Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) A person may request a hearing to contest:
1. A denial or revocation of an UST registration
certificate, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14B-2.6
;
2. A denial of a permit,
pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14B-10.8
;
3. A denial of an ordinance
adoption issued pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
7:14B-11; or
4. A denial or revocation of a certification of an
individual or business firm, pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
7:14B-13 or 16.
(b) Within 20 calendar days after receiving the
document for which a hearing is sought, the person requesting a hearing shall send a
completed Adjudicatory Hearing Request Checklist and a written request for a hearing
to:
1. 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, New Jersey 08625-0420; and
2. The Underground Storage Tank program's address
set forth on the Adjudicatory Hearing Request Checklist.
(c) The person requesting a hearing shall include
with the completed Adjudicatory Hearing Request Checklist the following information:
1. The name, address, telephone number, and e-mail
address of:
i. The person the Department named in
the document for which the hearing is sought;
ii. A contact person or authorized representative,
if the person the Department named in the document is other than an individual;
and
iii. The person's attorney, if
any;
2. The date the person
received the document for which a hearing is sought;
3. A copy of the document for which a hearing is
sought, pursuant to (a) above;
4. An
admission, a denial, or an averment of insufficient knowledge or information of the
findings listed in the document being contested, as follows:
i. If the person is without knowledge or
information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of a specific finding, the
person shall so state and this shall have the effect of a denial;
ii. If a person intends to deny any finding or
portion of the finding in the document:
(1) The
person shall identify the finding or portion of the finding that is denied. A
general denial of some or all of the findings shall have the effect of an admission
of each finding generally denied;
(2)
For each finding or portion of a finding the person denies, the person shall explain
the factual and legal basis of the denial. Any failure to provide a factual and
legal basis for a denial shall have the effect of an admission of the finding;
and
(3) The person shall ensure that
each denial fairly meets the substance of the finding or portion of the finding
denied. A denial that does not meet the substance of the finding denied shall have
the effect of an admission of the finding;
iii. If a person fails to either admit or deny any
specific finding or portion of a finding, this shall have the effect of an admission
of that finding.
5. A list of
all factual and legal issues that the person is contesting, with each defense
position stated in short and plain terms;
6. If the person's response to the Department
allegation of noncompliance is that the person has complied with some or all of the
applicable requirements, a description of all such compliance, including specific
citation to each applicable requirement with which the person alleges it has
complied, the facts and circumstances of the compliance, including a copy of any
submission that is required by that applicable requirement, or otherwise provide
evidence of compliance and the date of compliance;
7. Documents or information supporting the request
for a hearing, and specific reference to or copies of other written documents relied
on to support the request;
8. An
estimate of the time required for the hearing (in days and/or hours); and
9. A request, if necessary, for a barrier-free
hearing location for physically disabled persons.
(d) If the Department does not receive the request
for a hearing within the time prescribed at (b) above, or if the request does not
include the information required in (c) above, the Department shall deny the request
for a hearing.
(e) An adjudicatory
hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act,
N.J.S.A. 52:14B-12 et seq.,
and the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C.
1:1.
(f) Nothing in this
section shall be construed to provide a right to an adjudicatory hearing in
contravention of N.J.S.A. 52:14B-3.1 through
3.3.
