N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-22.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:14A-22.4 - Activities for which a treatment works approval is not required

(a) A treatment works approval from the Department is not required for the following activities:

1. Building, installing, modifying or operating any sewer lateral (whether forced or by gravity), which will convey less than 8,000 gallons per day of projected flow;

2. Building, installing, modifying or operating any wastewater pumping equipment which utilizes a lateral force main connection, whether publicly or privately owned, to serve a facility whose projected flow is less than 8,000 gallons per day;

3. Except as provided at 7:14A-22.3(a)5, building, installing, operating or modifying an individual subsurface sewage disposal system where the aggregate projected flow of the facility, using the criteria established in N.J.A.C. 7:9A, is less than or equal to 2,000 gallons per day of sanitary sewage. Treatment works for such facilities are regulated pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:9A, Standards for Individual Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems;

4. For existing facilities, and regardless of current flow, aggregate increases in the projected flow of less than 8,000 gallons per day over a five year period resulting from internal plumbing modifications, building additions, renovations or changes in use of a facility, providing that the project does not involve construction of a sewer extension or other treatment works which requires a permit pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A-22.3.

i. In sewer ban areas, this exception shall not be construed to exempt the need for a sewer ban exemption prior to construction, if required pursuant to this subchapter;

ii. This exception does not apply to projects served by individual subsurface disposal systems or small treatment plants (less than 150,000 gpd) that discharge to groundwater;

5. Rehabilitation or the replacement of existing sewer lines providing that the diameter and location of the sewer line will remain unchanged and providing that the slope is either unchanged or changed only as necessary to bring an existing below-slope sewer into conformance with minimum (or greater) Department design standards.

6. The replacement of worn, damaged, defective or inoperable wastewater pumps, sewage treatment units or components of residuals treatment and storage units providing that the capacity and location of the pumps or treatment units to be replaced will not change and the replacement treatment unit or wastewater pump station will be utilized to perform the same function as the former unit;

i. Existing pumping stations whose capacity is increased through a change in impeller size only, with no other modifications, do not require a treatment works approval.

7. Minor modifications of treatment works including, but not limited to, chemical addition for the purpose of improving performance and/or odor control (provided no treatment unit construction is to be undertaken), and modifications to treatment units for repair, maintenance or monitoring providing that the treatment process is not altered;

8. Residuals spreading and injection equipment to be utilized to disperse residuals at NJPDES permitted and exempted operations for land application of residuals;

9. The following mobile (not stationary) residuals storage installations:

i. Frac tanks except when fixed into position;

ii. Tanker trailers; and

iii. Roll-off containers;

10. Mobile street sweepers and payloaders utilized to collect and move residuals at NJPDES permitted and exempted residual operations;

11. Provisions for emergency storage of residuals provided said storage is less than 180 days in duration and in accordance with Part 4-VIII of the Statewide Sludge Management Plan;

12. Building, installing, operating or modifying handling equipment or storage units for marketable residual products; or

13. Building, installing, operating or modifying a treatment works for a groundwater recovery and reinjection system which is performed under the authority of the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites, N.J.A.C. 7:26C.

(b) In addition to (a) above, a treatment works approval or general industrial treatment works approval will not be required for the following facilities:

1. Building, installing, operating or modifying any industrial treatment works discharging into a publicly owned treatment works and located in an area of the State for which the Department is not the control authority (delegated area) for the industrial pre-treatment program pursuant to 40 CFR 403 and N.J.A.C. 7:14A-19;

i. Projects involving the construction of a sewer extension require a treatment works approval for the conveyance aspects only and are subject to the conditions of 7:14A-22.8;

ii. Projects involving additional flow through an existing sewer line of 8,000 gpd or more require a treatment works approval for the conveyance aspects only and may be considered under the provisions of 7:14A-22.6;

2. Building, installing, operating or modifying an American Petroleum Institute approved gravity oil/water separator, a retention or detention basin, sand traps or sediment traps that are installed routinely in facilities such as car washes, truck wash bays and other similar discharges, when these systems are authorized under a general NJPDES permit, have been determined not to require a NJPDES permit, or are exempted from obtaining a NJPDES permit pursuant to this chapter or are stormwater management facilities (see (b)3v below);

3. Building, installing, operating or modifying any of the following activities or facilities:

i. Grease traps for use in restaurants;

ii. Cooling towers for non-contact water/heat exchange units and necessary associated appurtenances;

iii. Holding tanks for wastewater which is solely industrial in nature and the amount to be hauled to a treatment works will be less than 8,000 gallons per day, and the tank will have a total volume of 21,000 gallons or less;

iv. Recycling systems for industrial waste only, which do not discharge directly to the surface water or ground water;

v. Stormwater management facilities, including but not limited to retention basins, detention basins, and oil/water separators that prevent, abate, reduce, collect, convey, store, treat, dispose of, or otherwise manage stormwater runoff;

vi. Any part of a separate storm sewer system; or

vii. Treatment units used for pretreatment of water for use in an on-going manufacturing process at the industrial facility;

4. Mobile treatment works to be specifically utilized for the treatment of water in relation to a short-term pump test or dewatering associated with an underground storage tank project authorized under a NJPDES category B4B General permit;

5. Building, installing, modifying or operating any system for discharges to ground water that are authorized by permit-by-rule in accordance with 7:14A-7.5 or 8.5; or

6. Process units for the sole purpose of treating effluent to achieve a higher quality RWBR than what is required by the NJPDES permit and the onsite distribution system located at the facility where the RWBR is to be utilized.

(c) Notwithstanding the terms of (a) and (b) above, the Department shall have the authority to regulate, at its discretion, any sewer connection or other domestic or industrial treatment works when a sewer connection ban exists or a health emergency so requires.

(d) The lack of a need to obtain a treatment works approval in accordance with this section does not relieve the project owner and/or sewerage authority from the responsibility to comply with all requirements of a NJPDES discharge permit. The responsibility of determining that additional flows to the treatment works will not result in any unpermitted discharge or NJPDES permit violation rests with the owner of the collection system and treatment facility.

(e) For projects in which flow is the determining factor for the requirement of a treatment works approval permit pursuant to this section, the projected flow criteria specified in 7:14A-23.3 shall be used.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-22.4

Amended by R.1994 d.448, effective 9/6/1994.
See: 26 N.J.R. 158(a), 26 N.J.R. 3709(a).
Amended by R.1997 d.107, effective 5/5/1997.
See: 28 N.J.R. 380(a), 28 N.J.R. 2779(a), 28 N.J.R. 3494(a), 28 N.J.R. 3858(a), 28 N.J.R. 4697(a), 28 N.J.R. 5028(a), 29 N.J.R. 1704(a).
In (a)5, deleted ", slope" following "the diameter" and added "and providing that the slope ... Department design standards"; in (a)12, substituted "handling equipment" for "treatment" and "marketable residual products" for "sludge derived products"; added (a)13; in (b)1, deleted "(indirect discharger)" following "treatment works" and amended N.J.A.C. reference; in (b)3ii, added "and necessary associated appurtenances"; in (b)3iii, deleted reference to discharged wastewater added 21,000 gallon total volume restriction; and in (b)5, amended N.J.A.C. reference.
Amended by R.2005 d.222, effective 7/5/2005.
See: 37 N.J.R. 405(a), 37 N.J.R. 2499(a).
In (b), amended the N.J.A.C. reference in 5.
Amended by R.2009 d.7, effective 1/5/2009.
See: 40 N.J.R. 1478(a), 41 N.J.R. 142(a).
In (a)3, substituted "Except as provided at N.J.A.C. 7:14A-22.3(a)5, building," for "Building,", substituted "an individual" for "a septic system or other" and inserted "sewage" following "subsurface"; in (b)4, deleted "or" from the end; in (b)5, substituted "; or" for a period at the end; and added (b)6.
Amended by R.2012 d.095, effective 5/7/2012.
See: 43 N.J.R. 1935(a), 44 N.J.R. 1339(b).
In (a)13, substituted "Administrative Requirements for" for "Procedures for Department Oversight of".