New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 9C - GROUND WATER QUALITY STANDARDS › Subchapter 1 - GROUND WATER QUALITY STANDARDS › Section 7:9C-1.6 - Exceptions to the classification system

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) The Department
				may establish a Classification Exception Area only when the Department
				determines that constituent standards for a given classification are not being
				met or will not be met in a localized area due to: natural quality; localized
				effects of a discharge approved through a NJPDES permit action; pollution
				caused by human activity within a contaminated site as defined by the
				Department in the context of an applicable regulatory program (for example,
				Site Remediation Program); or an ACL as approved by the Department pursuant to
				NJPDES. In the context of an applicable regulatory program, the Department
				shall determine or describe appropriate boundaries for each Classification
				Exception Area and include the written description of the boundaries in the
				appropriate permit action along with specifications as to which constituents
				the exception applies. Classification Exception Areas may only be established
				when constituent standards are not being met or will not be met due to the
				conditions set forth above and shall not be established for the purpose of
				sanctioning violations of constituent standards.
(b) Where natural quality for any constituent
				contravenes the criteria established in
				7:9C-1.7 such that the primary
				designated use is not viable within a limited area, the Department may
				establish a Classification Exception Area within which the Department shall
				define appropriate designated uses and constituent standards, based upon the
				natural quality. Such Classification Exception Areas shall remain in effect as
				long as the primary designated use of the original classification area is not
				viable using ground water at natural quality.
(c) Where the Department defines, through a
				NJPDES permit action, an area of temporary noncompliance with specific
				constituent standards related to the localized effects of a permitted
				discharge, the ground water within that area of noncompliance shall be a
				Classification Exception Area for those constituents only. All other
				constituent standards shall apply within the Classification Exception Area. All
				designated uses in these Classification Exception Areas will be suspended
				during the life of the Classification Exception Area. Constituent standards of
				the surrounding classification area shall apply at the perimeter of the
				Classification Exception Area for the specified constituents. The
				Classification Exception Area shall have the same life as the approved NJPDES
				permit action, after which the original classification, designated uses and
				constituent standards shall apply.
(d) Where a discharge has resulted or will
				result in localized ground water quality that contravenes one or more
				constituent standards, the Department may define that area as a Classification
				Exception Area for specified constituents pursuant to (or in accordance with) a
				NJPDES permit action or the remediation of a contaminated site in the context
				of an applicable regulatory program. All other constituent standards shall
				apply within the Classification Exception Area. All designated uses in each
				Classification Exception Area will be suspended during the life of the
				Classification Exception Area. Constituent standards of the surrounding
				classification area shall apply at the perimeter of the Classification
				Exception Area for the specified constituents. The Department shall restrict or
				require the restriction of potable ground water uses within any Classification
				Exception Area where there is or will be an exceedance of the Primary Drinking
				Water Quality Standards (in N.J.A.C. 7:10). Where the Department defines the
				Classification Exception Area through a NJPDES permit action, the
				Classification Exception Area shall have the same life as the approved NJPDES
				permit action, after which the original classification, designated uses and
				constituent standards shall apply. Other regulatory actions creating the
				Classification Exception Area shall specify the longevity of the exception,
				after which the original classification, designated uses and constituent
				standards shall be applicable.