OFFICIAL SITE OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY20250121a
NJ DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AIR, ENERGY AND MATERIALS SUSTAINABILITY
DIVISION OF SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT
Notice of Rule Proposal
Solid Waste, Hazardous Waste, and Recycling Rules; Licensing of Solid and Hazardous Waste Services and Soil and Fill Recycling Services
Proposed Amendments: N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.1, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7, 2.1, 2.4, 2.7, 2.8, 3.2, 3.6, 3A.16, 3A.27, 3A.38, 3A.39, and 3A.49; 7:26A-1.3, 1.4, 3.9, 3.17, 4.2, 4.5, 4.8, and 9.4; 7:26G-4.2 and 7.2; and 7:26H-1.6, 1.8, and 1.11
Proposed New Rules: N.J.A.C. 7:26N
Proposed Repeals: N.J.A.C. 7:26-16.15 through 16.20 and 16.24; and 16A
Proposed Recodification with Amendments: N.J.A.C. 7:26-16.1 through 16.14 and 16.21, 16.22, and 16.23 as 7:26N-1.1, 1.4, 3.2, 3.4, 3.8, 3.5, 3.6, 4.1, 7.3, 4.4, 4.3, 6.1, 5.2, 4.2, 4.5, 4.6, and 4.7, Respectively
PUBLIC NOTICE
Take notice that the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (Department) is proposing amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:26-1, -2, -3, and -3A, N.J.A.C. 7:26A-1,-3, -4, and -9, N.J.A.C. 7:26G-4 and -7, and N.J.A.C. 7:26H-1, recodifications with amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:26-16, new rules at N.J.A.C. 7:26N, and the repeal of N.J.A.C. 7:26-16.15 through 16.20 and -16A.
The Department is proposing to amend the Solid and Hazardous Waste Licensing and Revocation rules (A-901 Rules) at existing N.J.A.C. 7:26-16 to expand the licensing program to the soil and fill recycling industry and incorporate other changes as required by P.L. 2019, c.
397, commonly referred to as the “Dirty Dirt Law.” Because the proposed licensing program applies to the solid waste, recycling, and hazardous waste industries that are subject to several chapters (for example, N.J.A.C. 7:26, Solid Waste, N.J.A.C. 7:26A, Recycling Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:26G, Hazardous Waste, and N.J.A.C. 7:26H, Solid Waste Utility Regulations), the Department is proposing to recodify with amendments existing N.J.A.C. 7:26-16, Solid and Hazardous Waste Licensing and Revocation – Disclosure Statements and Integrity Review, at new chapter, N.J.A.C. 7:26N, with its own penalty and enforcement provisions.
As a result of this rulemaking, each industry will be subject both to its own chapter, as well as to the proposed A-901 Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:26N. The Department is also proposing to repeal N.J.A.C. 7:26-16A, Special Rules for Submission of Disclosure Statements by Existing Licensees and Applicants Whose Applications Were Pending Before the Department Prior to July 2, 1984, because the subchapter contains special provisions that were needed to phase in the requirements for certain licensees and applicants when the A- 901 licensing program was first passed into law, which provisions are now obsolete.
As part of this rulemaking, the Department is also proposing amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:26, 26A, 26G, and 26H to conform the rules to the proposed new A-901 Rules. In conjunction with the proposed rules and amendments, the Department proposes to amend the penalty provisions of the Recycling Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:26A-9, Civil Administrative Penalties and Requests for Adjudicatory Hearings.
The proposal is scheduled to be published in the New Jersey Register dated January 21, 2025. A copy of the proposal is available on the Department’s website at https://njdepwptest.net/wp-content/uploads/rules/proposals/proposal-20250121a.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, Microsoft Teams on February 25, 2025, at 9:00 A.M.
Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Meeting ID: 270 292 410 477
Passcode: jF3tr78u
You can also dial in using your phone (audio only)
+1 856-338-7074,,605743971# United States, Camden
Phone conference ID: 605 743 971#
If you are interested in providing oral comments at the virtual public hearing, please email the Department at jill.aspinwall@njdepwptest.net no later than 5:00 P.M. on February 21, 2025, with your contact information (name, telephone number, email address, and if applicable, the name of the organization on behalf of which you are speaking). 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 March 22, 2025. 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:
ATTN: DEP Docket No. 15-24-12
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Office of Legal Affairs
401 East State Street, 7th Floor
Mail Code 401-04L; PO Box 402
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402