N.J. Admin. Code § 7:27C-1.6

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

Section 7:27C-1.6 - Appeal Procedure

(a) A person who believes himself or herself to be aggrieved with respect to a decision made by the Department pursuant to this chapter may appeal the decision within 20 calendar days after the date of the decision and request an adjudicatory hearing.

(b) Requests for an adjudicatory hearing shall be submitted to:

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Office of Administrative Hearings and Dispute Resolution

401 E. State Street

Mail Code 401-07A

PO Box 420

Trenton, NJ 08625-0420

(c) All requests for an administrative hearing shall be submitted to the Department in writing on a hearing request form available from the Department and shall contain:

1. The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the request and the person's relationship to the applicant;

2. When the request is submitted by someone other than the applicant, evidence that a copy of the hearing request has been mailed to the applicant;

3. A statement of the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the request for a hearing is made;

4. A brief and clear statement of the Department decision being appealed, indicating the specific grounds for the applicant's appeal and the applicant's defenses to each of the Department's findings of fact in the notice or decision;

5. A copy of the Department notice or decision for which a hearing is being requested;

6. A statement of all facts alleged to be at issue and their relevance to the Department decision for which a hearing is requested. Any legal issues associated with the alleged facts at issue shall also be included;

7. An admission or denial of each of the Department's findings of fact in the notice or decision. If the applicant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of a finding, the applicant shall SO[2] state and this shall have the effect of a denial. A denial shall fairly meet the substance of the findings denied. When the applicant intends in good faith to deny only a part or a qualification of a finding, the applicant shall specify SO[2] much of it as is true and material and deny only the remainder. The applicant may not generally deny all of the findings but shall make all denials as specific denials of designated findings. For each finding the applicant denies, the applicant shall allege the fact or facts as the applicant believes it or them to be;

8. All information supporting the request or other written documents relied upon to support the request, unless this information is already in the administrative record (in which case, the request shall specifically reference such information);

9. An estimate of the time for the hearing (in days and/or hours); and

10. A request, if necessary, for a barrier-free hearing location for physically disabled persons.

(d) The Department will deny any hearing request if it is not received within 20 calendar days after the date of the Department decision being appealed.

(e) The Department may deny any hearing request if the applicant or interested party fails to include all the information required under (c) above.

(f) Following receipt of a complete request for a hearing pursuant to (c) above, the Department may attempt to informally settle the dispute by conducting such proceedings, meetings, and conferences as it deems appropriate.

(g) If the Department determines that the matter is a contested case, the Department will transfer the matter for an administrative hearing to the Office of Administrative Law. Such a hearing will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., and 52:14F-1 et seq., and the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1. In making such determination, the Department will evaluate the request to determine whether a contested case exists and whether there are issues of fact, which, if assumed to be true, might change the Department's decision. Where only issues of law are raised by a request for a hearing, the Department will deny the request. Denial by the Department of a request for a contested case hearing shall constitute the final decision of the Department for the purposes of judicial appeal.

(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide a right to an adjudicatory hearing in contravention of N.J.S.A. 52:14B-3.1 through 3.3.

(i) As part of a request for an adjudicatory hearing, a person may request that the Department determine whether the matter for which the adjudicatory hearing is requested is suitable for mediation by the Department's Office of Administrative Hearings and Dispute Resolution. The Department will promptly notify the requester of its determination. If the Department determines the matter is suitable for mediation, it will also notify the requester of the procedures and schedule for mediation.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:27C-1.6

Adopted by 51 N.J.R. 992(a), effective 6/17/2019

Administrative Change, 55 N.J.R. 528(a), effective 2/23/2023