Constituents have identified a series of circumstances in which the operation of Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Administrator Order No. 2002-22 have presented uncertainty to the affected townships, to builders and developers, and to individual homeowners. These uncertainties surround a number of circumstances that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) did not intend to reach under the order.

Pursuant to the provision for hardship exemptions under DEP’s water emergency authorities and Administrative Order 2002-22, I am approving and by this memorandum granting a categorical hardship exemption that exempts the following from the operation of Administrative Order 2002-22:

1. A subdivision that has received all required planning and zoning approvals from the relevant municipality, in which an owner, builder, or developer has begun actual construction of one or more units of residential dwelling on any lot within the subdivision prior to the date of this exemption letter.
2. A subdivision that has received all required planning and zoning approvals from the relevant municipality, in which all infrastructure necessary to support the entire subdivision has been fully constructed by the date of this exemption letter. Necessary infrastructure includes paved streets, curbing, sewer lines, utility mains, street lighting, and all other site improvements required by the planning or zoning approvals of the relevant municipality.
3. Any construction or subsequent utilization by an individual of a building consisting of one or two residential dwelling units on a lot existing as of the date of Administrative Order No. 2002-22, provided that: 1) in cases where the lot is part of a subdivision of more than two lots, the lot is not the first to be developed in the subdivision; or 2) the lot is not or was not part of a larger subdivision.

For purposes of this Order, the term “construction” shall not include clearing or other site preparation activities. Any interested party may rely on the exemption hereby granted. The Department of Environmental Protection stands ready to consider additional hardship exemption requests on a case-by-case basis. Commercial projects, in particular, typically impose minimal additional burdens on water supply and will be expeditiously considered when hardship exemption requests are presented.

Date: September 25, 2002
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Bradley M. Campbell
Commissioner