N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-6.13

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:14A-6.13 - General permits

(a) The Department shall issue a general permit to authorize a category of surface water, ground water, or indirect discharges, residual use or disposal practices, or facilities within a geographic area, described in (b) below, except those otherwise eligible for authorization but which are authorized pursuant to individual permits or other general permits. The area shall correspond to existing geographic or political boundaries, such as:

1. Designated planning areas under Sections 208 and 303 of the Federal Act and Section 5 of the "New Jersey Water Quality Planning Act", 58:11A-1 et seq.;

2. Sewer districts or sewerage agencies;

3. City, county, or State political boundaries;

4. State highway systems;

5. Standard metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the Office of Management and Budget;

6. Urbanized areas as designated by the Bureau of Census according to criteria in 39 FR 15202 (May 1, 1974); or

7. Any other appropriate division or combination of boundaries.

(b) A general permit may be written to regulate within the area described in (a) above, either:

1. Stormwater discharges;

2. Non-contact cooling water discharges;

3. Combined sewer overflows; or

4. A category of discharges other than those listed in (b)1 through 3 above, if they all:

i. Involve the same or substantially similar types of operations;

ii. Discharge the same type of wastes or engage in similar residual use or disposal practices;

iii. Require the same or similar effluent limitations, operating conditions, or standards for residual use or disposal;

iv. Require the same or similar monitoring; and

v. In the opinion of the Department, are more appropriately controlled under a general permit than under individual permits.

(c) General permits may be issued, modified, revoked and reissued, suspended, or revoked in accordance with applicable requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:14A-15, 16 and 17. The Department shall publish in the New Jersey Register a notice of administrative change revising the list of general permits in the table below to reflect any of these general permit actions. The list in this table is for informational purposes only. The Department advises prospective applicants to obtain a copy of the most recent general permit list from the Department's Division of Water Quality at PO Box 029, Trenton, New Jersey 08625, or from the Division's website (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dwq). A copy of any general permit on the list may be obtained from the same address.

NJPDES	Discharge	Year
Permit No.	Category	Name of General Permit	Type<1>	Issued
NJ0108308	I1	Stormwater Basins at Sanitary Landfills	DGW	2007, modified
in 2007
NJ0108642	I2	Potable Water Treatment Plant
Basins and Drying Beds	DGW	2003
NJ0130281	T1	Existing Sanitary Subsurface
Disposal Systems	DGW	2008
NJ0142051	LSI	Lined Surface Impoundment	DGW	2009
NJ0138622	R7	Wood Recyclers	DGW	2007
NJ0168416	K2	Dental Facilities Onsite	DGW	2007
Wastewater Treatment Systems
NJ0138631	R8	Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)	DGW/DSW	2008
NJ0107671	SM	Scrap Metal Processing/Auto Recycling	DGW/DSW	2005
NJ0088315	5G2	Basic Industrial Stormwater	DGW/DSW	2007
NJ0141852	R9	Tier A Municipal Stormwater	DGW/DSW	2009
NJ0141861	R10	Tier B Municipal Stormwater	DGW/DSW	2009
NJ0141879	R11	Public Complex Stormwater	DGW/DSW	2009
NJ0141887	R12	Highway Agency Stormwater	DGW/DSW	2009
NJ0141950	R13	Mining and Quarrying ActivityStormwater	DGW/DSW	2005, modified
in 2007
NJ0088323	5G3	Construction Activity Stormwater	DSW	2007, modified
in 2009
NJ0108456	CPM	Concrete Products Manufacturing Stormwater	DGW/DSW	2003, modified
in 2008
NJ0134791	R5	Newark Airport Complex Stormwater	DSW	2005
NJ0132721	R4	Hot Mix Asphalt Producers Stormwater	DGW/DSW	2009
NJ0070203	CG	Non-contact Cooling Water	DSW	2006
NJ0102709	B4B	Groundwater Petroleum Product Clean-up	DSW	2008
NJ0142581	ABR	Wastewater Beneficial Reuse	DSW	2006
NJ0155438	BGR	Groundwater Remediation Cleanup	DSW	2005
NJ0105023	CSO	Combined Sewer Systems	DSW	2004, modified
in 2006
NJ0128589	B6	Swimming Pool Discharges	DSW	1998
NJ0132993	BG	Hydrostatic Test Water	DSW	2005
NJ0134511	B7	Construction Dewatering	DSW	2005
NJ0105767	EG	Land Application Food Processing Residuals	RES	2003
NJ0132519	ZG	Residuals Transfer Facilities	RES	2004
NJ0132501	4G	Residuals--Reed Beds	RES	2008
<1> Acronyms identifying "Discharge Type" have the following meanings:
DGW	Discharge to Groundwater
DSW	Discharge to Surface Water
RES	Residual Use or Disposal

(d) An authorization under a general permit shall be obtained as follows:

1. Except as provided in (d)7 and 8 below, persons seeking authorization under a general permit shall submit to the Department a written request for authorization. A person who fails to submit a request for authorization in accordance with the terms of the permit is not authorized to discharge under the terms of the general permit unless:

i. The general permit, in accordance with (d)7 below, contains a provision that a request for authorization is not required; or

ii. The Department notifies a person that the discharge is authorized by a general permit in accordance with (d)8 below.

2. The contents of the request for authorization shall be specified in the general permit and shall require the submission of information necessary for adequate program implementation, including, at a minimum, the legal name and address of the owner and operating entity, the facility name and address, type of facility or discharges, the receiving surface or ground water(s) or DTW, and the certification required under (d)3 below. Unless the general permit specifies otherwise, the request for authorization shall include all of the forms, information, signatures, and certification(s) that this chapter requires to be included in an application for a NJPDES permit. The request for authorization shall also include any other certification specified in the general permit.

3. In addition to the information required under (d)2 above, the request for authorization shall include, when specified in the general permit, a certification that arrangements have been made for publication, in a daily or weekly newspaper within the area affected by the facility, of a notice which states that a request for authorization under a general permit has been submitted pursuant to 7:14A-6.13(d). This notice shall also identify the general permit under which authorization is sought, the legal name and address of the owner and operating entity or, the facility name and address, type of facility or discharges, and the receiving surface or ground water(s) or DTW. Each general permit shall set forth the form of notice appropriate to that general permit.

4. General permits shall specify the deadlines for submitting requests for authorization and the date(s) when a person is authorized to discharge under the permit.

5. General permits shall specify whether a person that has submitted a complete and timely request for authorization in accordance with the general permit, and that is eligible for authorization under the permit, is authorized to discharge in accordance with the permit either upon:

i. Receipt of the request for authorization by the Department, after a waiting period specified in the general permit, where applicable;

ii. On a date specified in the general permit; or

iii. Upon the person's receipt of notification of authorization by the Department.

6. Authorization may be suspended, revoked, or denied in accordance with (j) through (m) below. The Department shall publish in the DEP Bulletin, or other similar DEP publication, a quarterly report of each authorization issued under a general permit.

7. Discharges from DTWs, combined sewer overflows, municipal separate storm sewer systems, primary industrial facilities, and stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity shall submit a request for authorization to the Department. Other discharges may, at the discretion of the Department, be authorized under a general permit without submission of a request for authorization where the Department finds that a request for authorization requirement is inappropriate. The Department shall provide in the public notice of the general permit the reasons for not requiring a request for authorization. In making such a finding, the Department shall consider:

i. The type of discharges;

ii. The expected nature of the discharges;

iii. The potential for toxic and conventional pollutants in the discharges;

iv. The expected volume of the discharges;

v. Other means of identifying discharges authorized by the permit; and

vi. The estimated number of discharges to be authorized by the permit.

8. The Department may notify a person that the discharge is authorized by a general permit, even if the person has not submitted a request for authorization. A person so notified may nonetheless request an individual permit under (i) below.

9. A general permit may provide for automatic renewal of authorization when that general permit is reissued, provided the discharge authorized under the general permit continues to be eligible. If such a general permit requires a request for authorization under (d)1 above, the most recently submitted request for authorization is also a timely and complete request for authorization under the reissued permit (for any permittee who had authorization under the permit immediately prior to the effective date of the reissued permit), and the Department shall issue a notice of renewed authorization to the permittee.

i. If the permittee is aware that any information in that most recently submitted request for authorization is no longer true, accurate, and/or complete, the permittee shall provide the correct information to the Department within 90 days after that effective date, if the permittee has not done so already.

ii. A permittee whose authorization is renewed under this paragraph may request to be excluded from the reissued general permit in accordance with (g) below, and may also request a stay of the application to that permittee of any conditions of the reissued permit in accordance with 7:14A-17.6.

(e) The Department may require any permittee authorized by a general permit to apply for and obtain an individual NJPDES permit or seek and obtain authorization under another general permit. Also, any person may, in accordance with the procedures set forth at (l) below, petition the Department to take action under this subsection. An individual NJPDES permit or another general permit may be required when:

1. There is evidence that the permittee may be a significant contributor of pollutants. In making this determination, the Department may consider the location of the discharge, facility, or activity, the size of the discharge or activity, the quantity and nature of pollutants, the quality of the receiving waters, and other relevant factors;

2. The permittee is not in compliance with the conditions of the general permit;

3. A change has occurred in the availability of demonstrated technology or practices for the control or abatement of pollutants;

4. Effluent limitation guidelines are promulgated for the activity authorized by the general permit;

5. A Water Quality Management Plan containing different requirements applicable to the permittee is adopted;

6. Circumstances have changed since the time of authorization or the request for authorization such that the discharge is no longer appropriately controlled under the general permit, or either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the authorized activity is necessary;

7. The Department acquires new information indicating that the permittee otherwise is not eligible for the general permit according to terms specified in the general permit; or

8. New standards for residual use or disposal are promulgated for the residual use and disposal practice covered by the general permit.

(f) To require any permittee authorized by a general permit to apply for an individual NJPDES permit or seek authorization under another general permit as provided in (e) above, the Department shall notify the permittee in writing, as follows:

1. The notice shall include:

i. A brief statement of the reasons for the determination that an individual permit or authorization under a different general permit is necessary;

ii. An application form or the applicable request for authorization form;

iii. A statement setting a time for the permittee to file the application or the applicable request for authorization; and

iv. A statement that on the effective date of the individual NJPDES permit or on the date of the permittee's authorization under another general permit, the individual permittee's authorization under the general permit shall automatically terminate.

2. The Department may grant additional time for application for an individual permit or request for authorization, upon request by the permittee. If a permittee fails to submit in a timely manner an application form or request for authorization form required by the Department under this subsection, the permittee's authorization under the general permit will be automatically revoked at the end of the day specified for submitting the application form or request for authorization form.

(g) Any permittee authorized by a general permit may request to be excluded from authorization under the general permit by applying for an individual NJPDES permit or for another general permit. The permittee shall submit an application under 7:14A-4.1, or a request for authorization for the other general permit (if required under (d) above), with reasons supporting the request. A request for an individual permit shall be processed under N.J.A.C. 7:14A-15, 16, and 17. A request for another general permit shall be processed under this section and the terms of the other general permit. The request shall be granted by the issuing of any individual permit, or by the issuing of authorization under the other general permit, if the reasons cited by the permittee are determined to be adequate to support the request.

(h) When a permittee authorized by a general NJPDES permit is issued an individual NJPDES permit for the authorized discharge, or obtains authorization for that discharge under another general permit, the permittee's authorization under the general permit is automatically revoked on the effective date of the individual permit or on the date of the permittee's authorization under another general permit, whichever the case may be. When an individual NJPDES permit is denied to a permittee authorized by a general permit, or the permittee is denied authorization under another general permit, the permittee's authorization under the general permit is automatically revoked on the date of such denial, unless otherwise specified by the Department.

(i) If a permittee's discharge is excluded from a general permit solely because that discharge already is authorized by an individual permit or authorization under another general permit, the permittee may request that the individual permit or authorization be revoked or modified, as appropriate, and that the discharge be authorized by a general permit identified in that request. The permittee shall submit a request for revocation or modification, with reasons supporting the request, to the Department. The permittee shall submit any request for revocation or modification of an individual permit under N.J.A.C. 7:14A-16, and that request shall be processed under N.J.A.C. 7:14A-15, 16 and 17. If the Department revokes or modifies the individual permit or authorization, and if authorization under a general permit is issued, after the permittee submits any request for authorization required under (d) above, the permittee shall be authorized under the general permit. In reviewing such requests, the Department may consider:

1. The location of the discharge;

2. The size of the discharge or activity;

3. The quantity and nature of pollutants reaching the surface or ground waters of the State;

4. The quality of the receiving waters;

5. Antibacksliding requirements in 7:14A-13.19, if applicable; and

6. Any other factors the Department considers relevant to determining whether the discharge is best regulated under one permit or the other.

(j) The Department may suspend or revoke a permittee's authorization under a general permit for causes specified in 7:14A-16.6. Such suspension or revocation of authorization is a type of permit suspension or revocation under 7:14A-16.6. A requirement pursuant to (f) above that a permittee apply for an individual permit or seek authorization under another general permit is not a revocation within the meaning of 7:14A-16.6, even if the permittee's authorization is eventually revoked in favor of an individual permit or another general permit, or is automatically revoked under (f)2 above, as a result of the permittee's failure to submit in a timely manner an application form or request for authorization form.

(k) If the Department directs the permittee to apply for an individual permit or seek authorization pursuant to another general permit, the permittee may ask the Department to reconsider its decision by sending a letter to the Commissioner within the 30 days of the issuance of the initial decision. The letter shall be sent to:

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, NJ 08625-0420

Both the envelope and the letter shall clearly indicate that it is a "REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF GENERAL PERMIT DETERMINATION." The Commissioner may act on the request with 60 days; if the Commissioner fails to take any action the request shall be deemed denied. In no event shall an order from the Department directing a permitee to apply for an individual permit or seek authorization under another general permit (or a denial of a request to reconsider that order) be deemed final agency action.

(l) The following requirements apply to petitions filed under (e) above:

1. Any petition shall state clearly and concisely:

i. The name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner;

ii. The petitioner's interest in the petition (including any organizational affiliations and any economic interest);

iii. The name and address of the permittee whose authorization could be affected by the petition;

iv. The number of the permit under which that permittee is authorized; and

v. The reasons why the petition should be granted (including any citations to any relevant legal authority).

2. The petitioner shall serve the petition on both the Department and the permittees whose authorization could be affected by the petition.

3. The permittees whose authorization could be affected shall have 30 days from the date the petition was served to respond to the petition. Any response shall be served on both the Department and the petitioner. The Department thereafter may in its discretion seek further information relevant to the petition.

4. The Department shall determine whether to grant the petition based upon materials submitted in accordance with this subsection and based upon the criteria set forth in (e) above. The Department shall notify both the petitioner and the permittees whose authorization is affected by the petition of the Department's determination.

5. Either party may ask the Department to reconsider its decision regarding a petition by sending a letter to the Commissioner within 30 days of the issuance of the initial decision. The letter shall be sent to the Department's Office of Legal Affairs, at the address listed above, and both the envelope and the letter shall clearly indicate that it is a "REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF PETITION DETERMINATION." The Commissioner may act on the request within 60 days; if the Commissioner fails to take any action the request shall be deemed denied. It shall be considered final agency action where the ultimate outcome of the agency proceedings is that the petition is denied by the Commissioner.

(m) The following requirements apply to denial of requests for authorization:

1. The Department shall deny a request for authorization if it determines that the subject discharge is not eligible for the general permit for which the person has requested authorization.

2. The Department may deny a request for authorization if it determines that the discharge is not appropriately regulated under the relevant general permit because of:

i. Its location;

ii. The size of the discharge or activity;

iii. The quantity and nature of pollutants reaching the waters of the State;

iv. The quality of the receiving waters; or

v. Other relevant factors.

3. If the Department denies a request for authorization, it shall notify the person of that denial in writing. A person whose request for authorization has been denied may ask the Department to reconsider its decision by sending a letter to the Commissioner within 30 days of the issuance of the initial denial. The letter shall be sent to the Department's Office of Legal Affairs, at the address listed above, and both the envelope and the letter shall clearly indicate that it is a "REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF GENERAL PERMIT DETERMINATION." The Commissioner may act on the request within 60 days; if the Commissioner fails to take any action the request shall be deemed denied. In no event shall a denial of a request for authorization, or a request to reconsider that denial, be deemed final agency action.

(n) An authorization may be transferred to a new permittee in accordance with the requirements for an automatic transfer at 7:14A-16.2(d).

(o) With the consent of the permittee, the Department shall revoke an authorization to discharge under a general permit without following the procedures set forth in 7:14A-15.6, if the discharge has ceased.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-6.13

Amended by R.2002 d.34, effective 1/22/2002.
See: 33 N.J.R. 3636(a), 34 N.J.R. 595(a).
Rewrote (c).
Petition for Rulemaking.
See: 35 N.J.R. 2954(a), 4136(b).
Amended by R.2004 d.47, effective 2/2/2004.
See: 35 N.J.R. 169(a), 35 N.J.R. 1331(a), 36 N.J.R. 813(a).
In (c), rewrote table; in (d)7, added "municipal separate storm sewer systems,".
Administrative change.
See: 36 N.J.R. 4131(b).
Administrative change.
See: 38 N.J.R. 5153(a).
Amended by R.2009 d.7, effective 1/5/2009.
See: 40 N.J.R. 1478(a), 41 N.J.R. 142(a).
Rewrote the table in (c).
Administrative change.
See: 41 N.J.R. 2789(a).

Administrative Change, 55 N.J.R. 528(a), effective 2/23/2023