New Jersey § 13:9a-1

§ 13:9a-1.

a. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that one of the most vital and productive

areas of our natural world is the so-called “estuarine zone,” that area between the

sea and the land; that this area protects the land from the force of the sea, moderates

our weather, provides a home for water fowl and for 2 / 3 of all our fish and shellfish, and assists in absorbing sewage discharge by the rivers

of the land; and that in order to promote the public safety, health and welfare,

and to protect public and private property, wildlife, marine fisheries and the natural

environment, it is necessary to preserve the ecological balance of this area and prevent

its further deterioration and destruction by regulating the dredging, filling, removing

or otherwise altering or polluting thereof, all to the extent and in the manner provided

herein. b. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall, within 2 years of the effective

date of this act, make an inventory and maps of all tidal wetlands within the State. The boundaries of such wetlands shall generally define the areas that are at or

below high water and shall be shown on suitable maps, which may be reproductions or

aerial photographs. Each such map shall be filed in the office of the county recording officer of the

county or counties in which the wetlands indicated thereon are located. Each wetland map shall bear a certificate of the commissioner to the effect that

it is made and filed pursuant to this act. To be entitled to filing no wetlands map need meet the requirements of R.S. 47:1-6 .