The Commissioner may from time to time, for the purpose of promoting the public safety, health and welfare, and protecting public and private property, wildlife and marine fisheries, adopt, amend, modify or repeal orders regulating, restricting or prohibiting dredging, filling, removing or otherwise altering, or polluting, coastal wetlands. For the purposes of this act the term “coastal wetlands” shall mean any bank, marsh, swamp, meadow, flat or other low land subject to tidal action in the State of New Jersey along the Delaware bay and Delaware river, Raritan bay, Barnegat bay, Sandy Hook bay, Shrewsbury river including Navesink river, Shark river, and the coastal inland waterways extending southerly from Manasquan Inlet to Cape May Harbor, or at any inlet, estuary or tributary waterway or any thereof, including those areas now or formerly connected to tidal waters whose surface is at or below an elevation of 1 foot above local extreme high water, and upon which may grow or is capable of growing some, but not necessarily all, of the following: Salt meadow grass (Spartine patens), spike grass (Distichlis spicata), black grass (Juncus gerardi), saltmarsh grass (Spartina alterniflora), saltworts (Salicornia Europaea, and Salicornia bigelovii), Sea Lavendar (Limonium carolinianum), saltmarsh bulrushes (Scirpus robustus and Scirpus paludosus var. atlanticus), sand spurrey (Spergularia marina), switch grass (Panicum virgatum), tall cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), hightide bush (Iva frutescens var. oraria), cattails (Typha angustifolia, and Typha latifolia), spike rush (Eleocharis rostellata), chairmaker’s rush (Scirpus americana), bent grass (Agrostis palustris), and sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata). The term “coastal wetlands” shall not include any land or real property subject to the jurisdiction of the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1968, chapter 404, sections 1 through 84 (C. 13:17-1 through C. 13:17-86).

L.1970, c. 272, s. 2, eff. Nov. 5, 1970.