Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) The Department shall issue a general permit to
authorize a category of surface water, ground water, or indirect discharges,
residual use or disposal practices, or facilities within a geographic area,
described in (b) below, except those otherwise eligible for authorization but which
are authorized pursuant to individual permits or other general permits. The area
shall correspond to existing geographic or political boundaries, such as:
1. Designated planning areas under Sections 208
and 303 of the Federal Act and Section 5 of the "New Jersey Water Quality Planning
Act", 58:11A-1 et seq.;
2. Sewer districts or sewerage agencies;
3. City, county, or State political
boundaries;
4. State highway
systems;
5. Standard metropolitan
statistical areas as defined by the Office of Management and Budget;
6. Urbanized areas as designated by the Bureau of
Census according to criteria in 39 FR 15202 (May 1, 1974); or
7. Any other appropriate division or combination
of boundaries.
(b) A general
permit may be written to regulate within the area described in (a) above, either:
1. Stormwater discharges;
2. Non-contact cooling water discharges;
3. Combined sewer overflows; or
4. A category of discharges other than those
listed in (b)1 through 3 above, if they all:
i.
Involve the same or substantially similar types of operations;
ii. Discharge the same type of wastes or engage in
similar residual use or disposal practices;
iii. Require the same or similar effluent
limitations, operating conditions, or standards for residual use or
disposal;
iv. Require the same or
similar monitoring; and
v. In the
opinion of the Department, are more appropriately controlled under a general permit
than under individual permits.
(c) General permits may be issued, modified,
revoked and reissued, suspended, or revoked in accordance with applicable
requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:14A-15, 16 and 17. The
Department shall publish in the New Jersey Register a notice of administrative
change revising the list of general permits in the table below to reflect any of
these general permit actions. The list in this table is for informational purposes
only. The Department advises prospective applicants to obtain a copy of the most
recent general permit list from the Department's Division of Water Quality at PO Box
029, Trenton, New Jersey 08625, or from the Division's website (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dwq). A copy
of any general permit on the list may be obtained from the same address.
| NJPDES | Discharge | Year |
| Permit
No. | Category | Name of General
Permit | Type<1> | Issued |
| NJ0108308 | I1 | Stormwater Basins at Sanitary
Landfills | DGW | 2007, modified |
| in 2007 |
| NJ0108642 | I2 | Potable Water Treatment
Plant |
| Basins and Drying Beds |
DGW |
2003 |
| NJ0130281 | T1 | Existing Sanitary
Subsurface |
| Disposal Systems |
DGW |
2008 |
| NJ0142051 | LSI | Lined Surface
Impoundment | DGW | 2009 |
| NJ0138622 | R7 | Wood
Recyclers | DGW | 2007 |
| NJ0168416 | K2 | Dental Facilities
Onsite | DGW | 2007 |
| Wastewater Treatment Systems |
| NJ0138631 | R8 | Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operation (CAFO) | DGW/DSW | 2008 |
| NJ0107671 | SM | Scrap Metal Processing/Auto
Recycling | DGW/DSW | 2005 |
| NJ0088315 | 5G2 | Basic Industrial
Stormwater | DGW/DSW | 2007 |
| NJ0141852 | R9 | Tier A Municipal
Stormwater | DGW/DSW | 2009 |
| NJ0141861 | R10 | Tier B Municipal
Stormwater | DGW/DSW | 2009 |
| NJ0141879 | R11 | Public Complex
Stormwater | DGW/DSW | 2009 |
| NJ0141887 | R12 | Highway Agency
Stormwater | DGW/DSW | 2009 |
| NJ0141950 | R13 | Mining and Quarrying
ActivityStormwater | DGW/DSW | 2005, modified |
| in 2007 |
| NJ0088323 | 5G3 | Construction Activity
Stormwater | DSW | 2007, modified |
| in 2009 |
| NJ0108456 | CPM | Concrete Products
Manufacturing Stormwater | DGW/DSW | 2003, modified |
| in 2008 |
| NJ0134791 | R5 | Newark Airport Complex
Stormwater | DSW | 2005 |
| NJ0132721 | R4 | Hot Mix Asphalt Producers
Stormwater | DGW/DSW | 2009 |
| NJ0070203 | CG | Non-contact Cooling
Water | DSW | 2006 |
| NJ0102709 | B4B | Groundwater Petroleum Product
Clean-up | DSW | 2008 |
| NJ0142581 | ABR | Wastewater Beneficial
Reuse | DSW | 2006 |
| NJ0155438 | BGR | Groundwater Remediation
Cleanup | DSW | 2005 |
| NJ0105023 | CSO | Combined Sewer
Systems | DSW | 2004, modified |
| in 2006 |
| NJ0128589 | B6 | Swimming Pool
Discharges | DSW | 1998 |
| NJ0132993 | BG | Hydrostatic Test
Water | DSW | 2005 |
| NJ0134511 | B7 | Construction
Dewatering | DSW | 2005 |
| NJ0105767 | EG | Land Application Food
Processing Residuals | RES | 2003 |
| NJ0132519 | ZG | Residuals Transfer
Facilities | RES | 2004 |
| NJ0132501 | 4G | Residuals--Reed
Beds | RES | 2008 |
| <1> Acronyms identifying "Discharge Type"
have the following meanings: |
| DGW | Discharge to Groundwater |
| DSW | Discharge to Surface Water |
| RES | Residual Use or Disposal |
(d) An
authorization under a general permit shall be obtained as follows:
1. Except as provided in (d)7 and 8 below, persons
seeking authorization under a general permit shall submit to the Department a
written request for authorization. A person who fails to submit a request for
authorization in accordance with the terms of the permit is not authorized to
discharge under the terms of the general permit unless:
i. The general permit, in accordance with (d)7
below, contains a provision that a request for authorization is not required;
or
ii. The Department notifies a person
that the discharge is authorized by a general permit in accordance with (d)8
below.
2. The contents of the
request for authorization shall be specified in the general permit and shall require
the submission of information necessary for adequate program implementation,
including, at a minimum, the legal name and address of the owner and operating
entity, the facility name and address, type of facility or discharges, the receiving
surface or ground water(s) or DTW, and the certification required under (d)3 below.
Unless the general permit specifies otherwise, the request for authorization shall
include all of the forms, information, signatures, and certification(s) that this
chapter requires to be included in an application for a NJPDES permit. The request
for authorization shall also include any other certification specified in the
general permit.
3. In addition to the
information required under (d)2 above, the request for authorization shall include,
when specified in the general permit, a certification that arrangements have been
made for publication, in a daily or weekly newspaper within the area affected by the
facility, of a notice which states that a request for authorization under a general
permit has been submitted pursuant to
7:14A-6.13(d). This
notice shall also identify the general permit under which authorization is sought,
the legal name and address of the owner and operating entity or, the facility name
and address, type of facility or discharges, and the receiving surface or ground
water(s) or DTW. Each general permit shall set forth the form of notice appropriate
to that general permit.
4. General
permits shall specify the deadlines for submitting requests for authorization and
the date(s) when a person is authorized to discharge under the permit.
5. General permits shall specify whether a person
that has submitted a complete and timely request for authorization in accordance
with the general permit, and that is eligible for authorization under the permit, is
authorized to discharge in accordance with the permit either upon:
i. Receipt of the request for authorization by the
Department, after a waiting period specified in the general permit, where
applicable;
ii. On a date specified in
the general permit; or
iii. Upon the
person's receipt of notification of authorization by the Department.
6. Authorization may be suspended,
revoked, or denied in accordance with (j) through (m) below. The Department shall
publish in the DEP Bulletin, or other similar DEP publication, a quarterly report of
each authorization issued under a general permit.
7. Discharges from DTWs, combined sewer overflows,
municipal separate storm sewer systems, primary industrial facilities, and
stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity shall submit a request for
authorization to the Department. Other discharges may, at the discretion of the
Department, be authorized under a general permit without submission of a request for
authorization where the Department finds that a request for authorization
requirement is inappropriate. The Department shall provide in the public notice of
the general permit the reasons for not requiring a request for authorization. In
making such a finding, the Department shall consider:
i. The type of discharges;
ii. The expected nature of the
discharges;
iii. The potential for toxic
and conventional pollutants in the discharges;
iv. The expected volume of the
discharges;
v. Other means of
identifying discharges authorized by the permit; and
vi. The estimated number of discharges to be
authorized by the permit.
8.
The Department may notify a person that the discharge is authorized by a general
permit, even if the person has not submitted a request for authorization. A person
so notified may nonetheless request an individual permit under (i) below.
9. A general permit may provide for automatic
renewal of authorization when that general permit is reissued, provided the
discharge authorized under the general permit continues to be eligible. If such a
general permit requires a request for authorization under (d)1 above, the most
recently submitted request for authorization is also a timely and complete request
for authorization under the reissued permit (for any permittee who had authorization
under the permit immediately prior to the effective date of the reissued permit),
and the Department shall issue a notice of renewed authorization to the permittee.
i. If the permittee is aware that any information
in that most recently submitted request for authorization is no longer true,
accurate, and/or complete, the permittee shall provide the correct information to
the Department within 90 days after that effective date, if the permittee has not
done so already.
ii. A permittee whose
authorization is renewed under this paragraph may request to be excluded from the
reissued general permit in accordance with (g) below, and may also request a stay of
the application to that permittee of any conditions of the reissued permit in
accordance with 7:14A-17.6.
(e) The Department may require any
permittee authorized by a general permit to apply for and obtain an individual
NJPDES permit or seek and obtain authorization under another general permit. Also,
any person may, in accordance with the procedures set forth at (l)
below, petition the Department to take action under this subsection. An individual
NJPDES permit or another general permit may be required when:
1. There is evidence that the permittee may be a
significant contributor of pollutants. In making this determination, the Department
may consider the location of the discharge, facility, or activity, the size of the
discharge or activity, the quantity and nature of pollutants, the quality of the
receiving waters, and other relevant factors;
2. The permittee is not in compliance with the
conditions of the general permit;
3. A
change has occurred in the availability of demonstrated technology or practices for
the control or abatement of pollutants;
4. Effluent limitation guidelines are promulgated
for the activity authorized by the general permit;
5. A Water Quality Management Plan containing
different requirements applicable to the permittee is adopted;
6. Circumstances have changed since the time of
authorization or the request for authorization such that the discharge is no longer
appropriately controlled under the general permit, or either a temporary or
permanent reduction or elimination of the authorized activity is
necessary;
7. The Department acquires
new information indicating that the permittee otherwise is not eligible for the
general permit according to terms specified in the general permit; or
8. New standards for residual use or disposal are
promulgated for the residual use and disposal practice covered by the general
permit.
(f) To require any
permittee authorized by a general permit to apply for an individual NJPDES permit or
seek authorization under another general permit as provided in (e) above, the
Department shall notify the permittee in writing, as follows:
1. The notice shall include:
i. A brief statement of the reasons for the
determination that an individual permit or authorization under a different general
permit is necessary;
ii. An application
form or the applicable request for authorization form;
iii. A statement setting a time for the permittee
to file the application or the applicable request for authorization; and
iv. A statement that on the effective date of the
individual NJPDES permit or on the date of the permittee's authorization under
another general permit, the individual permittee's authorization under the general
permit shall automatically terminate.
2. The Department may grant additional time for
application for an individual permit or request for authorization, upon request by
the permittee. If a permittee fails to submit in a timely manner an application form
or request for authorization form required by the Department under this subsection,
the permittee's authorization under the general permit will be automatically revoked
at the end of the day specified for submitting the application form or request for
authorization form.
(g) Any
permittee authorized by a general permit may request to be excluded from
authorization under the general permit by applying for an individual NJPDES permit
or for another general permit. The permittee shall submit an application under
7:14A-4.1, or a request for
authorization for the other general permit (if required under (d) above), with
reasons supporting the request. A request for an individual permit shall be
processed under N.J.A.C. 7:14A-15, 16, and 17. A request
for another general permit shall be processed under this section and the terms of
the other general permit. The request shall be granted by the issuing of any
individual permit, or by the issuing of authorization under the other general
permit, if the reasons cited by the permittee are determined to be adequate to
support the request.
(h) When a
permittee authorized by a general NJPDES permit is issued an individual NJPDES
permit for the authorized discharge, or obtains authorization for that discharge
under another general permit, the permittee's authorization under the general permit
is automatically revoked on the effective date of the individual permit or on the
date of the permittee's authorization under another general permit, whichever the
case may be. When an individual NJPDES permit is denied to a permittee authorized by
a general permit, or the permittee is denied authorization under another general
permit, the permittee's authorization under the general permit is automatically
revoked on the date of such denial, unless otherwise specified by the
Department.
(i) If a permittee's
discharge is excluded from a general permit solely because that discharge already is
authorized by an individual permit or authorization under another general permit,
the permittee may request that the individual permit or authorization be revoked or
modified, as appropriate, and that the discharge be authorized by a general permit
identified in that request. The permittee shall submit a request for revocation or
modification, with reasons supporting the request, to the Department. The permittee
shall submit any request for revocation or modification of an individual permit
under N.J.A.C.
7:14A-16, and that request shall be processed
under N.J.A.C.
7:14A-15, 16 and 17. If the Department revokes or
modifies the individual permit or authorization, and if authorization under a
general permit is issued, after the permittee submits any request for authorization
required under (d) above, the permittee shall be authorized under the general
permit. In reviewing such requests, the Department may consider:
1. The location of the discharge;
2. The size of the discharge or
activity;
3. The quantity and nature of
pollutants reaching the surface or ground waters of the State;
4. The quality of the receiving waters;
5. Antibacksliding requirements in
7:14A-13.19, if applicable;
and
6. Any other factors the Department
considers relevant to determining whether the discharge is best regulated under one
permit or the other.
(j) The
Department may suspend or revoke a permittee's authorization under a general permit
for causes specified in
7:14A-16.6. Such suspension or
revocation of authorization is a type of permit suspension or revocation under
7:14A-16.6. A requirement pursuant to
(f) above that a permittee apply for an individual permit or seek authorization
under another general permit is not a revocation within the meaning of
7:14A-16.6, even if the permittee's
authorization is eventually revoked in favor of an individual permit or another
general permit, or is automatically revoked under (f)2 above, as a result of the
permittee's failure to submit in a timely manner an application form or request for
authorization form.
(k) If the
Department directs the permittee to apply for an individual permit or seek
authorization pursuant to another general permit, the permittee may ask the
Department to reconsider its decision by sending a letter to the Commissioner within
the 30 days of the issuance of the initial decision. The letter shall be sent to:
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Office of Administrative Hearings and Dispute Resolution
ATTENTION: Adjudicatory Hearing Requests
401 E. State Street
Mail Code 401-07A
PO Box 420
Trenton, NJ 08625-0420
Both the envelope and the letter shall clearly indicate that it is
a "REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF GENERAL PERMIT DETERMINATION." The Commissioner
may act on the request with 60 days; if the Commissioner fails to take any action
the request shall be deemed denied. In no event shall an order from the Department
directing a permitee to apply for an individual permit or seek authorization under
another general permit (or a denial of a request to reconsider that order) be deemed
final agency action.
(l) The
following requirements apply to petitions filed under (e) above:
1. Any petition shall state clearly and concisely:
i. The name, address, and telephone number of the
petitioner;
ii. The petitioner's
interest in the petition (including any organizational affiliations and any economic
interest);
iii. The name and address of
the permittee whose authorization could be affected by the petition;
iv. The number of the permit under which that
permittee is authorized; and
v. The
reasons why the petition should be granted (including any citations to any relevant
legal authority).
2. The
petitioner shall serve the petition on both the Department and the permittees whose
authorization could be affected by the petition.
3. The permittees whose authorization could be
affected shall have 30 days from the date the petition was served to respond to the
petition. Any response shall be served on both the Department and the petitioner.
The Department thereafter may in its discretion seek further information relevant to
the petition.
4. The Department shall
determine whether to grant the petition based upon materials submitted in accordance
with this subsection and based upon the criteria set forth in (e) above. The
Department shall notify both the petitioner and the permittees whose authorization
is affected by the petition of the Department's determination.
5. Either party may ask the Department to
reconsider its decision regarding a petition by sending a letter to the Commissioner
within 30 days of the issuance of the initial decision. The letter shall be sent to
the Department's Office of Legal Affairs, at the address listed above, and both the
envelope and the letter shall clearly indicate that it is a "REQUEST FOR
RECONSIDERATION OF PETITION DETERMINATION." The Commissioner may act on the request
within 60 days; if the Commissioner fails to take any action the request shall be
deemed denied. It shall be considered final agency action where the ultimate outcome
of the agency proceedings is that the petition is denied by the
Commissioner.
(m) The
following requirements apply to denial of requests for authorization:
1. The Department shall deny a request for
authorization if it determines that the subject discharge is not eligible for the
general permit for which the person has requested authorization.
2. The Department may deny a request for
authorization if it determines that the discharge is not appropriately regulated
under the relevant general permit because of:
i.
Its location;
ii. The size of the
discharge or activity;
iii. The quantity
and nature of pollutants reaching the waters of the State;
iv. The quality of the receiving waters;
or
v. Other relevant factors.
3. If the Department denies a request
for authorization, it shall notify the person of that denial in writing. A person
whose request for authorization has been denied may ask the Department to reconsider
its decision by sending a letter to the Commissioner within 30 days of the issuance
of the initial denial. The letter shall be sent to the Department's Office of Legal
Affairs, at the address listed above, and both the envelope and the letter shall
clearly indicate that it is a "REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF GENERAL PERMIT
DETERMINATION." The Commissioner may act on the request within 60 days; if the
Commissioner fails to take any action the request shall be deemed denied. In no
event shall a denial of a request for authorization, or a request to reconsider that
denial, be deemed final agency action.
(n) An authorization may be transferred to a new
permittee in accordance with the requirements for an automatic transfer at
7:14A-16.2(d).
(o) With the consent of the permittee, the
Department shall revoke an authorization to discharge under a general permit without
following the procedures set forth in
7:14A-15.6, if the discharge has
ceased.
