every site plan and major subdivision to include a soil…

Monroe Township, Middlesex County, requires every development to protect streams, lakes and ponds from sedimentation…

Newark requires a soil erosion and sediment control permit from the Director of Engineering before any land-disturbing…

Old Bridge Township requires a land disturbance permit before clearing, grading or excavating more than 5,000 square…

In Parsippany-Troy Hills, both major and minor development must be designed for erosion control to the minimum…

Before moving earth, grading, filling or stripping topsoil anywhere in Passaic, except within an already-approved…

Paterson's land subdivision ordinance requires soil erosion and sediment control review whenever a proposed subdivision…

In the City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, every development must protect streams, lakes and ponds from sedimentation and…

Piscataway Township Code Article II of Chapter 26 requires a Township Engineer-approved soil erosion and sediment…

Any minor development in the Village of Ridgewood adding a pool, an addition, or at least 200 square feet of new…

Toms River Township requires developers to prevent stream siltation during construction, using silt basins, holding…

Trenton ties erosion control for major and minor development to the state Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act…

Construction sites in the City of Vineland disturbing more than 500 square feet need a land grading permit that…

In the Town of West New York, NJ, development under the subdivision chapter cannot strip topsoil from the site or use…

The Coastal Area Facility Review Act gives the New Jersey DEP exclusive permit jurisdiction over development in the…

In Newark's designated coastal high hazard areas and Coastal A Zones along the tidal Passaic River and Newark Bay, City…

The New Jersey Flood Hazard Area Control Act sets uniform state floodplain and riparian buffer rules that apply…

Atlantic County bars new encroachments in a FEMA A or V Zone flood hazard area it reviews unless a professional…

Bergenfield regulates every proposed development inside its mapped flood hazard areas under Chapter 161, Flood Damage…

In Bloomfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey, flood hazard areas come from the FEMA Flood Insurance Study dated…

Clifton's Floodplain Management Regulations require any development in a flood hazard area to comply with the Uniform…

In East Brunswick Township, anyone who intends to conduct development in a flood hazard area must first apply to the…

East Orange regulates nearly every kind of development in a flood hazard area under Chapter 150, readopted in 2023. The…

Elizabeth regulates all proposed development in flood hazard areas under Chapter 17.44, adopting FEMA's September 20…

Hackensack's Floodplain Management Regulations, Chapter 89, require a floodplain development permit for construction…

Hamilton Township requires a floodplain development permit for any construction, grading, filling or other development…

In Howell Township, anyone planning development in a flood hazard area must apply to the Floodplain Administrator, who…

No structure or land in an Irvington flood hazard area may be built, extended, converted or altered without a…

Jackson Township adopts FEMA's Ocean County flood maps and the December 16, 2021 Flood Insurance Study to establish its…

Lakewood Township, Ocean County, New Jersey requires a Floodplain Administrator permit before any development in a…

Monroe Township, Gloucester County, NJ regulates all development in flood hazard areas through Chapter 144, using the…

Monroe Township, Middlesex County, entered the National Flood Insurance Program on April 17, 1985, and Chapter 44…

In the City of New Brunswick, New Jersey, anyone who intends to conduct any development in a flood hazard area must…

Development anywhere in Passaic's mapped flood hazard areas needs a floodplain development permit from the Floodplain…

Piscataway Township Code Section 21-8A, the Floodplain Management Regulations, requires anyone who intends to develop…

The City of Plainfield has participated in the National Flood Insurance Program since June 25, 1971, and §…

The Village of Ridgewood regulates all development in flood hazard areas under Chapter 154, requiring a floodplain…

Trenton requires a development permit from the Construction Official before any construction, land alteration or…

City of Vineland City Code Section 425-71 establishes the Floodplain Management Regulations, which apply to all…

In Wayne Township, Passaic County, New Jersey, § 134-97 applies the Floodplain Management Regulations to all proposed…

Anyone developing property in a Woodbridge flood hazard area must first get a Floodplain Development Permit from the…

In the City of Bayonne, any construction or land alteration within a mapped Special Flood Hazard Area requires a…

Brick Township requires a development permit before any construction, fill, or land alteration in FEMA-mapped special…

Cherry Hill Township requires a floodplain development permit for any construction, grading, filling or land…

Edison Township requires a floodplain development permit for construction, additions, substantial improvement or…

Freehold Township requires a floodplain development permit from the Township's Floodplain Administrator before any…

Hoboken applies its Flood Damage Prevention chapter, City Code Ch. 104, to every area of special flood hazard within…

Before any construction, filling, grading or substantial improvement begins in one of Jersey City's FEMA-mapped special…

Linden regulates construction and land use inside its FEMA-mapped flood hazard areas under City Code Chapter 26…

Any construction, filling, grading or manufactured-home placement inside a Newark special flood hazard area needs a…

Old Bridge Township adopted a rewritten Flood Damage Prevention chapter, Chapter 198, in 2022, adopting the FEMA Flood…

Parsippany-Troy Hills joined the National Flood Insurance Program on February 19, 1986, and Chapter 175 identifies its…

Any construction in Paterson's FEMA-mapped special flood hazard areas needs a local development permit before work…

In the City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Chapter 231 applies to all proposed development in flood hazard areas and…

Toms River Township requires a development permit for any construction in a special flood hazard area, and new or…

In the Town of West New York, Hudson County, New Jersey, Chapter 204 applies to all proposed development in flood…

Brick Township requires a Township Engineer permit before building any dock, pier, boat lift, or bulkhead, plus a…

Elizabeth bars any pleasure or commercial boat from operating out of the city waterfront without a permit from the…

In the City of Vineland's Pinelands Area wetlands, City Code § 425-203A allows a landowner's private dock, pier…

Vessels tying up at Bayonne's First Street municipal dock pay $3 each time to take on or discharge passengers, under…

In the City of Hoboken, docking, anchoring or mooring any pleasure or commercial vessel in a City park requires a…

In Jackson Township's Pinelands Area, a landowner's dock, pier, mooring or boat launch is allowed in wetlands only if…

Jersey City requires anyone using the public docks in a city park for boating "for dockage or other purposes" to first…

Parsippany-Troy Hills has no stand-alone dock permit. Section 225-80B lists dock, pier, boathouse and marina…

Toms River Township requires a building permit before digging, constructing, or bulkheading any boat basin, dock…

In the City of Bayonne, diesel and gasoline vehicles cannot idle on public streets or quasi-public property for more…

In Bloomfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey, no one can let a diesel or gasoline vehicle idle for more than three…

In Camden County, trucks and other vehicles over 10,000 pounds cannot idle more than five minutes in any hour while…

Edison bars tractor trailers not doing business at the Edison Shopping Center on Woodbridge Avenue from parking or…

Trucks and buses over 10,000 pounds gross weight cannot idle their engines or auxiliary equipment for more than three…

In the City of Hoboken, commercial vehicles cannot idle for more than three minutes in any district, and idling by any…

Long Branch prohibits the unnecessary warming up or idling of buses, trucks and tractors, and repeated idling…

Old Bridge Township caps engine idling at three consecutive minutes for a stationary diesel or gasoline vehicle…

Passaic caps vehicle idling at three minutes in any hour for a stationary motor vehicle within 150 feet of a…

In the City of Perth Amboy, a diesel or gasoline vehicle that is not in motion cannot run its motor for more than three…

Piscataway Township caps truck idling at three consecutive minutes in the rear or side yard of a non-residential use…

Toms River Township caps taxicab idling at three minutes while parked. Section 457-39(M) of the Township Code, part of…

In Howell Township, New Jersey, no taxicab can sit with its engine running for more than three consecutive minutes…

Trenton's Noise chapter bars warming up or idling buses, trucks and tractors, and unnecessary repeated idling…

Newark's Green Building, Sustainability, and Resiliency Standards ask developers seeking subdivision or site plan…

Bergenfield adds a mandatory buffer above the mapped flood line for new construction: Borough Code § 161-12 sets the…

In Bloomfield Township, § 250-12 sets the local design flood elevation at the best available flood elevation plus one…

Clifton requires new construction in flood hazard areas to meet a local design flood elevation that adds at least one…

Hamilton Township sets a local design flood elevation under Code Section 536-13 that adds at least one foot of…

Jackson Township sets its local design flood elevation at the best-available flood data plus at least one foot of…

Lakewood Township, Ocean County, New Jersey requires new and substantially improved buildings in flood hazard areas to…

Monroe Township, Middlesex County, sets its local design flood elevation at the best available flood hazard data plus…

In the City of New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey, the local design flood elevation for a delineated…

New construction and substantial improvements in Passaic's flood hazard areas must sit at or above the city's 'local…

Piscataway Township Code Section 21-802A.3 sets the Local Design Flood Elevation, the freeboard standard for how high a…

In the City of Plainfield the Local Design Flood Elevation (LDFE) for a delineated watercourse is the best available…

The Village of Ridgewood sets a local design flood elevation (LDFE) that adds at least one foot of freeboard above the…

New and substantially improved residential structures in Trenton's A or AE flood zones must have their lowest floor…

In Wayne Township, Passaic County, New Jersey, § 134-97.1B(3) sets the Local Design Flood Elevation at the best…

Woodbridge requires new and substantially improved buildings in flood hazard areas to be built to a Local Design Flood…

Atlantic County's Table 3 sets minimum freeboard above base flood elevation for new construction it reviews…

In the City of Bayonne, any new or substantially improved residential structure inside a mapped flood hazard area must…

Brick Township requires new and substantially improved homes in flood hazard areas to sit one foot above the base flood…

Cherry Hill Township sets a Local Design Flood Elevation (LDFE) above the mapped or state flood elevation for new…

In East Brunswick Township, the Local Design Flood Elevation is the best available flood elevation plus freeboard. For…

East Orange sets its local design flood elevation at the best available flood data elevation plus two feet of freeboard…

Edison Township requires new construction in flood hazard areas to add at least one foot of freeboard above the base…

Elizabeth sets a Local Design Flood Elevation (LDFE) above FEMA's mapped base flood elevation, adding at least one foot…

New construction in a Freehold Township flood hazard area must have its lowest floor, including basement and all…

Hackensack sets a local design flood elevation (LDFE) above FEMA's base flood elevation, adding at least one foot of…

Hoboken requires new and substantially improved buildings in a mapped flood hazard area to elevate their lowest floor…

In Howell Township, the local design flood elevation is the best available flood elevation plus freeboard. A delineated…

Irvington requires at least one extra foot of freeboard above the base flood elevation for ordinary development in a…

New construction and substantial improvements to residential structures in Jersey City's special flood hazard areas…

Linden sets a Local Design Flood Elevation under City Code § 26-102.3 that adds at least one foot of freeboard above…

Long Branch sets its own local design flood elevation two feet above the state and FEMA base flood elevation in every…

In Monroe Township, Gloucester County, NJ, the local design flood elevation is the best available flood elevation plus…

New residential construction and substantial improvements in Newark's A, AE, AO or AH flood zones must have the lowest…

Old Bridge Township's flood ordinance requires new construction and substantially improved buildings in flood hazard…

Section 175-2.3 of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Code sets the local design flood elevation at the best available flood…

New residential construction in Paterson's flood-hazard zones must elevate the lowest floor at least one foot above…

In the City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the Local Design Flood Elevation for a delineated watercourse is the Best…

New and substantially improved buildings in Vineland's flood hazard areas must meet a local design flood elevation that…

In the Town of West New York, Hudson County, New Jersey, § 204-15 sets the local design flood elevation at the best…