N.J. Admin. Code § 7:15-4.5 - Wastewater capacity analyses
(a) This section
sets forth the content of the wastewater treatment capacity analysis, the
content of the nitrate dilution analysis, and the requirements to consider
strategies to address potential capacity deficiencies where there is inadequate
wastewater infrastructure to serve the existing and future wastewater
management needs.
(b) The existing
and future wastewater management needs of each sewer service area of a DTW, or
industrial wastewater facility that receives wastewater from outside the
industrial facility boundaries, shall be identified and evaluated in a
wastewater treatment capacity analysis prepared in conformance with the
following:
1. For assigned sewer service
area, the applicant shall identify the existing and projected future flows that
will be generated.
i. For the purposes of
this paragraph, the existing flow is the highest consecutive 12 months rolling
average over the most recent five-year period preceding development of the WMP,
as reported in the Discharge Monitoring Reports required pursuant to
7:14A-6.8 for the
facility, or other method approved by the Department if the Department
determines that the alternate method better predicts flow taking into account
factors unique to the area, such as significant variability of flows due to
seasonal population shifts, the effects of weather, or variable volumes of
combined sewage conveyed to the wastewater treatment facility.
ii. The projected future flow that will be
generated from future development is calculated in accordance with the
following:
(1) For urbanized municipalities,
estimate future wastewater flows by multiplying the population increase
projected within a 20-year planning horizon from the date of WMP preparation,
developed using the municipal master plan or other governmental or academic
source, by a value of 75 gallons per capita per day and adding any known new
non-residential flows including flows from sources such as expanded or
redeveloped industries, landfill leachate or septage; and
(2) For municipalities not subject to
(b)1ii(1) above, estimate build-out future wastewater flows from existing
development that is not currently connected and future development based on
flow projections from 7:14A-23.3,
7:14A-23.2(c), or 7:9A, as applicable. Federal lands and areas
with limited development potential, such as preserved open space or areas
subject to statutory restrictions, may be excluded from the calculation of
future flows provided the WMP agency identifies the area to be excluded and the
reason for exclusion, and the basis for exclusion is approved by the
Department.
2. For unassigned sewer service areas, the
applicant shall identify the future flows from the entire area in accordance
with (b)1ii above.
3. For each
assigned and unassigned sewer service area, the applicant shall determine if
there is a potential capacity deficiency in accordance with the following:
i. For each assigned sewer service area,
compare the sum of the existing flow and the results of the calculation at
(b)1ii above with the current permitted flow at the wastewater treatment
facility. Any deficit between the need and the permitted flow constitutes a
potential capacity deficiency; and
ii. For any unassigned sewer service area,
the entire wastewater demand calculated at (b)2 above constitutes a potential
capacity deficiency.
4.
The applicant shall identify and evaluate strategies for addressing the
potential capacity deficiencies identified in (b)3 above, including management
approaches and infrastructure improvements. As part of this evaluation, the
applicant shall consider the growth trajectory for the sewer service area using
population projections, number of treatment works approvals, or other
indicators of rate of development. Strategies identified shall take into
account the size of the identified potential capacity deficiency and the time
frame within which the estimated need is anticipated to exceed the current
permitted flow.
5. For existing
permitted wastewater treatment facilities, where the existing flow is 80
percent or more of the permitted flow at the time of WMP development, the
wastewater management planning agency shall coordinate with the Department and
the entity responsible for the applicable wastewater treatment facility to
determine if remaining projected growth will result in a capacity deficiency
and, if the potential for a capacity deficiency exists, to analyze effective
strategies to address this potential deficiency.
6. If the average flow for a facility over 12
consecutive months reaches or exceeds the threshold established at
7:14A-22.16, the entity
responsible for the wastewater treatment facility shall conduct a capacity
analysis in accordance with that section.
7. If infrastructure improvements are
expected to be needed within five years, the wastewater management planning
agency shall begin coordinating with the Department and the entity responsible
for the applicable wastewater treatment facility to evaluate the technical
feasibility and establish a schedule within which various steps will be taken
to accomplish installation of the improvements.
8. For each proposed new or expanded domestic
or industrial treatment works with discharge to surface water, the permit
applicant shall perform an antidegradation analysis in accordance with the
antidegradation policies in the Surface Water Quality Standards at
7:9B-1.5(d).
The applicant shall evaluate a wastewater treatment and disposal alternative
consistent with the following hierarchy:
i.
Expansions of existing permitted domestic or industrial treatment works
facilities shall maintain the current pollutant load as expressed in any
effective effluent limitations imposed through a permit or an adopted total
maximum daily load;
ii. To the
extent that load increases cannot be avoided in accordance with (b)8i above,
new or expanded domestic or industrial treatment works shall achieve no
measurable change in water quality in the receiving stream by adhering to water
quality based effluent limits calculated based on a ambient water study
approved by the Department or limits needed to comply with adopted total
maximum daily load wasteload allocations; and
iii. Where a new or expanded domestic or
industrial treatment works discharging to Category Two waters will result in a
measurable change in receiving water quality based on the ambient water study
in (b)8ii above, the applicant shall make the demonstrations at
N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.5 to justify the proposed lowering of existing
water quality.
(c) For areas not covered by (b) above, the
future wastewater treatment needs shall be evaluated through a nitrate dilution
analysis in conformance with the following:
1. Except as provided in (c)2 and 3 below,
for areas proposed to be served by individual subsurface sewage disposal
systems discharging 2,000 gallons per day or less to ground water, the
applicant shall determine the development density that can be accommodated in
undeveloped and underdeveloped areas that will result in attainment of two mg/L
nitrate in the ground water on a HUC 11 basis, as follows:
i. Determine the number of acres per
equivalent dwelling unit using either:
(1) "A
Recharge-Based Nitrate-Dilution Model for New Jersey V6.2" developed by the New
Jersey Geological Survey, incorporated herein by reference, as amended and
supplemented, available at http://www.nj.gov/dep/wrm/;
or
(2) A simplified model using HUC
11 recharge values called "A Recharge-Based HUC 11-Scale
Nitrate-Carrying-Capacity Planning Exercise for New Jersey, MS Excel Workbook,
version 3.0," (2009) incorporated by reference, as amended and supplemented,
available at http://www.nj.gov/dep/wrm/;
ii. Determine the number of
undeveloped and underdeveloped acres in each municipality or portion thereof in
each HUC 11 and divide the number of acres by the number of acres per unit
calculated in (c)1i above to determine the number of additional equivalent
dwelling units;
iii. Apply existing
zoning to all undeveloped and underdeveloped areas to determine the number of
equivalent dwelling units for comparison to (c)1ii above. For nonresidential
areas, convert the proposed development type to equivalent dwelling units by
dividing the flow projected to be generated in accordance with
7:9A-7.4 by 500 gallons
per day;
iv. Identify areas where
the number of additional equivalent dwelling units calculated in (c)1iii above
exceeds the allowable number of additional equivalent dwelling units in (c)1ii
above;
v. If the future nitrate
dilution capacity is insufficient to meet the projected loading from future
development, the local government unit shall work with the Department to
evaluate options to address this capacity gap. The CPP, which is posted on the
Department's website at http://www.nj.gov/dep/wrm/, identifies
potential strategies to address this capacity deficiency;
vi. Demonstrate that areas to be served by
individual subsurface sewage disposal systems are subject to a mandatory
maintenance program, such as an ordinance, which ensures that all individual
subsurface sewage disposal systems are inspected at a frequency to adequately
determine if they are functioning properly; and
vii. For areas to be served by a proposed new
or expanded domestic or industrial treatment works with a discharge to ground
water that will require a NJPDES permit, the permit applicant shall demonstrate
compliance with Ground Water Quality Standards, N.J.A.C. 7:9C,
through the permitting process;
2. In the Pinelands Area, the future
wastewater treatment needs shall be based on the density and water quality
standards established in the Comprehensive Management Plan; and
3. In the Highlands preservation area, the
applicant shall demonstrate that proposed wastewater facilities are consistent
with the requirements as set forth in the Highlands Water Protection and
Planning Act Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:38. In the Highlands planning
area, for Highlands conforming municipalities the nitrate dilution capacity
analysis shall be performed according to the procedures set forth pursuant to
the Highlands Regional Master Plan.
Notes
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