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…

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…

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

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

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…

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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

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

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

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…

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

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…

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…

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

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

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…

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

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

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…

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

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

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

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…

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…

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

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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

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