N.J. Admin. Code § 7:26G-7.2

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

Section 7:26G-7.2 - Registration statement and registration requirements

(a) Registration statement approval, renewal, and revocation requirements are as follows:

1. Prior to operation, a hazardous waste transporter shall obtain an approved registration statement from the Department.

2. The application for an approved registration statement shall be executed on forms provided by the Department, and shall state such information as required below, as well as any additional information that the Department may require from a specific applicant. This information includes the following:

i. Proof of compliance with the minimum financial responsibility requirements covering public liabilities, property damage and environmental restoration set out at 49 C.F.R. Part 387;

ii. Disclosure of any conviction for any criminal offense during the 10 year period prior to application for a license under state or Federal law for acts involving the illegal storage, transportation or disposal of hazardous waste against any owner, officer, or employee of the firm seeking a license;

iii. Vehicle identification numbers and license plate numbers;

iv. For any leased hazardous waste vehicles (hazardous waste cab and transport unit individually if detachable), a copy of the Motor Vehicle Registration card, a copy of the lease which meets the requirements of (a)11 through 13 below; and

v. For those transporters intending to operate a hazardous waste transfer facility pursuant to 7:26G-7.4, the address of each such facilities and an indication whether each property, where the transfer facility is to be located, is owned or leased by the transporter. For any leased property, a copy of the written lease.

3. Any person who files an application for an approved registration statement shall also submit the disclosure statement described in 7:26-16.4. The requirement of a disclosure statement shall not apply to any person specifically exempted under 7:26-16.3(d) and/or 16.6(k), but shall apply in the case of a licensee or permittee which must file a disclosure statement for any lessor which holds a beneficial interest in the licensee or permittee pursuant to 7:26-16.6(i) or (j).

4. Any applicant who claims to be exempted under 7:26-16.3(d) from the requirement of a disclosure statement shall submit an affidavit stating the basis for the claim. The applicant claiming the exemption shall also file an alternative information statement on forms supplied by the Department, containing the following information:

i. The names and addresses of all officers, director or partners of any business concern seeking a license and all persons or business concerns holding more than 10 percent of the equity in or more than 10 percent of the liability of the business concern seeking a license;

ii. The names and addresses of all officers, directors, or partners of any business concern disclosed pursuant to (a)4i above and all persons holding more than 10 percent equity share in or more than 10 percent of the debt liability of any business concern disclosed pursuant to (a)4i above;

iii. The name and address of any company in the field of hazardous waste management in which the business concern seeking a license or officers, directors, or partners of the business concern hold an equity interest;

iv. A description of the experience, credentials, and licenses in the field of hazardous waste management possessed by the key employees, officers, directors, or partners of the business concern seeking a license;

v. A listing and explanation of any notices, administrative orders or license revocations issued by any state or Federal authority citing a violation of any administrative rule relating to hazardous waste management against the business concern seeking a license or against any key employee, officer, director, or partner of the business concern;

vi. A listing and explanation of any judgement of liability or conviction under State or Federal statute or local ordinance concerning hazardous waste management against the business concern seeking a license or against any key employee, officer, director, or partner of the business concern; and

vii. Any other information the Department may require that relates to the competency or reliability of the applicant.

5. Every hazardous waste approved registration statement issued by the Department shall indicate on its face a renewal/expiration date, which, unless otherwise established by the Department, shall be May 1. The registration period, unless otherwise established by the Department, shall be biennial and run from July 1 to June 30 of each odd numbered year beginning in the year 2003. Registrations shall be renewed annually for the years 2001 and 2002 which registration period shall run from July 1 through June 30. The approved registration statement shall expire on the renewal date unless renewed pursuant to this paragraph. Prior to May 1 in each registration year or such other date as the Department may establish, each registrant shall submit to the Department a registration statement updating the information contained in the previous registration statement. Such information shall be submitted on forms supplied by the Department. Transporters who are also the owner or operator of one or more hazardous waste transfer facilities shall include on the registration statement renewal the addresses of all such facilities and an indication whether each property, where the transfer facility is to be located, is owned or leased by the transporter. For any leased property, a copy of the written lease. In no case shall the submission of an updated registration statement alter the conditions under which the approved registration statement was granted.

6. The failure to submit updated registration statement and all applicable fees (see N.J.A.C. 7:26G-3) on or before May 1 in each registration period or the failure to submit an updated disclosure statement pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26-16 and all applicable fees on or before March 1 of each calendar year or the failure to comply with a final order of the Department shall be sufficient cause for the Department to revoke the approved registration or to declare it expired. Any registrant who receives a notice of intent to revoke or to declare an approved registration expired, shall have 15 days from receipt of the notice to submit to the Department a request for a hearing pursuant to 7:26G-2.3. The Department shall withhold the registration certificate and decal(s) of any registrant who fails to submit the updated registration statement , on or before May 1 of the registration period or the updated disclosure statement and applicable fees (see N.J.A.C. 7:26-4 and 16) on or before March 1 of the calendar year.

7. Except for information regarding the operation of hazardous waste transfer facilities, a registrant shall notify the Department in writing within 30 days of change of information supplied on the current registration statement, or on any leases submitted for registered hazardous waste vehicles, or on any documentation of leased operators of equipment submitted pursuant to (a)13 below. Written notifications regarding transfer facilities shall occur prior to operations and include the following information: the address of each such facilities and an indication whether each property, where the transfer facility is to be located, is owned or leased by the transporter. For any leased property, a copy of the written lease shall be submitted .

8. No person shall be issued a hazardous waste approved registration statement nor shall any hazardous waste approved registration statement be renewed, if the applicant has failed to provide the accurate and complete information required on the application for issuance or the updating hazardous waste transporter registration statement for renewal.

9. No person shall be issued a hazardous waste approved registration statement if that person is disqualified for any of the reasons set forth in 7:26-16.8.

10. The Department, after notice and opportunity for hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 52:14B-1 et seq., and the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1, may revoke the approved registration statement of a hazardous waste transporter for the causes listed in this paragraph which are in addition to, and not a limitation of, any disqualifying reasons set forth in 7:26-16.8 and 16.9:

i. Failure to maintain the financial responsibility requirements as required above;

ii. Violation of any applicable provision of the Solid Waste Management Act (13:1E-1 et seq.), this chapter, any administrative order issued by the Department or any environmental protection statute or implementing regulations of this State;

iii. A pattern of violations of the environmental protection statutes or regulations of this or any other State, or the Federal government; or

iv. Failure to submit updated information for the registration statement renewal or to submit the appropriate fee.

11. A permittee, licensee or exempt transporter who files a lease in connection with the registration statement for a hazardous waste vehicle which the permittee, licensee or exempt transporter will operate shall ensure that such lease is signed and dated by the parties thereto, provides for the exclusive use, control and possession of such equipment by the permittee, licensee or exempt transporter during the lease, and also includes:

i. The dates on which the lease begins and ends, during which the permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter will have exclusive use, possession and control over the equipment;

ii. The amount and method of payment for the lease;

iii. The company or person responsible for payment of gas, oil, maintenance and insurance for the equipment;

iv. Identification of the equipment by vehicle identification number (VIN) as it appears on the Motor Vehicles Registration card, license plate number, state which issued license plate and vehicle type; and

v. A provision that the lease shall not be assigned to any person.

12. The lease shall be submitted along with an affidavit or certification by the president, chief executive officer, managing partner or sole proprietor or other appropriate officer or key employee of the permittee or licensee for whom a disclosure statement has been filed in accordance with 7:26-16.4(a)10, or if an exempt transporter, by the president, chief executive officer, managing partner or sole proprietor or other appropriate officer or official or key employee of the exempt transporter. The following statement shall immediately precede the signature of the affiant or certifier:

1. I swear (or certify) that I am the ...... (title) of ...... (name of licensee, permittee, or exempt transporter) and am authorized to make this certification/affidavit on behalf of ...... (name of licensee, permittee, or exempt transporter), and that I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth below.

2. The lease filed by me as part of this registration statement for the equipment, vehicle type: ......., with the VIN number: ......., license number: ......., issued by the State of: ......., contains the true terms of the lease and has a bonafide business purpose and is not filed with the purpose of preventing the discovery of information which would disqualify, for any reason set forth in 13:1E-133, the lessor or any other person from receiving a license.

3. I further swear (or certify) that my company and I understand that it shall exercise exclusive use, possession and control over each piece of hazardous waste equipment which is included in this application for a registration statement while such equipment is used to transport hazardous waste.

4. I further swear (or certify) that my company and I understand that it shall take reasonable measures to ensure that the above-described equipment will not, during the period of the lease, be used by any other person for the purpose of transporting hazardous waste."

In the case of a certification, the certification shall end with the following statement immediately preceding the signature and date: "I am aware that if any of the foregoing information or statement is willfully false, I am subject to punishment."

13. In addition to the requirements of (a)12 above, when a permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter files a lease in connection with an application for a registration statement for a hazardous waste vehicle, the lease shall provide that the leased equipment is or will be under the exclusive management, direction, and control of the permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter while being used to conduct hazardous waste activities for the permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter. This paragraph is in no way intended to affect whether the operator or operators of hazardous waste vehicles leased to a permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter are or should be deemed to be employees of the permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter.

14. No person shall act as a prime contractor or subcontractor for the transportation of hazardous waste in this State without first obtaining an approved registration statement from the Department. A lease, pursuant to this subchapter, of hazardous waste vehicle operators and equipment to a permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter, shall not, for purposes of this subchapter, be considered a subcontract.

15. A person who has not obtained an approved registration statement shall not, through a subcontractor or any other means, engage or contract to engage in the transportation, storage, collection, processing, transfer, treatment, or disposal of hazardous waste in this State through the use, control or possession of any hazardous waste vehicle registered to any other person, or through any other means. The leasing of hazardous waste vehicle operators and/or equipment to a permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter, pursuant to this subchapter, shall not be deemed engaging or contracting to engage in said hazardous waste activities.

16. A person is not required to obtain an approved registration from the Department solely because that person is transporting hazardous waste through New Jersey, if roadways or highways in New Jersey constitute a segment of such person's route, the hazardous waste being transported through New Jersey is not discharged from the hazardous waste vehicle, and hazardous waste from the person's hazardous waste vehicle is not collected, treated, processed, transferred, consolidated, commingled, or disposed of in New Jersey. Provided that these requirements are satisfied, the exemption from registration is not affected if the person's hazardous waste vehicle stops in New Jersey for any of the following reasons:

i. The vehicle suffers a mechanical breakdown which makes repair necessary;

ii. The operator of the hazardous waste vehicle must stop for a mandatory rest or break; or

iii. The operator of the hazardous waste vehicle temporarily stores hazardous waste at a hazardous waste transfer facility for 10 days or less in compliance with 7:26G-7.4.

(b) Hazardous waste vehicle registration requirements are as follows:

1. Any device used for the transportation of hazardous waste shall be registered with the Department as a hazardous waste vehicle.

2. A permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter shall not allow, through a subcontract or any other means, any such registered equipment to be used by another person, unless such person is an employee of the permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter, or unless such use is in accordance with a lease of vehicle operators pursuant to this subchapter.

3. The Department shall not issue a registration certificate(s) and hazardous waste decal(s) to any registrant who fails to submit the updated registration statement, the updated disclosure statement and the applicable fees (see N.J.A.C. 7:26G-3) in accordance with (a)6 above.

4. No person shall engage in or continue to engage in the transportation of hazardous waste during the period when a hazardous waste decal and registration certificate are withheld pursuant to this subsection.

5. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) hazardous waste transporter registration certificates and decals shall be void if altered. Department representatives shall confiscate altered or stolen hazardous waste transporter registration certificate and decals upon discovery.

6. All hazardous waste vehicles used in the transporting of hazardous waste shall properly and conspicuously display, on the driver's side of the vehicle, a current New Jersey hazardous waste decal and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) registration number. The NJDEP registration number and the name of the company shall be in letters and numbers at least three inches in height. Current hazardous waste decals must be permanently affixed to each hazardous waste vehicle prior to use on a public roadway or highway and prior to the hazardous waste vehicle being placed into service or before receiving waste. Expired decals shall be removed from the hazardous waste vehicle prior to affixing current registration period decals.

i. A copy of any lease filed in connection with the registration of the hazardous waste shall be carried within the vehicle at all times and available to the Department upon inspection or request.

ii. Only the current period decals shall be displayed. For hazardous waste vehicles which are owned by the registrant, the registrant shall, upon the interruption or termination of the exclusive use, possession or control of any such equipment by the registrant, notify the Department, return the NJDEP registration certificate to the Department, and remove and destroy the NJDEP registration number and decals on such hazardous waste vehicles. In all situations in which the Department issues decals to a permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter for affixation to the hazardous waste vehicle(s) of a lessor from which the permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter is leasing hazardous waste vehicles, the permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter to which the lessor has leased hazardous waste vehicles, and the lessor itself, are under independent obligations to notify the Department, return the NJDEP registration certificate to the Department, and remove and destroy the NJDEP registration number and decals from the hazardous waste vehicles of the lessor at the expiration and non-renewal of the lease pursuant to which the decals were issued. Such decals, after the expiration and non-renewal of the lease pursuant to which the decals were issued or at the expiration of the decals (whichever comes first), shall be deemed expired. When used for hazardous waste transportation purposes, such vehicles may only be used pursuant to the lease, and may be operated only by operators pursuant to the requirements of (a)12 and 13 above.

(1) Failure to remove and destroy such decals and registration numbers after the expiration and non-renewal of the lease shall constitute a violation of this subchapter, and shall subject both the lessor and the permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter to penalties and licensing action. It shall be an affirmative defense to a penalty proceeding or licensing action for a permittee, licensee or exempt transporter if it can show that it made reasonable efforts to remove and destroy the decal and gave the Department timely written notice of its inability to remove and destroy the decal.

(2) All expired decals and registration numbers shall be confiscated by the Department upon discovery.

(3) Use of decaled vehicles by a lessor receiving decals for its vehicles pursuant to a lease, for the transportation of hazardous waste within, or into or out of New Jersey other than pursuant to a lease with a permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter, and in conformity with (a)12 and 13 above, shall constitute unlicensed hauling, and shall subject the lessor to penalties and debarment from involvement in the solid and hazardous waste and recycling industry in the State of New Jersey, including a prohibition on leasing solid and hazardous waste vehicles or solid and hazardous waste operators to permittees, licensees, and exempt transporters.

iii. The current vehicle registration card for a cab issued by the Department shall be carried in the cab of the vehicle at all times. If the cab and the transport unit are detachable, the registration card for the transport unit shall be immediately accessible for inspection upon request.

7. Permittees, licensees and exempt transporters shall, for purposes of hazardous waste activities and to the extent provided for under New Jersey law, be responsible for the actions and omissions of their lessors and their vehicle operators, and for selecting lessors and vehicle operators with appropriate qualifications; and the fact that the underlying relationship between a permittee, licensee or exempt transporter, and a lessor and/or vehicle operator was other than that of employer-employee shall be no defense in a licensing or enforcement action taken against the permittee, licensee, or exempt transporter because of the actions, omissions, or lack of qualifications of the lessor or vehicle operator.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:26G-7.2

Amended by R.2000 d.75, effective 2/22/2000.
See: 31 New Jersey Register 1429(a), 32 New Jersey Register 693(a).
Rewrote the section.
Amended by R.2001 d.86, effective 3/5/2001.
See: 32 New Jersey Register 2536(a), 33 New Jersey Register 880(a).
In (b), added 6iii.
Amended by R.2002 d.140, effective 5/6/2002.
See: 33 New Jersey Register 3794(a), 34 New Jersey Register 1669(b).
Rewrote section.