New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 50 - PINELANDS COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN › Subchapter 10 - PILOT PROGRAMS › Part IV - ALTERNATE DESIGN TREATMENT SYSTEMS PILOT PROGRAM › Section 7:50-10.21 - Purpose

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) The high quality of surface and ground water resources in the Pinelands is one of the defining characteristics of the region. Both the Federal Act and the Pinelands Protection Act call for the preservation, protection and enhancement of the significant values of the land and water resources of the Pinelands and its unique ecosystem. Water resources in the Pinelands are protected by a combination of land use and water quality programs established in N.J.A.C. 7:50-5 and 6.
(b) The water quality requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:50-6, Part VIII, include provisions which are aimed at controlling the amount of nitrogen that enters the environment both because nitrogen in itself is a significant pollutant, but also because it often serves as an indicator of changes in overall water quality. To that end, 7:50-6.84(a)  limits the concentration of nitrogen in wastewater to two parts per million at the property line. Based on the Pinelands Septic Dilution Model (found in N.J.A.C. 7:50-6 Appendix A), a standard septic system, to which no nitrogen removal is attributed, requires at least 3.2 acres to dilute the concentration of nitrogen to two parts per million at the property line for a single family dwelling. N.J.A.C. 7:50-5authorizes residential development utilizing an on-site wastewater system on lots between one and 3.2 acres in certain circumstances. In those circumstances prior to August 5, 2002, pressure dosed septic systems were allowed to be utilized on lots between one and 3.2 acres in size. Studies undertaken by the Commission have found that the pressure dosed septic system being installed in the Pinelands Area has not been effective on lots smaller than 3.2 acres in meeting the water quality standards of N.J.A.C. 7:50-6, Part VIII.
(c) In 2000, the Commission formed a special committee to investigate alternate septic system technologies that would better meet the water quality requirements at N.J.A.C. 7:50-6, Part VIII, for residential development on lots smaller than 3.2 acres, where such lots are currently authorized by N.J.A.C. 7:50-5. After conducting extensive research, the Committee identified five technologies that could be expected to meet these water quality requirements for residential development. The Committee recommended that an interim program be developed for the approval, installation, and monitoring of the five technologies for use under certain conditions and safeguards. Residential development using any of the authorized systems would still have to conform to the lot size and density requirements contained in the municipal land use ordinances that have been certified by the Commission pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-3.
(d) The Alternate Design Waste Water Treatment Systems Pilot Program is authorized as a means to test whether specifically authorized systems can be maintained and operated so as to meet the water quality standards contained in N.J.A.C. 7:50-6, Part VIII with maintenance requirements that a homeowner can be reasonably expected to follow. Since these systems do require maintenance beyond that which would be required for a standard septic system in order to optimize treatment efficiencies, municipalities were originally encouraged, but not required, to adopt ordinances incorporating the requirements of 7:50-10.22 into their own land use ordinances. The use of the pilot program systems was then allowed only in those municipalities which had adopted such ordinances. Although most municipalities did adopt ordinances, several did not. This led to situations where owners of unsewered parcels under 3.2 acres in size were denied the ability to develop those parcels in a manner consistent with all other municipal land use and environmental standards, due simply to a municipalitys failure to adopt an ordinance allowing for the installation of the pilot program systems. This resulted in considerable hardship to landowners, an outcome which was never the intent of the pilot program. The program has therefore been revised to authorize use of the pilot program systems in all municipalities for the duration of the program, whether or not the specific terms of the program are reflected in a municipal ordinance. Municipalities will continue to be encouraged to allow community systems to be installed in larger residential developments where densities between one and 3.2 acres are currently authorized. Since insufficient data is available to determine a particular efficiency of these alternate design pilot program treatment systems for non-residential development, the use of these systems for non-residential development will be evaluated on a case by case basis pursuant to 7:50-6.84(a)5  if any such system is proposed to reduce total nitrogen in the effluent for non-residential development.
(e) Upon adoption of the Alternate Design Treatment Systems Pilot Program in 2002, the Commission authorized five technologies to be tested for residential use in the Pinelands Area: Amphidrome, Ashco RFS III, Bioclere, Cromaglass, and FAST. In 2006, the Commission removed the Ashco RFS III technology from the pilot program due to the manufacturer's failure to make systems commercially available in the Pinelands Area during the initial five-year period of the pilot program or to otherwise demonstrate the ability or intention for future participation in the program. In 2013, the Commission removed the Cromaglass technology from the pilot program due to its inability to meet the water quality standards at N.J.A.C. 7:50-6, Part VIII. The remaining three technologies successfully demonstrated their ability to meet the water quality standards of this Plan and were released from the pilot program and authorized for permanent use in the Pinelands Area in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:50-684(a) 5iv. The Amphidrome and Bioclere technologies were released in 2010 and authorized for residential development on parcels of at least one acre. The FAST technology was released in 2016 and authorized for residential development on parcels of at least 1.4 acres.
(f) In 2010, amendments to this subchapter authorized the Commission to expand the pilot program and add more residential nutrient reducing onsite waste water treatment technologies that have attained verification and/or certification through the United States Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Technology Verification (USEPA ETV) Program or the National Sanitation Foundation/American National Standards Institute (NSF/ANSI) Standard 245 testing program. Information regarding the USEPA ETV Program is available from the United States Environmental Protection Agency website at:
http://www.epa.gov/etv/ vt-wqp.html#dwtt
and
http://www.epa.gov/etv/pubs/600s07004.pdf
. Information regarding the NSF/ANSI Standard 245 testing program is available from the National Sanitation
Foundation website at:
http://www.nsf.org/business/wastewater_certification/standards.asp? program=WastewaterCer#245
. Four technologies were evaluated pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-10.23(b)  and accepted into the pilot program in 2011. In 2020, the Commission released one of those technologies, SeptiTech, from the pilot program in recognition of its ability to meet the water quality standards at N.J.A.C. 7:50-6, Part VIII, and authorized it for residential development on parcels of at least one acre in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:50-6.84(a)5iv. The Commission also removed two technologies from the pilot program in 2020: BioBarrier, which failed to meet the water quality standards at N.J.A.C. 7:50-6, Part VIII; and Busse GT, which could not be evaluated as the technology was never installed in the Pinelands Area after being accepted into the pilot program.