New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 19 - WATER SUPPLY ALLOCATION PERMITS › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 7:19-1.3 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in N.J.A.C. 7:19-1
				  through 4 and 7 through 17, shall have the following meanings, unless the
				  context clearly indicates otherwise. The definitions applicable to N.J.A.C.
				  7:19-5 and 6 are set forth at
				  7:19-5.2 and 6.2,
				  respectively.
"Act" means the Water Supply Management Act,
				  58:1A-1 et seq.
"Adjustable water use ban" means the prohibition or
				  restriction of adjustable water uses.
"Adjustable water uses" means those water uses which may be
				  reduced during times of drought warning or water supply emergency. Various
				  examples of adjustable water uses are contained in
				  7:19-13.3.
"Adverse impact upon wells" means an impaired pumping rate or
				  a required change in the construction of a well affected by lowered water
				  levels or any impairment of water quality.
"Annual fee" means a fee charged each calendar year during
				  the period of validity of a permit, regardless if water is diverted from
				  sources included in that permit.
"Applicable water purveyors" means all public-community water
				  systems serving those areas in which Phase II of a water emergency has been
				  initiated.
"Applicant" means any person filing or required to file an
				  application to establish a privilege to divert water or for a Water Supply
				  Allocation Permit pursuant to this chapter of the Act.
"Aquifer" means any subsurface water-saturated zone which is
				  significantly permeable so that it may yield sufficient quantities of water
				  from wells or springs in order to serve as a practical source of water
				  supply.
"Aquifer storage and recovery well" or "ASR well" means a
				  well which is utilized to store potable water in an aquifer during periods of
				  low water demand and then recover the water for potable purposes during periods
				  of high water demand.
"Area of critical water supply concern" or "critical area"
				  means a region of the State where excessive water usage or diversion presents
				  undue stress, or wherein conditions pose a significant threat to the long-term
				  integrity of a water supply source, including a diminution of surface water due
				  to excess groundwater diversion.
"Base allocation" means the permittee's portion of the safe
				  or dependable yield for the affected water resource within an area of critical
				  water supply concern.
"Capability to divert 100,000 gallons of water per day" means
				  having the equipment or diversion structure with the hydraulic capacity to pump
				  or divert 100,000 gallons per day of ground or surface water; for pumping
				  equipment, the hydraulic capacity is equivalent to 70 gallons per
				  minute.
"Certified diversion" means a diversion used for agricultural
				  or horticultural purposes for which a water usage certification has been
				  obtained pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:20A.
"Chairman" means the Chairman of the Water Emergency Task
				  Force who shall be designated by the Commissioner.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of
				  Environmental Protection or his designated representative.
"Confined aquifer" means an aquifer which contains
				  groundwater under pressure between or below relatively impermeable or
				  significantly less permeable material so that the water surface rises above the
				  top of the aquifer in a well which derives its water from that aquifer.
"Consumptive use" means any use of water diverted from
				  surface or ground waters other than a nonconsumptive use as defined below in
				  this section.
"Contract" means the document setting out the entire
				  agreement between a Water Supply Allocation Permittee and a purchaser for the
				  bulk sale or purchase of water.
"Customer of record" means any person, corporation, company,
				  partnership, firm, association, political subdivision of the State, and any
				  state or interstate agency or Federal agency receiving water service from an
				  applicable water purveyor.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Environmental
				  Protection.
"Decision maker" means the person designated by the
				  Department to make decisions on applications for permits and claims of
				  privileges to divert water.
"Dewatering" means the diversion of ground water on a
				  temporary basis from wells, wellpoints, excavations or sumps in order to
				  facilitate construction.
"Diversion source" means the source from which water is
				  diverted.
"Divert" or "Diversion" means the taking of water from a
				  river, stream, lake, pond, aquifer, well, other underground source, or other
				  waterbody, whether or not the water is returned thereto, consumed, made to flow
				  into another stream or basin, or discharged elsewhere.
"Drought" means a condition of dryness due to lower than
				  normal precipitation, resulting in reduced stream flows, reduced soil moisture
				  and/or a lowering of the potentiometric surface in wells.
"Drought coordinator" means the individual designated by the
				  Commissioner who is responsible for the administration and enforcement of
				  N.J.A.C. 7:19-9 through 17.
"Drought warning" means the status declared by the
				  Department, pursuant to
				  7:19-9.5, where there exists a
				  relative lack of precipitation or a lower than normal storage of water
				  supplies.
"Emergency response plan" means the document submitted by
				  each water purveyor to the Department outlining the actions it will take to
				  assure water supply during a water emergency.
"Emergency well" means a well which is maintained for an
				  unplanned and/or unexpected use, such as fire protection or failure of another
				  well.
"Excess diversion" means the amount of water diverted from
				  streams and lakes with outlets for the purpose of public water supply in excess
				  of the free allowance.
"Excess diversion fee" means the amount charged each person
				  for its annual excess diversion or for the diversion from subsurface, well or
				  percolating water supplies, where the State's right of eminent domain was used
				  to condemn the water supply.
"Facility" means a structure or infrastructure designed and
				  built for a specific purpose.
"Free allowance" means, for the purpose of calculating the
				  excess diversion fee, the amount of water diverted from streams and lakes with
				  outlets for the purpose of public water supply in an amount equal to 100
				  gallons daily for each inhabitant of the municipality or municipalities
				  supplied, as shown by the census of 1905, or equal to such greater amount being
				  legally diverted on June 17, 1907. Free allowances have been established in
				  7:19-4.8.
"Inactive well" means a well which is not presently being
				  used but which is being held in abeyance for future use.
"Industrial users" means those non-residential users
				  excluding multiple dwellings and health care facilities.
"Initial fee" means the fee charged by the Department for the
				  review of an application for a new water supply allocation or temporary
				  dewatering permit.
"Lawful entry" means an entry by the Commissioner into any
				  building, place, or premise pursuant to
				  13:1D-1 et seq. and otherwise
				  provided by law, ordinance, regulation, order, permit, or agreement.
"Local use" means the utilization of the privilege to divert
				  water to supply those areas contained within a purveyor's franchise area, or
				  supply area, as approved by the Department in accordance with this
				  chapter.
"Local water emergency" means there exists or impends, within
				  a purveyor's service area, a water supply shortage and/or water quality
				  emergency which significantly impacts the purveyor's ability to meet water
				  demands.
"Modification fee" means the fee charged by the Department
				  for the review of an application for a major modification of a permit.
"Nonconsumptive use" means the use of water diverted from
				  surface or ground waters in such a manner that it is returned to the surface or
				  ground water at or near the point from which it was taken without substantial
				  diminution in quantity or substantial impairment of quality.
"Non-residential users" means all water users other than
				  residential users.
"Normal water rates" means the prevailing retail rates which
				  were charged by the applicable water purveyors and which were in effect
				  immediately preceding the declaration of a water emergency.
"Operating order" means structurally competent and equipped
				  with a functioning pump or surface water intake.
"Passing flow requirement" means the volume of water required
				  to be maintained at a selected point in the stream to promote water quality
				  conditions after consideration of the needs of downstream users.
"Permit" means a water supply allocation permit or temporary
				  dewatering permit.
"Person" means any individual, corporation, company,
				  partnership, firm, association, owner or operator of a water supply facility,
				  political subdivision of the State and any state, or interstate agency or
				  Federal agency.
"Phase" means the particular level of water emergency
				  severity.
"Phase I" means the first stage of a water emergency during
				  which available water supply levels are determined to be below normal and bans
				  on adjustable water uses may be instituted.
"Phase II" means the second stage of a water emergency during
				  which a more substantial threat to the public health and welfare exists and a
				  specified reduction in water use may be mandated.
"Potentiometric surface" means an imaginary surface which
				  represents the static head of water, relative to sea level, in a well
				  constructed in an aquifer.
"Public Water Supply" means a water supply providing piped
				  water to the public for human consumption, if such system has at least 15
				  service connections or regularly serves at least 25 individuals.
"Purveyor" or "water purveyor" means any person who owns or
				  operates a public water supply.
"Recall" is the process by which the Department reexamines an
				  existing water supply allocation permit to determine the need for modification
				  or revocation.
"Replacement well" means a new well that is to replace an
				  existing well which will be sealed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:9-9 and where
				  the proposed well will be approximately the same depth as the existing well and
				  diverting from the same aquifer; have the same or lesser pump capacity; and be
				  within 100 feet of the existing well.
"Residential users" means all users of water who reside in a
				  single family home serviced with one meter, or in a multiple unit dwelling with
				  no more than four units serviced with one meter. Where residential and
				  non-residential users are serviced with the same meter, the users shall be
				  classified as non-residential users.
"Safe or dependable yield" or "safe yield" or "dependable
				  yield" means that maintainable yield of water from a surface or ground water
				  source or sources which is available continuously during projected future
				  conditions, including a repetition of the most severe drought of record,
				  without creating undesirable effects, as determined by the Department in
				  accordance with this chapter.
"Saline water" means water containing a chloride
				  concentration in excess of 250 mg/L.
"Salt water" means water containing a chloride concentration
				  in excess of 10,000 mg/L.
"Temporary dewatering permit" means a document issued by the
				  Department to those persons intending to divert, for construction purposes,
				  100,000 or more gallons of water per day for more than 30 days in a consecutive
				  365 day period which allows the permittee to temporarily divert water at a rate
				  which may exceed the natural replenishment of the water resource.
"Unconfined or semi-confined aquifer" means an aquifer that
				  is either exposed to atmospheric pressure or bounded by layers of materials
				  which do not serve as an effective barrier to water migration.
"Undiminished return" means, for the purpose of determining
				  fees, the return of diverted surface or ground water to or near the point from
				  which it was taken without substantial diminution in quantity.
"Violator" means any person whom the Department asserts has
				  violated the Act or any rules issued pursuant to the Act.
"Water" or "waters of the State" means all surface water or
				  ground water in the State.
"Water Conservation and Drought Management Plan" means the
				  plan governing actions to be taken by a permittee under a drought warning or in
				  a water emergency, and the permittee's ongoing effort to conserve water.
"Water emergency" means a declaration by the Governor, upon a
				  finding by the Commissioner, that there exists or impends a water supply
				  shortage and/or water quality emergency of a dimension which significantly
				  impacts water supply and, thereby, endangers the public health, safety or
				  welfare in all or part of the State.
"Water emergency fund" means that repository of all sums
				  collected by the applicable water purveyors pursuant to the water emergency
				  surcharge schedule which are in excess of the amounts which would have been
				  collected under normal water rates.
"Water emergency surcharge schedule" means the rate schedule
				  for the retail costs of water supplies which shall be utilized by applicable
				  water purveyors, as provided by rule, in the event of a water emergency.
"Water Emergency Task Force" or "Task Force" means that State
				  body consisting of inter-agency representatives whose purpose is to assist the
				  Commissioner in the formulation of policy and make recommendations to the
				  Commissioner during a water emergency. The Task Force shall be composed of
				  representatives of the following agencies: the Department of Environmental
				  Protection, the Department of Commerce and Economic Development, the Department
				  of Education, the Department of Labor, the Department of Law and Public Safety,
				  the Department of Community Affairs, the Board of Public Utilities, the
				  Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, the Department of
				  Treasury, and other agencies as designated by the Commissioner.
"Water resource" means any river, stream, lake, pond,
				  aquifer, other underground source, or other water body which may be
				  diverted.
"Water supply allocation permit" means the document issued by
				  the Department to a person granting that person the privilege, so long as the
				  person complies with the conditions of the document, to divert 100,000 or more
				  gallons of water per day for more than 30 days in a consecutive 365 day period,
				  for any purpose other than agricultural or horticultural purposes.
"Water supply critical aquifer" means an aquifer within an
				  area of critical water supply concern where there may be either insufficient
				  water supply, shortage of ground water by overdraft, threat of salt water
				  intrusion or contamination, or where other circumstances exist requiring the
				  Department to impose special water supply management provisions by rule under
				  N.J.A.C. 7:19-8.
"Water supply system" means a physical infrastructure
				  operated and maintained to deliver water on either a retail or wholesale basis
				  to customers.
"Water table aquifer" means a geological formation which
				  carries water at atmospheric pressure at the top of the saturated zone.
"Water usage certification" or "certification" means the
				  document issued by a county agricultural agent pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:20A to a
				  person granting that person the privilege to divert 100,000 gallons or more of
				  water per day from ground and surface water sources for agricultural or
				  horticultural purposes for a five year period.
"Well" means a hole or excavation deeper than it is wide,
				  that is drilled, bored, core driven, jetted, dug or otherwise constructed for
				  the purpose of the removal of, investigation of, or exploration for
				  water.
"Well sealing" means the permanent closure of a well in
				  accordance with the procedures set forth in N.J.A.C. 7:9-9.
"Zone of influence" is the area of ground water which
				  experiences an impact attributable to a pumping well.