New Jersey Soil Conservation Districts
Disturb more than 5,000 square feet of soil in New Jersey and the work needs a soil erosion and sediment control plan certified by your county Soil Conservation District. Not your town, and not NJDEP. There are thirteen districts covering twenty-one counties, so which one is yours is not something you can work out from the county name alone. Here is the whole list.
| District | Counties | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Bergen 700 Kinderkamack Road, Suite 103, Oradell, NJ 07649 | Bergen | Angelo Caruso, Manager |
| Burlington 1971 Jacksonville-Jobstown Road, Columbus, NJ 08022 | Burlington | Robert Reitmeyer, Manager |
| Cumberland Salem PO Box 68, 1516 Route 77, Deerfield, NJ 08313 | Cumberland, Salem | Michael Bonham, Manager |
| DelAtlantic Atlantic County Office Building, 6260 Old Harding Highway, Mays Landing, NJ 08330 | Atlantic | Michael Kent, Manager |
| Freehold PO Box 5033, 4000 Kozloski Road, Freehold, NJ 07728-5033 | Monmouth, Middlesex | Tim Thomas, Manager |
| Gloucester 545 Beckett Road, Suite 107, Swedesboro, NJ 08085 | Gloucester | Marissa Appolonia, Administrative Supervisor |
| Hudson-Essex & Passaic 80 Orchard Street, Bloomfield, NJ 07003 | Hudson, Essex, Passaic | Janet Rekesius, Manager |
| Hunterdon 687 Pittstown Road, Suite 1, Frenchtown, NJ 08825 | Hunterdon | Michael DePalma, Manager |
| Mercer 590 Hughes Drive, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690 | Mercer | Paul Schiariti, Manager |
| Morris PO Box 900, 30 Schuyler Place, 4th Floor, Morristown, NJ 07963-0600 | Morris | Jennifer McCulloch, Manager |
| Ocean 714 Lacey Road, Forked River, NJ 08731 | Ocean | Christine R. Raabe, Director |
| Somerset Union Somerset County 4-H Center, 308 Milltown Road, Bridgewater, NJ 08807 | Somerset, Union | Matthew D'Alessandro, Manager |
| Upper Delaware PO Box 198, 51 Main Street, Suite B, Blairstown, NJ 07825 | Warren, Sussex | Sandra Meyers, Manager |
Transcribed from the NJ Department of Agriculture, New Jersey Soil Conservation Districts directory (April 2026). Counties are listed only where that directory names them or where the district name states the county. If your county is not shown above, check the official directory rather than assuming, because the wrong office costs you weeks. Statewide questions go to the State Soil Conservation Committee, NJ Department of Agriculture, PO Box 330, Trenton, NJ 08625, 609-913-6490, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
Common questions
Who certifies a soil erosion and sediment control plan in New Jersey?
Your county Soil Conservation District, not your municipality and not NJDEP. There are 13 districts covering 21 counties, so the district that covers you is not something you can work out from the county name alone. Sussex and Warren, for example, are both Upper Delaware. The full mapping is in the table on this page.
When do I need a soil erosion and sediment control plan in NJ?
When the project disturbs more than 5,000 square feet of surface area. That is the threshold in the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act, and it is reached far sooner than people expect: a long driveway, a modest addition with its working room, or a septic field can all cross it.
How long does soil erosion plan certification take?
The district has 30 days to grant or deny certification once it has your plan. That is the statutory window rather than a service promise, and it is the reason this approval belongs at the start of a schedule rather than the middle.
Who prepares the soil erosion and sediment control plan?
A licensed New Jersey professional engineer, not your contractor. We build to the certified plan and we deal with the district on the ground, but the plan itself is engineering work and has to be sealed by somebody qualified to seal it.
Is a single family home exempt from the soil erosion requirement?
Sometimes, and the wording matters. The Act excludes construction of a single-family dwelling that is not part of a subdivision, site plan, variance, planned development, or a permit application covering two or more homes. So one house on an existing lot is often outside it, while the same house inside a subdivision is not. Clearing or grading for agricultural or horticultural purposes is separately excluded.
What the district actually does
It reviews and certifies the soil erosion and sediment control plan for your project, and it has 30 days to grant or deny certification. The plan itself is prepared by a licensed New Jersey professional engineer, not by your contractor. Two exclusions are written into the Act and worth checking before you assume you need one: clearing or grading for agricultural or horticultural purposes, and construction of a single-family dwelling that is not part of a subdivision, site plan, variance, planned development or a permit application covering two or more homes.
We walk through the threshold, what counts as disturbance, and what the Highlands and wetlands rules add on top in do I need a permit to clear land in New Jersey. Every New Jersey threshold that can sit in front of a project, and which office decides each one, is on our excavation permits and thresholds page. If your project also extends sanitary sewer, that is a separate state permit, covered in the Treatment Works Approval walkthrough.
Sources last read 2026-08-22. JWSR is an excavation contractor, not a Soil Conservation District and not your engineer. We publish this because we get asked the question on nearly every job that moves real dirt.
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