Index by Topic ---------------------------- News Items Permit and Monitoring Info Surface Water Discharges Stormwater Municipal Financing Biosolids (sludge) Students and Teachers Wastewater Reuse Forms and Checklists Operator's Forum - NEW! NJ Discharger Newsletter Discharge From STPs Industrial Discharges to STPs Discharge to Ground Water Onsite Septic Systems Treatment Works Approvals Rules and Regulations Permitting/Technical Info Database Info

Program Units ---------------------------- Administration and Mgt. Division Organization Director's Message Financing-Const. Permits Municipal Finance/Const. Nonpoint Pollution Control Permit Management Pretreatment and Residuals Point Source Permitting 1 Point Source Permitting 2 Program Dev.-Tech Services Watershed Permitting

Narinder K. Ahuja, P.E., P.P.

Welcome to the Division of Water Quality's web site. Our division is responsible for protecting New Jersey's rivers, streams, ocean and ground water from pollution caused by inadequately treated wastewater and its residuals (sludge). At this site, you will find a variety of information about the division and its regulatory and financing programs. Our permitting programs help protect our valuable water resources by controlling what is discharged to the waters of the state from homes, schools, industries, commercial uses, any many other types of facilities. Our financing programs provide financial assistance for various environmental infrastructure projects including but not limited to upgrading of wastewater and drinking water facilities.

It has been 29 years since the Congress of the United States enacted the Clean Water Act. This Act established a national mission to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity" of our nation's waters. At the time the Act was passed, only a third of the waterbodies in the United States were fishable and swimmable. Today, almost two thirds are fishable and swimmable. While we all can be proud of the water quality improvements that have taken place, there still is much more that remains to be done. For example, nonpoint runoff still remains as a significant source of pollution to our waterbodies. This pollution, which is caused by rainfall, can wash contaminants from industrial sites, farms, and even our lawns into streams. Being diffuse, nonpoint pollution is more difficult to control than point source pollution from discharge pipes, which has been the focus of our efforts over the past 25 years.

To continue the progress of the past and to help address nonpoint pollution, we have instituted a watershed approach to our water resource protection programs. Under this approach, the Department of Environmental Protection is expanding its emphasis from a site-by-site assessment to one that holistically evaluates impacts to our waters from all sources of pollution. This will improve our ability to better understand and address our water pollution problems.

As you explore this site, you'll discover sections describing our various programs, common application deficiencies, newsletter articles, and other information areas. We've also provided descriptions of each bureau within the division along with phone numbers and e-mail addresses of key contacts. The Division staff would be pleased to provide you with all possible assistance.

We hope you find the information here useful. If you have any suggestions for improvements, please drop me a line at narinder.ahuja@dep.state.nj.us.