Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) The Department shall
propose TMDLs as amendments to areawide WQM plans and shall establish 303(d) Lists
pursuant to (a)1 through 4 below:
1. The
Department shall publish a notice of the proposed new 303(d) List, or intent to
amend the applicable areawide WQM plans for TMDLs, in the New Jersey Register, on
the Department's website
http://www.nj.gov/dep/wms/bears/generalinfo.htm,
and electronically to entities that have requested electronic notifications from the
Department pursuant to 7:15-1.6(d).
The public notice shall specify the means to access the subject document
electronically or by hard copy and the procedure for submitting comments. The
Department may determine to hold a nonadversarial public hearing in anticipation of
sufficient public interest. If so, the location, time and place of the hearing will
be identified in the notice. If a public hearing is to be held, notice will be
provided at least 30 days prior to the public hearing and the comment period will
remain open until 15 days after the public hearing;
2. The Department may alternatively determine to
hold a nonadversarial public hearing in response to expression of sufficient public
interest, as defined under 7:1D-5.2, received
within 30 days of the publication of the notice in (a)1 above. If the Department
determines to hold a nonadversarial public hearing in response to a request, notice
of the public hearing shall be provided in accordance with (a)1 above. The
Department shall additionally provide notice of the public hearing to those
requesting the hearing;
3. At the
conclusion of the public comment period, the Department will make any appropriate
revisions to the document(s) and prepare a written response to the comments. The
Department shall either:
i. Establish the 303(d)
List or the TMDL as proposed;
ii.
Establish all or portions of the 303(d) List or the TMDL with changes which do not
effectively destroy the value of the public notice regarding the proposed 303(d)
List or TMDL, as applicable; or
iii.
Re-propose in accordance with (a)1 above, all or portions of the 303(d) List or the
TMDL with substantive changes; and
4. The Department shall submit the established
303(d) List or the established TMDL, including the response to comments received, to
the USEPA for approval.
(b)
Upon receipt of a response from USEPA, the Department shall:
1. Amend the document in accordance with USEPA
comments and repropose the 303(d) List or TMDL amendment if USEPA requests
substantive changes that effectively destroy the value of the original public
notice; or
2. Adopt the 303(d) List
document(s) directly or adopt the TMDL documents as an amendment to the areawide WQM
plan by placing a notice in the New Jersey Register and the Department's website at
http://www.nj.gov/dep/wms/bears/generalinfo.htm.
This step constitutes final agency action.
