New Jersey Legislature

“ If the State Commissioner of Health determines at any time that air pollution, in any county, locality, place or other area in the State constitutes an unreasonable and emergency risk to the health of those present within said area of the State, such determination shall be communicated in writing, with the factual findings on which such determination is based, to the Governor; the commissioner may delegate in writing to any employee of the department the power to make such determination and deliver the same to the Governor in the absence of the commissioner from the State. ”

“ It shall be a rebuttable presumption that there is a practicable alternative to any nonwater-dependent regulated activity that does not involve a freshwater wetland, and that such an alternative to any regulated activity would have less of an impact on the aquatic ecosystem. ”

“ The Legislature therefore determines that it is within the public interest to allow private entities who have applied for permits to build, install, maintain or operate any facility for the collection, treatment or discharge of any pollutant or for permits to Implement pollution prevention process modifications to undertake such building, installation, maintenance or operation or to implement such process modifications while the department is reviewing their permit application, but with the clear and full understanding that they assume all risks for their actions. ”

“ Whenever the department has cause to believe that any person is violating any code, rule or regulation promulgated by the commission, the department shall cause a prompt investigation to be made in connection therewith. If upon inspection the department discovers a condition which is in violation of the provisions of this act or any code, rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, it shall be authorized to order such violation to cease and to take such steps necessary to enforce such an order. ”

“ After public hearing upon notice, the council shall, from time to time, delineate as flood hazard areas such portions of the flood plains as, in the judgment of the council, the improper development and use of which would constitute a threat to the safety, health, and general welfare. Such delineation shall identify the various subportions of the flood hazard area for reasonable and proper use according to relative risk, including the designation of floodways necessary to preserve the flood carrying capacity of natural streams. ”

“ Subject to the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey, any service of ticket, process, or penalty or other notice served on an operator who operates in this State, or on an owner or lessee of the vehicle, shall also constitute service upon the remaining persons, so long as the ticket, process, or penalty or other notice advises the person actually served of that person's responsibility to notify the remaining persons. ”

“ A person who is employed by or under contract with a private inspection facility and who affixes a certificate of approval or a waiver certificate to a motor vehicle without having properly inspected the vehicle or without having determined that the condition of the vehicle conforms to standards established by law or regulation shall be liable to a civil penalty of not less than $500, to be collected in a civil action commenced by the director. ”

“ It is the policy of this State to restore, enhance and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of its waters, to protect public health, to safeguard fish and aquatic life and scenic and ecological values, and to enhance the domestic, municipal, recreational, industrial and other uses of water. ”

“ If any change in the physical conditions of any lands of a realty improvement, which will materially affect the operation of the water supply system or sewerage facilities covered by any certification issued under this act, shall be made after certification, the certification shall become null and void and a new certification shall be obtained before construction shall proceed. If 50 or more realty improvements are covered by such a voided certificate a copy of the application for a new certificate shall be mailed to the State Department on the date upon which it is submitted to the board. ”

“ The Legislature further finds that a low emission vehicle program may be an effective, cost efficient method to reduce both the State's and the region's ozone problem; that the member states of the Ozone Transport Commission have endorsed adoption of a low emission vehicle program in each of their states; and that, because there may be a need to adopt such a program in this State in order to come into compliance with the federal Clean Air Act, it is in the State's best interest to authorize its adoption. ”

“ Any person aggrieved by an order of the department has 20 days from receipt of the order within which to deliver to the commissioner a written request for a hearing. Subsequent to the hearing, if requested, and upon a finding that a violation has occurred, the commissioner may issue a final order to cease the violation and assessing the amount of the fine specified in the order. If no hearing is requested, the order is a final order upon the expiration of the 20 day period. Payment of the penalty is due when a final order is issued or when the order becomes a final order. ”

“ The authority to levy a civil administrative penalty is in addition to all other enforcement provisions in P.L.1970, c.39, and the payment of any assessment shall not be deemed to affect the availability of any other enforcement provisions in connection with the violation for which the assessment is levied. ”

“ No person or corporation shall hereafter locate or establish any factory, workshop, or place for the manufacture of materials or goods, on any watershed in this State above the point at which any public supply of potable water is taken, unless the person or corporation responsible for the operation of such factory, workshop, or place for the manufacture of materials or goods, shall have obtained from the Department of Health of the State of New Jersey a written permit granting permission to so locate or establish such factory, workshop, or place for the manufacture of materials or goods. ”

“ The highest ranking official having day-to-day managerial and operational responsibilities for the discharging facility of a local agency shall be the highest ranking licensed operator of the municipal treatment works in those instances where a licensed operator is required by law to operate the facility. In those instances where a local agency has contracted with another entity to operate a municipal treatment works, the highest ranking official who signs the discharge monitoring report shall be an employee of the contract operator and not of the local agency. ”

“ If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which the violation continues, or each day in which the civil administrative penalty is not paid in full, constitutes an additional, separate and distinct offense. ”

“ The provisions of this act do not apply when the dumping of any material is necessary to secure the safety of human life or of vessels, aircraft, platforms, or other man-made structures at sea in cases of force majeure caused by stress of weather, or in any case that constitutes a danger to human life or a real threat to vessels, aircraft, platforms, or other man-made structures at sea, if dumping appears to be the only way of averting the threat and if there is every probability that the damage consequent upon the dumping will be less than would otherwise occur. ”

“ No person shall hereafter discharge or permit to be discharged into any fresh water any sewage, excremental matter, domestic refuse or other polluting matter. The term "fresh water" as used in this act shall be taken to mean and include all water commonly known as fresh and which may be used for human consumption, irrespective of whether such water shall be found in a stream where the tide ebbs and flows or not ”

“ A person shall not conduct any emission inspection required by the director on a motor vehicle unless that person is licensed as an emission inspector by the director. The director may establish a fee not to exceed $50 for the licensure and relicensure of emission inspectors and shall establish standards and requirements for the licensure and relicensure of emission inspectors including, at a minimum, the successful completion of emission training and testing requirements determined by the director in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection as a prerequisite to licensing. ”

“ Any aggrieved person, firm or corporation or other entity upon application to the commissioner shall be granted a public hearing on the question of whether or not the continuance of any such order in whole or in part is unreasonable in the light of the then prevailing conditions of air pollution, the contribution to the same of any particular activity, and the purposes of this act. ”

“ Whenever a person's request to be considered to be a party to the action is granted, the commissioner or the administrative law judge, as appropriate, shall identify the permit conditions which have been contested by the requester and for which an administrative hearing will be granted. Permit conditions which are not so contested shall not be affected by, or considered at, the administrative hearing. All requests by persons seeking to be considered a party to the action for a particular permit shall be combined in a single administrative hearing. ”

“ The Department of Environmental Protection may provide that the standards and test methods vary according to the age of the vehicle or according to other relevant factors, and the department may provide exemptions based upon good cause, including, but not limited to, whether the vehicle has been tested within the previous six months or other reasonable period of time in accordance with the law of another state or jurisdiction and has been found to be in compliance with the exhaust emissions standards of the state or jurisdiction in which the vehicle was tested. ”

“ The Legislature finds that ozone continues to be a pervasive air pollution problem for New Jersey, resulting in most of the State being designated by the federal government as a severe nonattainment area for ozone; that the formation of ozone poses a significant health threat to the citizens of the State, especially to children and the elderly ”

“ Notwithstanding the issuance or non-issuance of a certificate of approval, the obligation to ensure that a vehicle is in a proper and safe condition rests with the owner, operator or lessee, as appropriate, of the vehicle. ”