NJ DEPARTMENT of ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Environmental Regulation
Division of Water Quality

Notice of Rule Proposal
New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, N.J.A.C. 7:14A
Stormwater Regulation
Underground Injection Control

Public Notice
Take notice that the NJ Department of Environmental Protection is proposing new rules, amendments, and recodification. A statement of the substance of the proposal follows:

The proposed new rules, amendments, and recodification in N.J.A.C. 7:14A will revise requirements concerning stormwater discharge permits, address new "Phase II" regulations that the United States Environmental Protection Agency published in the December 8, 1999 Federal Register concerning such permits, and integrate the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) program for "municipal" (that is, government agency) separate storm sewer systems with other aspects of stormwater management. In addition, proposed amendments will address the 1999 changes to the Federal Underground Injection Control (UIC) regulations and revise other UIC requirements relating to the issuance of the permits.

Most of the proposal focuses on the establishment and implementation of the proposed Municipal Stormwater Regulation Program. Under this Program, potentially all of New Jersey's 566 municipalities, all 21 counties, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), State highway authorities, and many other State, interstate, and Federal agencies will be required to obtain a NJPDES permit for their stormwater discharges. The proposal also expands NJPDES permit requirements for stormwater discharges associated with construction activity, excludes from the NJPDES permit requirement stormwater discharges from industrial facilities that have "Permanent No Exposure" of industrial activities or materials to stormwater, extends the deadline by which certain publicly owned or operated industrial facilities must apply for a NJPDES stormwater permit, and eliminates the August 7, 2001 deadline by which other "Phase II" sources must apply for a NJPDES stormwater permit.

The proposal is scheduled to be published in the New Jersey Register dated January 6, 2003.

The proposal can be viewed or downloaded on the Division of Water Quality website at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dwq/rules.htm#proposals.

A copy of the proposal is also available on paper or on disk by calling the Bureau of Nonpoint Pollution Control at (609) 633-7021 or by writing to PO Box 029, Trenton, NJ 08625-0029.

The schedule of public hearings concerning the proposal and four draft NJPDES general permits for the Municipal Stormwater Regulation Program follows:

Date: Thursday, February 13, 2003
Time: 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M.
Location: Morris County Frelinghuysen Arboretum
Hagerty Education Center Auditorium
53 East Hanover Avenue
Morristown, N.J.

Date: Thursday, February 20, 2003
Time: 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M.
Location: Collingswood Senior Community Center Ballroom
30 West Collings Avenue
Collingswood, N.J.

Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Time: 12:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.
Location: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Public Hearing Room, First Floor, 401 E. State Street
Trenton, N.J.

(On the same dates and at the same locations, but at different times, separate public hearings will be held on proposed Stormwater Management Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:8.)

Written comments may be submitted by March 7, 2003 to:

Janis E. Hoagland, Esq..
ATTN: DEP Docket No. 33-02-12/192
Office of Legal Affairs
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
PO Box 402
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0402

NOTE: THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THIS PROPOSAL HAS BEEN EXTENDED. THE COMMENT PERIOD NOW CLOSES APRIL 7, 2003.