WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANNING
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
administers the Statewide Water Quality Management
(WQM) Planning rules, N.J.A.C. 7:15 in conjunction
with the Statewide WQM Plan, which together constitute
the Continuing Planning Process conducted pursuant
to the Water Quality Planning Act, N.J.S.A. 58:11A-1
et seq., the Water Pollution Control
Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10A-1 et seq., and
N.J.S.A. 13:1D-1 et seq., and as required
by Sections 303(e) and 208 of the Federal Clean
Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). According to
these rules, the Commissioner of the DEP shall not
undertake, or authorize through the issuance of
a permit, any project or activity that affects water
quality and conflicts with the applicable sections
of adopted WQM Plans or the Statewide WQM Planning
rules. The existing rules establish a mechanism
for the determination of consistency between proposed
projects or activities requiring departmentally
issued permits and the WQM Plans. In addition, procedures
for the modification of water quality management
plans, when necessary, either through amendment
or revision are also specified. The revision process
has two separate tracks, one that is solely to address
documented errors in the existing WQM Plans and
the other to address certain specified minor changes
to the WQM Plan. The amendment process also has
two separate tracks, one that addresses project-specific
amendments under specified size limitations and
the other which amends the WQM Plans for entire
wastewater management planning areas of municipal
size or larger. Designated planning agencies with
approved procedures may also process WQM Plan amendments,
but Plan amendments approved by designated planning
agencies are only valid upon adoption by the Department
as the Governor designee.
A Wastewater Management Plan (WMP) is a document that
provides 20 year planning for wastewater and certain
other water quality concerns. The WMP must address
a specific planning area and must be submitted to
the Department of Environmental Protection by a wastewater
management planning agency within a specified time
period. The agency with wastewater management
planning responsibility for a specific area is determined
by the jurisdiction and wastewater-related responsibilities
of the various governmental agencies that may exist.
For example, if there is a designated planning agency
that chooses to exercise wastewater management plan
responsibility for its entire planning area, then
no other agency has wastewater management plan responsibility
for any part of that planning area.
During preparation of a WMP, every wastewater management
planning agency must notify, seek comments from
and offer to confer with all government units that
have regulatory or planning jurisdiction over wastewater
or land use in the wastewater management planning
area, and all government units and public utilities
that own, operate, or have contracts or Department
permits for sewerage facilities identified in the
WMP (other than facilities for their own buildings).
All wastewater management planning agencies must
prepare and submit a WMP to the Department by the
applicable deadlines.
A WMP is valid only upon its adoption by
the Governor or his designee as WQM plan amendment;
therefore, a WMP must be submitted to the Department
and the appropriate designated planning agency along
with a written plan amendment request. Agencies
required to be notified of the preparation
of the WMP will generally endorse the WMP during
the WQM plan amendment process.
In addition to preparing and submitting a WMP in
accordance with the schedule, certain WQM plan amendments
require the preparation of a WMP. With certain
limited exceptions, a WMP is required if a WQM plan
amendment includes any of the following:
- A new domestic treatment works (DTW) not identified
in an existing WQM plan, that requires a NJPDES
discharge permit and discharges to surface waters
or the land surface, or that has a design capacity
of 20,000 gallons per day (GPD) or more;
- An expansion of an existing DTW beyond the capacity
identified in an existing WQM plan if the DTW
requires a NJPDES discharge permit and discharges
to surface water or land surface, or that has
a design capacity of 20,000 gallons per day (GPD)
or more;
- A modification of a sewer service area depicted
in a WQM plan, if the modification affects 10
or more acres, or the disposition of 20,000 gallons
per day or more of wastewater.
WMP responsibility and the schedule for submitting
a WMP may be changed under an alternative assignment
of WMP responsibility or an alternative schedule
for WMP submission. For additional information
on this procedure or the WMP process in general,
please contact the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection, Division of Watershed Management, PO
Box 418, 401 E. State Street, Trenton, NJ 08625-0418.
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