N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7A-21.1 - Procedure to request an adjudicatory hearing; decision on the request

(a) This subchapter sets forth the process by which a person may request an adjudicatory hearing to contest a Department decision to approve or deny an application under this chapter. A person seeking to contest an administrative order and/or a civil administrative penalty assessment shall do so in accordance with the adjudicatory hearing request provisions applicable to Department enforcement actions under this chapter at N.J.A.C. 7:7A-22.

(b) To contest a Department decision on an application under this chapter, a person shall submit an adjudicatory hearing request within 30 calendar days after public notice of the decision is published in the DEP Bulletin. If a person submits the adjudicatory hearing request after this time, the Department shall deny the request.

(c) A person requesting an adjudicatory hearing shall provide the following information on an adjudicatory hearing request form, available from the Department at the address set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7A-1.4:

1. The name, address, daytime telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the person requesting the hearing, and of the person's authorized representative.

2. A copy of the Department decision on which a hearing is being requested;

3. The date that the Department decision on which a hearing is being requested was received by the person requesting the hearing;

4. A specific admission, denial, or explanation of each fact appearing in the Department decision, or a statement that the person is without knowledge thereof;

5. A concise statement of the facts or principles of law asserted to constitute any factual or legal defense;

6. Where the person submitting the hearing request is not the person to whom the decision that is being contested was issued, evidence that a copy of the hearing request has been mailed or delivered to the person to whom the decision was issued.

(d) A person requesting an adjudicatory hearing shall:

1. Submit the original hearing request to:

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Office of Administrative Hearings and Dispute Resolution

ATTENTION: Adjudicatory Hearing Requests

401 E. State Street

Mail Code 401-07A

PO Box 420

Trenton, NJ 08625-0420; and

2. Submit a copy of the hearing request to the Director of the Division of Land Use Regulation at the address set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:7A-1.4.

(e) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to provide a right to an adjudicatory hearing in contravention of the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-3.1, 3.2, and 3.3.

(f) The Department shall notify the requester that the hearing request is granted or denied. If the hearing request is denied, the denial shall provide the reason(s) for the denial. If the hearing request is granted, the Department shall refer the matter to the Office of Administrative Law for a contested case hearing in accordance with 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.

(g) The Commissioner's action under (i) above shall be considered final agency action for the purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, and shall be subject only to judicial review in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, as provided in the Rules of Court.

(h) The Commissioner's action under (g) above shall be considered final agency action for the purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, and shall be subject to judicial review in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, as provided in the Rules of Court.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7A-21.1

Amended and recodified from 7:7A-1.7 by 49 N.J.R. 3849(a), effective 12/18/2017 Administrative Change, 55 N.J.R. 528(a), effective 2/23/2023