New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 26C - ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED SITES
Subchapter 9 - ENFORCEMENT
Section 7:26C-9.4 - Grace period applicability; procedures
Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 7:26C-9.4
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a) Each violation identified in the penalty table at (c) below by an "M" in the Type of Violation column, for which conditions at (c) below are satisfied, is a minor violation and is subject to a grace period, the length of which is indicated in the column with the heading "Grace Period."
(b) Each violation identified in the penalty table at (c) below by an "NM" in the Type of Violation column is a non-minor violation and is not subject to a grace period.
(c) The Department shall provide a grace period for any violation identified as minor under this section, provided that the following conditions are met:
1. The
violation is not the result of the purposeful, knowing, reckless or criminally
negligent conduct of the person responsible for the violation;
2. The activity or condition constituting the
violation has existed for less than 12 months prior to the date of discovery by
the Department;
3. The person
responsible for the violation has not been identified in a previous enforcement
action by the Department as responsible for a violation of the same requirement
within the preceding 12-month period; and
4. The person responsible for the violation
has not been identified by the Department as responsible for the same or
substantially similar violations at any time that reasonably indicates a
pattern of illegal conduct and not isolated incidents on the part of the person
responsible.
(d) For a violation determined to be minor under (c) above, the following provisions apply:
1. The Department will issue a notice
of violation to the person responsible for a minor violation that:
i. Identifies the condition or activity that
constitutes the violation and the specific statutory and regulatory provision
or other requirement violated; and
ii. Specifies that a penalty may be imposed
unless the minor violation is corrected and compliance is achieved within the
specified grace period.
2. If the person responsible for the minor
violation corrects that violation and demonstrates, in accordance with (d)3
below, that compliance has been achieved within the specified grace period, the
Department shall not impose a penalty for the violation and in addition, shall
not consider the minor violation as an offense pursuant to
N.J.A.C. 7:26C-9.2(b).
3. The person responsible for a violation
shall submit to the Department, at the address indicated in the notice of
violation, before the end of the specified grace period, written information,
certified in accordance with
N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.5(b)1, and
signed by the person responsible for conducting the remediation, detailing the
corrective action taken or compliance achieved.
4. If the person responsible for the minor
violation seeks additional time beyond the specified grace period to achieve
compliance, the person shall request an extension of the specified grace
period. The request shall be made in writing, certified in accordance with
N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.5, no later than one week
before the end of the specified grace period and shall include the anticipated
time needed to achieve compliance, the specific cause or causes of the delay,
and any measures taken or to be taken to minimize the time needed to achieve
compliance. If the person is unable to meet this deadline due to extenuating
circumstances, the person may still request the extension, which request shall
explain the reason for the delay in requesting the extension. The Department
may, at its discretion, approve in writing an extension, which shall not exceed
90 days, to accommodate the anticipated delay in achieving compliance. In
exercising its discretion to approve a request for an extension, the Department
may consider the following:
i. Whether the
violator has taken reasonable measures to achieve compliance in a timely
manner;
ii. Whether the delay has
been caused by circumstances beyond the control of the violator;
iii. Whether the delay will pose an
additional risk to the public health, safety and the environment; and
iv. Whether the delay will materially or
substantially undermine or impair the goals of the regulatory
program.
5. If the
person responsible for the minor violation fails to demonstrate to the
Department that the violation has been corrected and compliance achieved within
the specified grace period, or within the approved extension, if any, the
Department may, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, impose a
penalty that is retroactive to the date the notice of violation was issued
pursuant to (d)1 above.
6. The
person responsible for a minor violation shall not request more than one
extension of a grace period specified in a notice of violation.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Jersey may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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