S2346 SCS

An Act extending certain governmental permits, approvals, and deadlines during the public health emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and supplementing Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be known and may be cited as the "Permit Extension Act of 2020."

2. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. COVID-19 is a contagious, and at times fatal, respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus first discovered in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China, and quickly spread to multiple other countries, including the United States, and has severely impacted residents of the State of New Jersey;

b. Due to the potential risk of COVID-19 to residents of New Jersey, by way of Executive Order No. 103, Governor Philip D. Murphy declared that a State of Emergency and a Public Health Emergency exists in the State of New Jersey;

c. To limit the spread of COVID-19, it has become imperative for governments, institutions, businesses, organizations, and people throughout New Jersey to implement strict social distancing measures and take other precautions to reduce the public health impacts of the disease;

d. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 and protective measures necessary to avoid its further spread, much government, business and economic activity has been halted, disrupted, or delayed;

e. These delays have adversely impacted real estate developers and redevelopers, including homebuilders, and commercial, office, and industrial developers, whose projects may be held in abeyance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these projects have already received a myriad of governmental permits and approvals, which are expensive and time-consuming to obtain;

f. Obtaining an extension of an approval pursuant to existing statutory or regulatory provisions can be both costly in terms of time and financial resources; moreover, the costs imposed may fall on the public as well as the private sector; and

g. It is therefore appropriate, and the purpose of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), to toll the term of certain permits and approvals during the COVID-19 extension period in order to prevent the wholesale abandonment of approved projects and activities due to the present unfavorable economic conditions, thereby preventing a waste of public and private resources and allowing for the quick resumption of projects when it is safe to restart normal business and government activity.

3. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

"Approval" means, except as otherwise provided herein, any approval of a soil erosion and sediment control plan granted by a local soil conservation district under the authority conferred by R.S.4:24-22 et seq., waterfront development permit issued pursuant to R.S.12:5-1 et seq., permit issued pursuant to "The Wetlands Act of 1970," P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-1 et seq.), permit issued pursuant to the "Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act," P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-1 et al.), approval of an application for development granted by the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission pursuant to the "Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Law of 1974," P.L.1974, c.118 (C.13:13A-1 et seq.), permit issued by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission pursuant to the "Hackensack Meadowlands Reclamation and Development Act," P.L.1968, c.404 (C.13:17-1 et al.), approval of an application for development granted by the Pinelands Commission and determination of municipal and county plan conformance pursuant to the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.), permit issued and center designations pursuant to the "Coastal Area Facility Review Act," P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.), septic approval granted pursuant to Title 26 of the Revised Statutes, permit granted pursuant to R.S.27:7-1 et seq. or any supplement thereto, right-of-way permit issued by the Department of Transportation pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (h) of section 5 of P.L.1966, c.301 (C.27:1A-5), approval granted by a sewerage authority pursuant to the "sewerage authorities law," P.L.1946, c.138 (C.40:14A-1 et seq.), approval granted by a municipal authority pursuant to the "municipal and county utilities authorities law," P.L.1957, c.183 (C.40:14B-1 et seq.), an agreement with a municipality, county, municipal authority, sewerage authority, or other governmental authority for the use or reservation of sewerage capacity, approval issued by a county planning board pursuant to chapter 27 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes, preliminary and final approval granted in connection with an application for development pursuant to the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.), permit granted pursuant to the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.), plan endorsement and center designations pursuant to the "State Planning Act," P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et al.), permit or certification issued pursuant to the "Water Supply Management Act," P.L.1981, c.262 (C.58:1A-1 et al.), permit granted authorizing the drilling of a well pursuant to P.L.1947, c.377 (C.58:4A-5 et seq.), certification or permit granted, exemption from a sewerage connection ban granted, wastewater management plan approved, and pollution discharge elimination system permit pursuant to the "Water Pollution Control Act," P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et seq.), certification granted pursuant to "The Realty Improvement Sewerage and Facilities Act (1954)," P.L.1954, c.199 (C.58:11-23 et seq.), certification or approval granted pursuant to P.L.1971, c.386 (C.58:11-25.1 et al.), certification issued and water quality management plan approved pursuant to the "Water Quality Planning Act," P.L.1977, c.75 (C.58:11A-1 et seq.), approval granted pursuant to the "Safe Drinking Water Act," P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-1 et al.), permit issued pursuant to the "Flood Hazard Area Control Act," P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), any municipal, county, regional, or State approval or permit granted under the general authority conferred by State law or rule or regulation, or any other government authorization of any development application or any permit related thereto whether that authorization is in the form of a permit, approval, license, certification, permission, determination, interpretation, exemption, variance, exception, waiver, letter of interpretation, no further action letter, agreement, or any other executive or administrative decision which allows a development or governmental project to proceed; provided that, for all of the foregoing, the approval was validly issued and the term of such approval was unexpired as of March 9, 2020.

“COVID-19” means the coronavirus disease 2019, as announced by the World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, and first identified in Wuhan, China.

“COVID-19 extension period” means the period beginning March 9, 2020 and continuing for as long as a public health emergency pursuant to the “Emergency Health Powers Act,” P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.), or a state of emergency, pursuant to P.L.1942, c.251 (C.App.A.9-33 et seq.), or both, that has been declared by the Governor in response to COVID-19, is in effect.

"Development" means the division of a parcel of land into two or more parcels, the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any building or other structure or facility, or of any grading, soil removal or relocation, excavation or landfill, or any use or change in the use of any building or other structure or land or extension of the use of land.

"Government" means any municipal, county, regional, or State government, or any agency, department, commission, or other instrumentality thereof.

4. For any government approval in existence on March 9, 2020, the running of the period of approval is automatically suspended for the COVID-19 extension period, however, the tolling provided for herein shall not extend the government approval more than six months beyond the conclusion of the COVID-19 extension period, except that for any construction project suspended pursuant to either the Governor’s Executive Order No. 122 or any other government order, the tolling period shall be 12 months beyond the conclusion of the COVID-19 extension period. Nothing in this section shall be construed to reduce the time period of any approval in existence as of March 9, 2020.

5. Nothing in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be deemed to extend or purport to extend:

a. any permit or approval issued by the government of the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or any permit or approval by whatever authority issued of which the duration of effect or the date or terms of its expiration are specified or determined by or pursuant to law or regulation of the federal government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities;

b. any permit or approval issued pursuant to the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.) if the extension would result in a violation of federal law, or any State rule or regulation requiring approval by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to Pub.L.95-625 (16 U.S.C. s.471i);

c. any permit or approval issued by the Department of Transportation pursuant to Title 27 of the Revised Statutes or under the general authority conferred by State law, other than a right-of- way permit issued pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (h) of section 5 of P.L.1966, c.301 (C.27:1A-5) or a permit granted pursuant to R.S.27:7-1 et seq. or any supplement thereto;

d. any permit or approval issued pursuant to the “Flood Hazard Area Control Act,” P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), more than six months beyond the conclusion of the COVID-19 extension period, or, in the case of any construction project suspended pursuant to either the Governor’s Executive Order No. 122 or any other government order, any such permit or approval issued more than 12 months beyond the conclusion of the COVID-19 extension period;

e. any coastal center designated pursuant to the "Coastal Area Facility Review Act," P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.), that as of March 9, 2020 (a) had not submitted an application for plan endorsement to the State Planning Commission, and (b) was not in compliance with the provisions of the Coastal Zone Management Rules in N.J.A.C.7:7E-5B.6; or

f. any permit or approval within the Highlands planning area located in a municipality subject to the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120, that has adopted, as of March 9 2020, in accordance with the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council conformance approval, a Highlands master plan element, a Highlands land use ordinance, or an environmental resource inventory, except that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any permit or approval within a Highlands center designated by the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council, notwithstanding the adoption by the municipality of a Highlands master plan element, a Highlands land use ordinance, or an environmental resource inventory.

6. Nothing in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be deemed to affect any administrative consent order issued by the Department of Environmental Protection in effect or issued during the COVID-19 extension period, nor shall it be construed to extend any approval in connection with a resource recovery facility as defined in section 2 of P.L.1985, c.38 (C.13:1E-137).

7. Nothing in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be deemed to affect the ability of the Commissioner of Environmental Protection to revoke or modify a specific permit or approval, or extension thereof, when that specific permit or approval, or the commissioner’s underlying statutory or regulatory authority, contains language authorizing the modification or revocation of the permit or approval by the Department of Environmental Protection.

8. In the event that any approval tolled pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) is based upon the connection to a sanitary sewer system, the approval's extension shall be contingent upon the availability of sufficient capacity, on the part of the treatment facility, to accommodate the development for which the approval has been extended. If sufficient capacity is not available, those permit holders whose approvals have been extended shall have priority with regard to the further allocation of gallonage over those approval holders who have not received approval of a hookup prior to March 9, 2020. Priority regarding the distribution of further gallonage to any permit holder who has received the extension of an approval pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be allocated in order of the granting of the original approval of the connection.

9. P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not toll any approval issued under the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.) in connection with an application for development involving a residential use where, subsequent to the expiration of the permit but prior to January 1, 2007, an amendment has been adopted to the master plan and the zoning ordinance to rezone the property to industrial or commercial use when the permit was issued for residential use.

10. Nothing in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be deemed to, or implemented in such a way as to, modify any requirement of law that is necessary to retain federal delegation to, or assumption by, the State of the authority to implement a federal law or program.

11. Nothing in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be deemed to extend the obligation of any wastewater management planning agency to submit a wastewater management plan or plan update, or the obligation of a municipality to submit a wastewater management plan or plan update, pursuant to the "Water Quality Planning Act," P.L.1977, c.75 (C.58:11A-1 et seq.) and the Water Quality Management Planning rules, N.J.A.C.7:15-1.1 et seq.

12. All underlying government permits or approvals within regional growth areas, villages, and towns, designated in the comprehensive management plan prepared and adopted by the Pinelands Commission pursuant to section 7 of the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-8), are extended for the COVID-19 extension period in the pinelands area as designated pursuant to the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.).

13. Any registration, application, or licensing requirement or timeframe imposed pursuant to P.L.2019, c.397 (C.13:1E-127.1 et al.), applicable to a person who performs soil and fill recycling services related to road or bridge construction activities, shall be suspended as of March 9, 2020 and the calculation of any registration, application filing, and licensing dates and the requirements related thereto, shall resume on the 60th day after the conclusion of the COVID-19 extension period.

14. Notwithstanding any provision of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.) to the contrary,

a. The 45-day period for an application for development to a municipal agency to be certified as complete pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1984, c.20 (C.40:55D-10.3) shall be extended to either 90 days after March 9, 2020, or 60 days after the date the application for development is submitted to the municipal agency, whichever date is later, for any application:

(1) awaiting certification as a complete application by a municipal agency as of March 9, 2020; or

(2) submitted by an applicant during the COVID-19 extension period.

b. The time periods required under P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.) for any municipal agency to either grant or deny any application for development shall be extended by 60 days for any application:

(1) awaiting certification as a complete application by a municipal agency as of March 9, 2020; or

(2) pending before a municipal agency as of March 9, 2020; or

(3) submitted by an applicant during the COVID-19 extension period.

15. State agencies shall, within 30 days of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), place a notice in the New Jersey Register tolling approvals in conformance with P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

16. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be retroactive to March 9, 2020.