NJ DEPARTMENT of ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AIR, ENERGY AND MATERIALS SUSTAINABILITY
BUREAU OF RELEASE PREVENTION

Notice of Rule Proposal
Discharges of Petroleum and Other Hazardous Substances
Proposed Amendments: N.J.A.C. 7:1E-1.6, 1.7, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.7, 2.9, 2.10, 2.12, 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 3.2, 3.4, 4.1 through 4.6, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.3, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, and 7:1E Appendices A and B
Proposed New Rules: N.J.A.C. 7:1E-1.12, 3.5, and 4.12
Proposed Repeals: N.J.A.C. 7:1E-8.9 and 8.10

PUBLIC NOTICE
Take notice that the NJ Department of Environmental Protection is proposing the promulgation of new Release Prevention rules at N.J.A.C. 7:1E, amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:1E-1, -2, -3, 4, -5, -6, -8, and Appendix A and B, as well as the repeal of N.J.A.C. 7:1E-8.9 and 8.10.

The proposed new rules and amendments include several components. First, the Department proposes to amend the provisions that identify hazardous substances. The proposed amendments will reference the source lists set forth in the Spill Compensation and Control Act (Spill Act) at N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11b to ensure that the rules remain current when one or more of the source lists identified in the Spill Act are revised. The proposed amendments will also clarify that Appendix A is a reference list for the regulated community rather than the primary authority for identification of hazardous substances. Second, the proposed rules provide a process for major facilities, which store only nominal concentrations of a hazardous substance in a mixture, to be relieved of some of the requirements of the discharge prevention, containment, and countermeasure (DPCC) and discharge cleanup and removal (DCR) plans. Third, the proposed amendments revise certain requirements regarding discharge notification and response, modify the operational and financial responsibility requirements for major facilities, modify certain requirements for transmission pipelines, and add climate resilience reporting provisions to address climate change and its effect on the State. The proposed amendments also include a number of miscellaneous amendments concerning DPCC and DCR plan submissions, approvals, renewals, and certifications. Fourth, the proposed rulemaking includes updates to the penalty provisions that correspond to the proposed amendments and new rules. Finally, the Department proposes to repeal provisions of the rule setting forth class confidentiality determinations.

The proposal is scheduled to be published in the New Jersey Register dated May 20, 2024.  A copy of the proposal is available on the Department’s webpage at: https://njdepwptest.net/wp-content/uploads/rules/proposals/proposal-20240520a.pdf and LexisNexis free public access to the New Jersey Register at http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/njoal/.

A public hearing concerning the proposal will be conducted virtually via the Department’s video conferencing software on June 11, 2024 at 9:00 A.M.

Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone.
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_M2E0MDU1MjEtZmJmMC00YWMyLTk0YTEtYzI0MWYzOWMxNjAx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%225076c3d1-3802-4b9f-b36a-e0a41bd642a7%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%220d3def85-9f77-463f-963f-62b28f26eb49%22%7d

You can also dial in using your phone (audio only)
+1 856-338-7074

If you are interested in providing oral comments at the virtual public hearing, please email the Department at heidi.jones@njdepwptest.net no later than 5:00 P.M. on June 7, 2024, with your contact information (name, organization, telephone number, and email address).  You must provide a valid email address so the Department can send you an email confirming receipt of your interest to testify orally at the hearing and provide you with a separate option for a telephone call-in line if you do not have access to a computer or mobile device that can connect to Microsoft Teams.

Written comments are due by July 19, 2024.  The Department encourages electronic submittal of comments. Written comments may be submitted electronically at https://njdepwptest.net/rules/rule-comment-form/.  In the alternative, comments may be submitted on paper to:

Alice A. Previte, Esq.
ATTN: DEP Docket No. 03-24-04
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Office of Legal Affairs
Mail Code 401-04L; PO Box 402
401 East State Street, 7th Floor
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402