Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a)
This chapter applies to all persons who have been issued a water usage
certification, and to other persons who are diverting, have the ability to
divert 100,000 or more gallons of water per day for agricultural, aquacultural,
or horticultural purposes, and to all persons who in the future seek approval
to divert 100,000 or more gallons of water per day for agricultural,
aquacultural, or horticultural purposes except as specified below:
1. This chapter does not apply to persons who
divert salt water except where the Department determines that a salt water
diversion and usage may affect the utilization of fresh water.
2. Water usage certifications shall not be
required for a person receiving water from a public water system within the
scope of an existing water supply allocation permit. Modification of a
certification shall be required for diversions or transfers of water from a
water usage certification to another use not within the scope of an existing
water usage certification regardless of the same or different ownership of the
property.
i. Transfers of water from an
existing water usage certification to a non-agricultural use is
prohibited.
3. An
applicant with a total demand of 100,000 or more gallons of water per day from
one or cumulatively from multiple sources may be issued a water diversion
allocation from ground and surface water sources by a single water usage
certification in cases where:
i. The
agricultural, aquacultural, or horticultural site or group of properties under
common ownership or under a single authorized representative are contiguous to
each other;
ii. The noncontiguous
agricultural, aquacultural, or horticultural site or group of properties under
common ownership or under a single authorized representative are all located
within the same municipality; or
iii. The noncontiguous agricultural,
aquacultural, or horticultural site or group of properties under common
ownership or under a single authorized representative lie within an area of a
square two miles on a side.
4. An application for a major modification of
a water usage certification, as provided for under
N.J.A.C.
7:20A-2.2, 2.3 and 2.5, is not required for
the installation of a replacement well for an existing well included in an
existing water usage certification.
i. Prior
to the installation of the replacement well, the holder of the existing water
usage certification shall provide the following information to the appropriate
county agricultural agent for the replacement well and the existing well:
(1) Location of the replacement well and the
existing well on a map prepared in accordance with
N.J.A.C.
7:20A-2.3(e);
(2) Pump capacity and depth; and
(3) State of New Jersey assigned well permit
number and local name or number.
ii. The holder of the water usage
certification shall provide the State of New Jersey assigned well permit number
for the existing well that is to be sealed to the person sealing the well. The
existing well shall be sealed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:9D-3.
iii. The holder of a water usage
certification shall notify the appropriate county agricultural agent of the
installation of the replacement well within 30 days after the replacement well
was installed.
iv. The county
agricultural agent shall submit to the Department the information required
under (a)4i above within 30 days after notification by the holder of the
certification of the installation of the replacement well.
(b) An applicant shall be
considered to have diverted 100,000 or more gallons of water per day for
agricultural, aquacultural, or horticultural purposes if the applicant proposes
to divert 100,000 or more gallons of water per day, or existing documentation
establishes that the applicant's proposed or actual total gallons of water
diverted for agricultural, aquacultural, or horticultural purposes during the
maximum month of usage in the three-year period immediately preceding the date
the application was submitted, when divided by the total number of days in the
maximum month of usage, equals 100,000 or more gallons of water per
day.
(c) An applicant whose
diversion source is located within an area of critical water supply concern is
subject to this chapter and, in addition, to the water allocation management
requirements for areas of critical water supply concern set forth in the Water
Supply Allocation Permit rules at N.J.A.C. 7:19-8.
(d) A water usage certification or water
usage registration is issued to the owner or authorized representative of a
specific farm management unit and remains in effect for that farm management
unit until such time as the certification or registration is cancelled or
modified by the owner or authorized representative of the farm management unit,
expires without renewal, or is revoked by the Department pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
7:20A-2.6(a)7.
