N.J. Admin. Code § 7:50-10.22

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024

Section 7:50-10.22 - General standards

(a) Alternate design pilot program treatment systems shall be authorized for residential use in all municipalities provided that the following standards are met:

1. The proposed lot size and density is consistent with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:50-5 and the applicable municipal land use ordinance that has been certified by the Commission pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-3.

2. The manufacturer of the alternate design pilot program treatment system has submitted to the Executive Director and the Executive Director has approved:

i. Detailed specifications and an engineering design for the system. Separate specifications and designs may be submitted for systems serving an individual dwelling and for community on-site systems. These specifications and designs may only be approved by the Executive Director if they are determined to be consistent with the description of the relevant technology contained in the report prepared by Anish R. Jantrania, Ph.D., P.E., M.B.A. entitled "Performance Expectations for Selected On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems," dated December, 2000, incorporated herein by reference, and available at the principal office of the Commission or are determined to be consistent with record documents submitted for USEPA ETV and/or NSF/ANSI Standard 245 testing. Subsequent to that approval, manufacturers may submit modified specifications or engineering designs for the system which may then be utilized if the Executive Director determines the modifications are consistent with the originally approved specifications and engineering design and the modified system will be at least as effective as the originally approved system;

ii. A description of the automatic dialing system required at (a)5ii below, and a description of how and when that system will function;

iii. A monitoring protocol that ensures that sufficient data will be obtained to enable a determination of whether the technology complies with the two ppm nitrogen requirement and the water quality standards contained in N.J.A.C. 7:50-6, Part VIII. For each system being monitored, the protocol will provide at a minimum that the effluent will be sampled at least quarterly for a period of at least three years and that at least the following parameters will be analyzed: total nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen, ammonia-nitrogen, and total kjeldahl nitrogen. Total nitrogen shall be reported as the sum of nitrate-nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen, plus total kjeldahl nitrogen from samples collected during a common sampling date. Where laboratory results indicate ammonia-nitrogen concentration to be greater than total kjeldahl nitrogen concentrations, the results will not be accepted by the Commission and re-sampling for all required parameters shall be required;

iv. An operation and maintenance manual;

v. A sample warranty and maintenance contract; and

vi. A sample deed notice that is consistent with (a)5ix below.

3. Subject to being increased during the pilot program based on the results of a hearing conducted pursuant to (a)4 below, each USEPA ETV or NSF/ANSI Standard 245 technology approved by the Commission for participation in the pilot program pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-10.23(b) shall be located on a parcel containing sufficient land area to comply with the two parts per million nitrogen requirement and the water quality standards contained at N.J.A.C. 7:50-6, Part VIII, as calculated using the Pinelands Septic Dilution Model and the expected effluent total nitrogen value for the technology based upon the findings of the USEPA ETV and/ or NSF/ANSI Standard 245 test data.

4. The Executive Director shall periodically report to the Commission on the installation, maintenance, and performance data for each technology. The Executive Director shall also report to the Commission if he or she determines there is a significant installation, maintenance, or performance issue with one or more technologies that needs to be addressed. Copies of any report issued by the Executive Director shall be provided to each manufacturer and agent of a technology that is discussed in that report. If the report determines either that a manufacturer, or its agent, is not adhering to any of the requirements of this pilot program or that any one of the technologies, based on maintenance or installation issues or on evaluation of all the monitoring results for that technology under this pilot program, is not meeting the minimum water quality standards at N.J.A.C. 7:50-6.83 or the two parts per million total nitrogen requirement at (a)5xii below on all lots smaller than 3.2 acres or on lots smaller than a particular size because the effluent exiting the system is higher than was anticipated in establishing the lot sizes at (a)3 above:

i. Any subsequent local approvals for a development that is proposing use of said technology shall be determined to raise a substantial issue and shall be reviewed by the Commission pursuant to the provisions set forth in 7:50-4.31 through 4.42. Notice of any hearing scheduled pursuant to this paragraph and any subsequent determination on the application made by the Executive Director or the Commission pursuant to 7:50-4.31 through 4.42 shall be provided to the manufacturers of said system and any agent designated by said manufacturer. The annual or interim report issued by the Executive Director shall be part of the hearing record in any hearing conducted pursuant to this paragraph; and

ii. The Executive Director may impose an immediate suspension on all new installations of said technology until such time as the manufacturer or its agent remedies substandard performance and any other identified compliance issues. The Executive Director shall publish notice of such action in the New Jersey Register and on the Commission's website within 60 days of imposing such suspension.

5. Conditions for use of alternate design pilot program treatment systems are as follows:

i. No more than 10 alternate design pilot program septic systems utilizing the same technology shall be installed in the development of any parcel if those systems are each serving one single family dwelling, except where the Executive Director determines that the use of additional pilot program systems on the parcel would not substantially alter the character of the certified zoning plan of the municipality in which the parcel is located, taking into account existing and planned infrastructure and the role of the parcel in the Pinelands Development Credit program. Should such a determination be made, the additional lots may be serviced, proportionately, by those alternate design pilot program technologies which have been certified by the Executive Director pursuant to (a)2 above and are commercially available for use in the Pinelands;

ii. Each system shall be equipped with a functioning alarm system that conforms to the requirements at N.J.A.C. 7:50-6.84(a)5iv(2)(G). The manufacturer or its agent shall report to the Executive Director each such malfunction within five days of its occurrence, describing the nature of the mechanical malfunction, the measures taken to correct the malfunction, and the success of those measures;

iii. Each system shall be designed and constructed so that samples of effluent leaving the alternate design pilot program septic system can be readily taken to confirm the performance of the technology;

iv. The manufacturer or its agent shall be responsible for providing resources for the collection and analysis of effluent samples in accordance with the protocol approved pursuant to (a)2iii above. The samples shall be taken from each system that is installed unless the manufacturer or agent of a particular technology demonstrates, and the Executive Director concurs, that samples from a specified representative number of systems of that technology will provide sufficient information to enable an evaluation of that technology. Each sample shall be analyzed by a New Jersey certified laboratory and the results of each analysis shall be reported to the Executive Director by the manufacturer or its agent within five days of receipt from the certified laboratory. The manufacturer or its agent shall also submit to the Executive Director a quarterly evaluation of all monitoring conducted prior to that evaluation;

v. The manufacturer or its agent and a New Jersey licensed professional engineer shall certify to the Commission and the local board of health that installation of each system has been properly completed and that the system and all of its components are operating properly. The manufacturer, or its agent, shall include in the certification the cost of the installation;

vi. The local board of health shall not issue a certificate of compliance or similar authorization to permit occupancy of the building served or use of the alternative design wastewater treatment system until such time as the Pinelands Commission provides written authorization to the local board of health that such system may be authorized for use by the board of health;

vii. The manufacturer or its agent shall provide to each owner an operation and maintenance manual approved pursuant to (a)2iv above;

viii. Each system shall be covered by an initial five-year warranty and a renewable, minimum five-year maintenance contract that cannot be arbitrarily cancelled and which includes a provision requiring that the manufacturer or its agent inspect the system at least once a year and undertake any maintenance or repairs determined to be necessary during any such inspection or as a result of observations made at any other time, including during effluent monitoring. Said warranty and maintenance contract shall be consistent with the sample warranty and maintenance contract approved pursuant to (a)2v above;

ix. The property owner shall record, with the deed to the property, a notice consistent with the sample deed notice approved pursuant to (a)2vi above that identifies the technology, acknowledges the owner's responsibility to operate and maintain it in accordance with the manual required at (a)2vi above, and grants access, with reasonable notice, to the local board of health, the Commission, and its agents for inspection and monitoring purposes. The recorded deed shall run with the property and shall ensure that the maintenance requirements are binding on any owner of the property during the life of the system and that the monitoring requirements are binding on any owner of the property during the time period the monitoring requirements apply pursuant to this pilot program or any subsequent rules adopted by the Commission that apply to said system;

x. The manufacturer or its agent shall make available for inspection by the Commission or its agents, upon reasonable notice, all records relating to each system installed in the Pinelands pursuant to this pilot program;

xi. By June 5 and December 5 of each calendar year, until the conclusion of the pilot program, each manufacturer or its agent shall submit to the Executive Director a report that includes the number of systems installed during the previous six months and since the beginning of the pilot program, a discussion of any installation problems and what has been done to address those problems, an analysis and evaluation of the monitoring results to date, and a discussion of any operational or maintenance issues, including the number of systems requiring maintenance or repairs and the nature and success of such maintenance and repairs, and the number of times the automatic dialing system was set off and the reasons for each such occurrence;

xii. The system complies with the requirements of 7:50-6.84(a)4 i through v; and

xiii. No more than six alternate design treatment technologies shall be approved for use in the Alternate Design Waste Water Treatment Systems Pilot Program at any one time.

(b) The property owner shall not be held liable for poor system performance if the system has been properly operated and maintained.

(c) The technology manufacturer or its agent shall troubleshoot and attempt to remediate substandard performance of any system that fails to meet effluent concentration targets after two consecutive sampling events by implementing measures including, but not limited to, homeowner education, process adjustments, and equipment retrofits. The technology manufacturer or its agent shall report to the Executive Director and local board of health semi-annually on all remedial measures undertaken, pursuant to (a)5viii above.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:50-10.22

Amended by 46 N.J.R. 1877(b), effective 9/2/2014.

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 969(a), effective 3/5/2018

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 2327(b), effective 11/19/2018

Amended by 52 N.J.R. 2177(a), effective 12/21/2020