New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 15 - WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANNING › Subchapter 9 - WATERSHED MANAGEMENT GRANTS › Section 7:15-9.3 - Pre-application procedures

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) The Department
				encourages potential grant applicants to consult with the Department and the
				applicable PAC(s) prior to application submission in order to facilitate
				preparation and evaluation of the grant application. Inquiries to the
				Department may relate to procedural or substantive matters and may range from
				informal telephone advice to pre-arranged meetings.
(b) Watershed management grants shall only be
				issued to watershed management groups recognized in accordance with the
				following:
1. A watershed management group is
				a group recognized by the Department as the entity representing various
				interests within one or more watersheds or subwatersheds located in a watershed
				management area and whose purpose is to improve the condition or prevent
				further degradation of a watershed or watersheds.
2. The activities of a watershed management
				group may include:
i. Holding public meetings
				to discuss and exchange information on watershed issues;
ii. Establishing and operating a
				stakeholder's advisory group or groups or watershed associations dedicated to
				preserving and protecting a watershed;
iii. Engaging in water quality and quantity
				monitoring, water quality modeling or assessment of the condition of a
				watershed;
iv. Developing policy
				goals to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged into a watershed;
v. Developing projects designed to enhance or
				restore a watershed; or
vi.
				Developing, in consultation with the Department and the PAC established for the
				WMA, a watershed management strategy, or the reassessment of a watershed to
				determine whether the policies, goals or the objectives of a WMA plan or a
				watershed management strategy have been attained. The watershed management
				strategy addresses one or more watersheds or subwatersheds and is developed by
				the watershed management group, whereas the WMA plan addresses the watershed
				management area, which consists of more than one watershed, and is developed by
				the Department.
3. At a
				minimum, the following entities and individuals shall be invited to participate
				in a watershed management group:
i. The mayor
				or equivalent government official, or such official's designee, for each
				municipal government located partially or entirely within the watershed or
				watersheds represented by the watershed management group;
ii. The county board of freeholders, or the
				freeholders' designee, for each county located partially or entirely within the
				watershed or watersheds represented by the watershed management
				group;
iii. A representative of
				water purveyors;
iv. A
				representative of wastewater utilities or authorities;
v. A representative of the business
				community;
vi. A representative of
				the development community;
vii. A
				representative of the agricultural community, if appropriate;
viii. A representative of the applicable Soil
				Conservation District(s);
ix. A
				representative of the academic community;
x. A representative of the environmental
				community;
xi. A representative of
				the general public; and
xii. An
				official of any regional planning agency (including regional planning boards
				established pursuant to
				40:55D-77 et seq.) that has been
				created for all or part of the watershed or watersheds to be represented by the
				watershed management group, as applicable.
4. A request for recognition as a watershed
				management group shall be submitted to the Department, with a copy to the
				applicable PAC(s), and include the following information:
i. A copy of the mailing list used to
				establish the watershed management group, including the entities identified in
				(b)3 above;
ii. A copy of the
				letter of invitation to participate in the watershed management
				group;
iii. A copy of the responses
				from those officials or representatives agreeing to participate;
iv. A copy of the responses from those
				officials or representatives declining to participate; and
v. In cases where no response to the letter
				of invitation was received within 60 days, the group shall send a follow-up
				request by certified mail, return receipt requested, and submit proof of such
				follow-up.
5. The
				Department shall respond in writing within 45 days of the receipt of a complete
				request for recognition as a watershed management group.
6. To qualify for funding under this chapter,
				a watershed management group shall make an application to the Department for
				recognition, identify a government entity, 501(c)3 corporation or other
				corporate entity that will serve as the fiscal agent for the watershed
				management group and provide a statement of agreement from that entity to serve
				as the fiscal agent for the watershed management group. The fiscal agent shall
				be responsible for all financial interactions with the Department.
7. All meetings of a watershed management
				group shall be open to the public with prior notification in a newspaper of
				general circulation that covers area of the group.