N.J. Admin. Code § 7:19-2.13

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 7:19-2.13 - Request for adjudicatory hearing

(a) An applicant or any person, subject to the limitation on third party appeal rights set forth in P.L. 1993, c. 359 (N.J.S.A. 52:4B-3.1 through 3.3), who believes himself or herself to be aggrieved, with respect to decisions made by the Department regarding any permit, permit condition, or application denial may contest the decision and request a contested case hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq. and the New Jersey Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules N.J.A.C. 1:1, if the Department:

1. Denies an application for a water supply allocation permit, or any part thereof;

2. Revokes, withdraws or modifies a previously issued approval;

3. Denies a contract for the sale of water under N.J.A.C. 7:19-7; or

4. Issues a permit with conditions that the applicant considers unreasonable.

(b) Requests for a contested case hearing shall be submitted to:

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Office of Administrative Hearings and Dispute Resolution ATTENTION: Adjudicatory Hearing Requests

401 E. State Street

Mail Code 401-07A

PO Box 420

Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0420

(c) All requests for a contested case hearing must be received by the Department within 20 calendar days after the date upon which the notice of decision was received.

(d) All requests for a contested case hearing shall be submitted in writing to the Department and shall contain:

1. The name, address and telephone number of the person making such request;

2. A statement of the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the request for a hearing is made;

3. A brief and clear statement of specific facts describing the Department decision being appealed, as well as the nature and scope of the interest of the requester in such decision;

4. A statement of all facts alleged to be at issue and their relevance to the Department decision for which a hearing is requested. Any legal issues associated with the alleged facts at issue must also be included; and

5. In the case of a person who believes himself or herself to be aggrieved, the constitutional and statutory grounds entitling the person to a hearing and all documents supporting such assertions.

(e) A hearing request not received within 20 days after receipt of the notification by the applicant shall be denied by the Department.

(f) A hearing request based upon a permit condition which was contained in a prior permit held by the applicant and not objected to previously or on an issue not raised by the applicant during the public comment period shall be denied by the Department.

(g) A hearing request based upon a permit condition that the applicant requested in its application shall be denied by the Department.

(h) If the applicant or any person requesting a hearing pursuant to (a) above fails to include all the information required by (d) above, the Department may deny the hearing request.

(i) The Department shall determine whether any request for a contested case hearing should be granted. In making such determination, the Department shall evaluate the request to determine whether a contested case exists and whether there are issues of fact which, if assumed to be true, might change the Department's decision. Where only issues of law are raised by a request for a hearing, the request will be denied. Denial by the Department of a request for a contested case hearing shall constitute the final decision of the Department for the purposes of judicial appeal.

(j) The hearing if granted shall be held before an administrative law judge and in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq. and the rules and regulations promulgated thereto.

(k) If a permittee pursues a judicial appeal of the Department's final decision on the permit, the permit as issued shall remain in effect pending a decision on said appeal.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:19-2.13

Amended by R.1990 d.180, effective 3/19/1990.
See: 21 New Jersey Register 3594(a), 22 New Jersey Register 932(a).
Appeal provisions revised.
Administrative change in (b).
See: 23 New Jersey Register 3325(b).
Recodified from 7:19-2.15 and amended by R.1995 d.162, effective 3/20/1995.
See: 26 New Jersey Register 4912(a), 27 New Jersey Register 1265(a).

Administrative Change, 55 N.J.R. 528(a), effective 2/23/2023