(a) Subject
to the limitations of (j) below, a person may request an adjudicatory hearing
to contest a decision on any of the following actions:
1. An application for a
verification;
2. An application for
authorization to act under a general permit; or
3. An application for an
individual permit.
(b) To
contest a decision listed at (a) above, a person shall submit a hearing request
within 30 calendar days after public notice of the decision is published in the
DEP Bulletin. If a person submits the hearing request after this time, the
Department shall deny the request.
(c) A
request for an adjudicatory hearing shall:
1. Be in writing on a hearing
request form available from the Department at the address in N.J.A.C.
7:13-1.1(f) and shall set forth:
i. The name, address and
daytime telephone number of the person requesting the hearing;
ii. When the request is submitted
by someone other than the applicant, evidence that a copy of the hearing
request has been mailed to the applicant;
iii. A copy of the Department notice or
decision for which a hearing is being requested;
iv. The Department file number or
project number on the notice or decision;
v. A statement requesting a
hearing;
vi. A specific admission, denial or
explanation of each fact appearing in the Department notice or decision or a
statement that the person is without knowledge thereof; and
vii. A concise statement of the facts or
principles of law asserted to constitute any factual or legal defense; and
2. Be submitted to the
Department as follows:
i. Submit the original
request to: Office of Legal Affairs Attention: Adjudicatory Hearing Requests
Department of Environmental Protection P.O. Box 402401 East State Street
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0402
ii. Submit a copy of the request
to: Division of Land Use Regulation Attention: Director Department of
Environmental Protection P.O. Box 439501 East State Street, Trenton, New Jersey
08625-0439
(d) As
part of a request for an adjudicatory hearing, a person may request that the
Department determine whether the matter for which the adjudicatory hearing is
requested is suitable for mediation by the Department's Office of Dispute
Resolution. The Department shall promptly notify the requester of its
determination. If the Department determines the matter is suitable for
mediation, the Department shall also notify the requester of the procedures and
schedule for mediation.
(e) In
some cases, a hearing request may result in a stay of operation of a general
permit or individual permit being appealed, as follows:
1. If a permittee requests a
hearing to appeal any portion of its permit, the hearing request shall
automatically stay operation of the permit, unless the permittee shows good
cause in writing why the permit should continue in effect while being
contested. All permitted activities shall stop upon the date the hearing
request is submitted, and shall not be started again until the matter is
resolved, unless the Department grants an exception in writing; and
2. If a person other than the
permittee requests a hearing on a permit, the requester may include with the
hearing request a request for a stay of the permit. The Department shall stay
operation of the permit only upon its determination that good cause exists. If
a stay is imposed, all permitted activities shall stop upon the date the stay
is imposed, and shall not be started again until the matter is resolved, unless
the Department grants an exception in writing.
(f) The
Department shall notify the requester if the request for a hearing is granted
and, if denied, the reasons why. If a hearing request is granted, the
Department shall refer the matter to the Office of Administrative Law for an
adjudicatory hearing in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act,
N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., and the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules,
N.J.A.C. 1:1.
(g) If
the Department and the person seeking a hearing agree to settle a matter for
which a hearing request has been submitted under this section, and the
settlement will result in Department approval of a regulated activity, notice
of the settlement shall be provided as follows:
1. The person who requested the
hearing shall send by certified mail a "notice of intent to settle"
the matter, using the notice form available from the Department at the address
in N.J.A.C. 7:13-1.1(f), to the following persons:
i. Each person provided
public notice of the application for the permit or approval which is the
subject of the appeal; and
ii. Each person who commented on
the application;
2. The Department shall publish
in the DEP Bulletin the notice of intent to settle, and shall accept comments
on the public notice for at least 30 calendar days;
3. After the 30-day comment
period provided for in (g)2 above, the person who requested the hearing shall
send by certified mail a "notice of settlement" using the notice form
available from the Department at the address in N.J.A.C. 7:13-1.1(f), to the
following persons:
i. Each person provided a
notice of intent to settle under (g)1 above; and
ii. Each person who commented on
the notice of intent to settle within the 30-day comment period provided under
(g)2 above; and
4. If the Department thereafter
determines that no good cause exists for the Department to decline the proposed
settlement or to significantly modify it, the Department shall publish a notice
of the final settlement in the DEP Bulletin.
(h) At
the conclusion of any adjudicatory hearing in the Office of Administrative Law,
the administrative law judge will submit an initial decision to the
Commissioner. The Commissioner shall issue a final decision affirming,
rejecting or modifying the initial decision, in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., and the Uniform Administrative
Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1.
(i) The
Commissioner's decision under (h) above shall be considered final agency action
for the purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, and shall be subject only
to judicial review in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, as provided
in the Rules of Court.
(j) Nothing
in this section shall be construed to provide a right to an adjudicatory
hearing in contravention of the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A.
52:14B-3.1 through 3.3.