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.