N.J. Admin. Code § 7:1A-4.2
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
Section 7:1A-4.2 - Priority determination(a) Each project shall be assigned priority points in accordance with the provisions outlined in this section. A project shall be ranked by the number of priority points it receives. 1. A water supply system serving 10,000 or fewer residents shall be eligible for a loan if it receives at least eight priority points.2. A water supply system serving between 10,001 and 50,000 residents shall be eligible for a loan if it receives at least 12 priority points.3. A water supply system serving more than 50,000 residents shall be eligible for a loan if it receives at least 16 points.4. In the instance of systems with a large seasonal variation in the number of residents, the residential population figure utilized for the purpose of this section shall be the mean of the greater and twice the lower residential population as determined by data deemed acceptable to the Department for the most recent year.5. If in any application period there shall be less eligible projects than funds available for any of the three size categories, the eligible projects shall only be required to receive the minimum number of priority points set forth in this subsection and the remainder of the competitive priority ranking provisions of this section shall be waived.(b) All applications must meet the criteria set forth in N.J.A.C. 7:1A-4.1 to be eligible for a loan.(c) Three separate priority lists shall be established in each application period according to the size of water supply systems as set forth in (a) above. Appropriations for each of the priority lists shall be determined as a percentage of the total periodic appropriations by the Legislature to the Department for the purpose of implementing this chapter. An interconnection project shall be placed into its appropriate category according to the residential population served by the local unit's water supply system. 1. Forty percent of the total Departmental appropriation for the purposes of implementing this regulation shall be appropriated for those eligible water supply systems that serve less than or equal to 10,000 residents;2. Thirty percent of the total Department appropriation for the purposes of implementing this chapter shall be appropriated for those eligible water supply systems that serve between 10,001 through 50,000 residents; and3. Thirty percent of the total Departmental appropriation for the purpose of implementing this chapter shall be appropriated for those eligible water supply systems that serve greater than 50,000 residents.(d) If in any application period there are an insufficient number of eligible projects on any of the priority lists, the excess of funds designated for that category shall be disbursed to eligible projects on the other priority lists in the same proportions as set forth in (c) above.(e) A maximum loan amount for each project shall be set for each of the three categories of projects as follows: 1. A water supply system serving 10,000 or fewer residents may receive a loan of up to one million dollars maximum;2. A water supply system serving between 10,001 and 50,000 residents may receive a loan of up to two million dollars maximum;3. A water supply system serving greater than 50,000 residents may receive a loan of up to three million dollars maximum;4. Any loan funds appropriated for a project in excess of the actual costs spent for the completed project shall be returned to the Water Supply Fund pursuant to the Act within 30 days of final payment to the borrower by the Department.(f) The specific goal of interconnections is to bring all purveyor systems as far as practicable into either Condition A or Condition B, as specified below. 1. In Condition A, a system shall have interconnection capacity from adjacent systems sufficient to maintain its water supply at a minimum of 75 percent of its average water supply demand while burdening no one adjacent system for more than 25 percent of its (the adjacent system's) average water supply demand.2. In Condition B, when Condition A is impracticable to achieve, the system shall have sufficient interconnection capacity from adjacent systems to maintain its water supply at a minimum of 50 percent of its average water supply demand while burdening no one adjacent system for more than 35 percent of its (the adjacent system's) average water supply demand.3. The average water supply demand for the local unit's and interconnected purveyors service areas shall be calculated by totaling the daily water supply demand over a one year period ending in the month of the submission of the local unit's interconnection loan application and dividing this sum by 365.4. In instances where Condition A is impractical to achieve, the local unit shall provide justification to the satisfaction of the Department why Condition A cannot be achieved.5. If an interconnection project results in a burden upon any adjacent supplying system in excess of 25 percent under Condition A or 35 percent under Condition B, said project shall not be eligible for an interconnection loan. An interconnection project that will increase the total interconnection capacity of a system significantly in excess of Condition A criteria shall not be fully eligible for interconnection loan funding. An interconnection project that will increase the total interconnection capacity of a system significantly in excess of Condition B criteria shall not be fully eligible for interconnection loan funding except when the project serves to decrease the reliance of the benefiting system on adjacent systems to significantly less than 35 percent.(g) An interconnection shall be deemed to add to the water supply of either system when it is physically capable of providing an amount of additional flow under conditions of pressure and flow expected to prevail at such time, and when located where it may be distributed to points of use. An interconnection may be deemed to benefit both systems, if that will actually be the case under failure of either system.(h) Priority points shall be governed by the following: 1. The percentage of the average water supply of a system which the interconnection can provide, up to the specific target level of 75 percent under Condition A and up to 50 percent under Condition B, computed for the two systems separately, will equal points allowed.2. For each new interconnection or each existing interconnection not used or tested during the previous five years, which is proposed to be under the loan and which will have a capacity greater than one percent of the total average system demand, two points will be allowed.3. Priority points shall be awarded in the amount of 10 priority points for any administrative order issued by the Department to the local unit requiring an interconnection, provided that the local unit's project scope provides for the implementation of the actions ordered by the Department in such relevant administrative order. Priority points shall also be awarded in the amount of five priority points for any directive or recommendation to provide and improve an interconnection provided that the local unit's project scope provides for the implementation of the actions directed by the Department in such relevant directive or recommendation letter.i. No administrative order, directive or recommendation issued subsequent to September 20, 1982 may be counted towards the local unit's priority point total except for those orders issued in accordance with the procedures established by N.J.S.A. 58:1A-15e.4. A ratio will be estimated of the maximum amount allowable for that residential size category of interconnection divided by the amount of the proposed loan.5. A second ratio will be estimated of the residents served divided by 10,000 for small systems, 50,000 for intermediate systems, and 100,000 for the largest systems. The minimum value of this ratio is 0.5.6. The product of these two ratios, times the sum of the points allowed under (h)1, 2 and 3 above, will equal the priority number allowed, for determination of priorities within each of the categories. In the event of a tie, the applicants shall be ranked in the order of receipt of the loan application by the Department.N.J. Admin. Code § 7:1A-4.2
As amended, R.1984 d.232, effective 6/18/1984.
See: 16 New Jersey Register 631(a), 16 New Jersey Register 1479(a).
"Priority determination" was formerly codified at N.J.A.C. 7:1G-2.12. (c): in third sentence, category determination was by "size of the smaller of the systems interconnected"; (f)1 and 2: clarified language concerning adjacent systems and demand; (g): in first sentence, "and when located" was "at points"; (h)2: added "or each existing interconnection", previous "five" years, and total "average" system demand; (h)4: "residential size category" was "category".
Amended by R.1992 d.252, effective 6/15/1992.
See: 24 New Jersey Register 707(a), 24 New Jersey Register 2245(a).
The maximum loan amounts allowed for subcategory of interconnection loan projects have been increased; amended to clarify that the system capacities described in these sections are minimum criteria and the denominator in the priority point ranking system ratio has been decreased.
Amended by R.1997 d.223, effective 5/19/1997.
See: 29 New Jersey Register 7(a), 29 New Jersey Register 2268(a).
In (a)3, changed minimum points from "20" to "16"; in (e)1, (e)2, and (e)3, increased maximum loan amounts; in (e)4, substituted "payment to the borrower" for "inspection of the project"; in (h)5, added the last sentence; and in (h)6, inserted "(h)" preceding "1, 2 and 3 above" and added the last sentence.