Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 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
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
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
7:20A-2.6(a)7.
