The
Capacity Development Program is a component
of the Technical Support and Capacity Development of the Bureau
of Safe Drinking Water. For additional
information please contact the Bureau of Safe
Drinking Water at 609-292-5550.
Goals:
- To
reduce or eliminate the number of existing
public water system's in significant non-compliance
with the Federal and State Safe Drinking
Water Act regulations by ensuring adequate
capacity.
To prevent the formation and operation of any
water system (community and non-transient,
non-community water systems) that may be non-viable
by ensuring adequate capacity.
- To
provide public water systems with accurate,
timely, and appropriate information in a
straightforward manner to promote or maintain
their technical, managerial, and financial
capacity as necessary to ensure compliance
with the Federal and State Safe Drinking
Water Act regulations.
Background:
The
1996 Amendments to the Federal Safe Drinking
Water Act create a focus on enhancing and ensuring
the technical, managerial, and financial capacity
of public water systems to comply with the
National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.In
accordance with Section 1420 (a) of the federal
regulations each state shall have the legal
authority to ensure that all new public community
water systems and public non-transient, non-community
water systems demonstrate adequate technical,
managerial, and financial capacity. In New
Jersey, Assembly Bill No. 2615 was signed into
law on August 2, 1999 (P.L.1999 Chapter 176).
This legislation amended the New Jersey Safe
Drinking Water Act (N.J.S.A. 58:12A) to give
New Jersey explicit legal authority to require
new community and non-transient non-community
water systems to demonstrate capacity. Consequently,
New Jersey adopted a new rule at N.J.A.C. 7:10-13
that establishes the requirements to assure
that all new public community and non-transient,
non-community water systems have adequate capacity.
The effective date of the rule was the date
of publication in the New Jersey Register on
August 21, 2000. Prior to the effective date of
these regulations the NJDEP adopted an interim
policy, effective on October 1, 1999, to implement
capacity requirements for new water systems.In
accordance with Section 1420 (c) of the Federal
Safe Drinking Water Act regulations each state
is required to develop and implement a strategy
to assist existing systems in acquiring and
maintaining capacity. The United States Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) approved New Jersey's
Capacity Development Strategy on September
28, 2000. Since its approval, New Jersey has
been implementing its capacity development
strategy. The Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund serves as the primary source of funding
for implementing the NJDEP's capacity development
strategy. The NJDEP is allowed to set aside
up to 10% of each capitalization grant for
State program management activities, which
includes establishing and funding the Capacity
Development Program.
Additional
Information
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