§ 291-2. Definitions.

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms not defined in this chapter have the same meaning as those defined in N.J.A.C. 7:29.

CONSTRUCTION

Any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration or similar action of buildings or structures.

dBC

The sound level as measured using the "C" weighting network with a sound level meter meeting the standards set forth in ANSI S1.4-1983 or its successors. The unit of reporting is dBC. The "C" weighting network is more sensitive to low frequencies than is the "A" weighting network.

DEMOLITION

Any dismantling, destruction or removal of buildings, structures, or roadways.

DEPARTMENT

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

EMERGENCY WORK

Any work or action necessary at the site of an emergency to restore or deliver essential services including, but not limited to, repairing water, gas, electricity, telephone, sewer facilities, or public transportation facilities, removing fallen trees on public rights-of-way, dredging navigational waterways, or abating life-threatening conditions or a state of emergency declared by a governing agency.

IMPULSIVE SOUND

Either a single pressure peak or a single burst (multiple pressure peaks) that has a duration of less than one second.

MINOR VIOLATION

A violation that is not the result of the purposeful, reckless or criminally negligent conduct of the alleged violator; and/or the activity or condition constituting the violation has not been the subject of an enforcement action by any authorized local, county or state enforcement agency against the violator within the immediately preceding 12 months for the same or substantially similar violation.

MOTOR VEHICLE

Any vehicle that is propelled other than by human or animal power on land.

MUFFLER

A properly functioning sound dissipative device or system for abating the sound on engines or equipment where such device is part of the normal configuration of the equipment.

MULTI-DWELLING UNIT BUILDING

Any building comprising two or more dwelling units, including, but not limited to, apartments, condominiums, co-ops, multiple-family houses, townhouses, and attached residences.

MULTI-USE PROPERTY

Any distinct parcel of land that is used for more than one category of activity. Examples include, but are not limited to:

A. 

A commercial, residential, industrial or public service property having boilers, incinerators, elevators, automatic garage doors, air conditioners, laundry rooms, utility provisions, or health and recreational facilities, or other similar devices or areas, either in the interior or on the exterior of the building, which may be a source of elevated sound levels at another category on the same distinct parcel of land; or

B. 

A building, which is both commercial (usually on the ground floor) and residential property, located above, below or otherwise adjacent to.

NOISE CONTROL INVESTIGATOR (NCI)

An employee of a municipality, county or regional health commission that has a Department-approved model noise control ordinance and the employee has not received noise enforcement training as specified by the Department in N.J.A.C. 7:29. However, they are knowledgeable about their model noise ordinance and enforcement procedures. A Noise Control Investigator may only enforce sections of the chapter that do not require the use of a sound level meter. The employee must be acting within his or her designated jurisdiction and must be authorized to issue a summons.

NOISE CONTROL OFFICER (NCO)

An employee of a local, county or regional health agency which is certified pursuant to the County Environmental Health Act (N.J.S.A. 26:3A2-21 et seq.) to perform noise enforcement activities or an employee of a municipality with a Department-approved model noise control ordinance. All NCOs must receive noise enforcement training as specified by the Department in N.J.A.C. 7:29 and is currently certified in noise enforcement. The employee must be acting within his or her designated jurisdiction and must be authorized to issue a summons.

PLAINLY AUDIBLE

Any sound that can be detected by a NCO or an NCI using his or her unaided hearing faculties of normal acuity. As an example, if the sound source under investigation is a portable or vehicular sound amplification or reproduction device, the detection of the rhythmic bass component of the music is sufficient to verify plainly audible sound. The NCO or NCI need not determine the title, specific words, or the artist performing the song.

PRIVATE RIGHT-OF-WAY

Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a nongovernmental entity.

PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY

Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental entity.

PUBLIC SPACE

Any real property or structures thereon that are owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental entity.

REAL PROPERTY LINE

Either (a) the vertical boundary that separates one parcel of property (i.e., lot and block) from another residential or commercial property; (b) the vertical and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling unit that is part of a multi-dwelling unit building; or (c) on a multi-use property as defined herein, the vertical or horizontal boundaries between the two portions of the property on which different categories of activity are being performed (e.g., if the multi-use property is a building which is residential upstairs and commercial downstairs, then the real property line would be the interface between the residential area and the commercial area, or if there is an outdoor sound source such as an HVAC unit on the same parcel of property, the boundary line is the exterior wall of the receiving unit). Note: This definition shall not apply to a commercial source and a commercial receptor which are both located on the same parcel of property (e.g., a strip mall).

SOUND PRODUCTION DEVICE

Any device whose primary function is the production of sound, including, but not limited to, any musical instrument, loudspeaker, radio, television, digital or analog music player, public address system or sound-amplifying equipment.

SOUND REDUCTION DEVICE

Any device, such as a muffler, baffle, shroud, jacket, enclosure, isolator, or dampener provided by the manufacturer with the equipment, or that is otherwise required, that mitigates the sound emissions of the equipment.

WEEKDAY

Any day that is not a federal holiday, and beginning on Monday at 7:00 a.m. and ending on the following Friday at 6:00 p.m.

WEEKENDS

Beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending on the following Monday at 7:00 a.m.