N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-11.9 - Procedures for variances

(a) A request for a variance filed under 7:14A-11.7 shall be processed as follows:

1. If, at the time that a request for a variance is submitted, the Department has received an application for issuance or renewal of a permit but has not yet prepared a draft permit, the Department may:

i. Prepare a draft permit for public notice incorporating the Department's decision on the variance request; or

ii. If the variance determination will cause significant delay in issuing the permit, separate the variance request from the permit application and process the permit application.

2. If, at the time that a request for a variance is submitted the Department has published public notice of the draft permit but has not issued a final permit decision, the Department may:

i. Stay administrative proceedings concerning the draft permit and prepare a new draft permit incorporating the Department's decision on the variance request; or

ii. If the variance determination will cause significant delay in issuing the permit, separate the variance request from the draft permit and issue the final permit decision.

3. If the final permit decision has been issued and a variance request has been separated from a draft permit pursuant to (a)1 or 2 above, the Department may subsequently prepare a new draft permit for public notice incorporating the Department's decision on the variance request.

(b) The Department may grant a stay of an effluent limitation(s) until a decision on a variance is made in accordance with the following:

1. For a request under Section 301(g), effluent limitations shall not be stayed unless:

i. In the judgment of the Department, the stay or variance sought will not result in the discharge of pollutants in quantities which may be reasonably anticipated to pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment because of bioaccumulation, persistence in the environment, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, or synergistic propensities;

ii. In the judgment of the Department, there is a substantial likelihood that the discharger will succeed on the merits of its appeal; and

iii. The discharger files a bond or appropriate security as deemed necessary by the Department to assure timely compliance with the requirements from which a variance is sought in the event that the appeal is unsuccessful.

2. For a request other than under Section 301(g), the requirements for requesting a stay in accordance with 7:14A-17.6 shall apply.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-11.9

Administrative correction.
See: 29 New Jersey Register 3822(a).
Substituted "final permit decision" for "final permit" throughout.