ASSEMBLY, No. 1969

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED MAY 6, 1996

By Assemblywomen MYERS, MURPHY, Assemblymen Bateman, Lance, Garrett and Gregg

An Act concerning certain permit applications and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.

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

    1. As used in this act:

    "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection;

    "OPC director" means the director of a county Office of Permit Coordination designated pursuant to this act;

    "Permit" means a permit, certificate, registration, or approval;

    "Permit applicant" means an applicant for a permit issued by the department.

    2. a. Within six months after the date of enactment of this act, the governing body of each county shall designate an Office of Permit Coordination within an existing county agency with staff who have knowledge of, and experience with, permitting functions.

    b. Within three months after designation of the county Office of Permit Coordination, the OPC director, with the advice and consent of the Assistant Commissioner for Environmental Regulation in the Department of Environmental Protection, shall appoint at least one permit coordinator for the county. If the assistant commissioner does not provide such advice and consent within that three-month period, the county may select any person qualified by education and experience to serve as a permit coordinator, but shall give preference to selecting former employees of the department.

    c. The department shall pay the salary and benefits of each permit coordinator, and the State Treasurer shall ensure payment thereof, provided that the salary and benefits are comparable to that paid to department employees responsible for the review of permit applications. A permit coordinator shall be an employee of the department, but shall report to the OPC director at least one, but not more than four, days per week, according to whatever schedule may be recommended by the OPC director with the advice and consent of the Assistant Commissioner of Environmental Regulation in the department.

    d. The appointment of permit coordinators, their number, and their days or hours of service in a county Office of Permit Coordination shall be adjusted from time to time as may be necessary in the manner prescribed pursuant to this subsection.

    3. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, an application for a permit issued by the department may be submitted, in lieu of submission to the department, to the Office of Permit Coordination for the county in which the project for which the permit is required is located.

    b. A permit coordinator for that county shall serve as a liaison between the permit applicant and any State or local agencies involved in reviewing the project and any permits associated therewith.

    The permit coordinator shall identify conflicts between (1) such State or local agencies, (2) permit requirements, or (3) any other factors that may delay the issuance of permit approvals. Upon identification of such a conflict, or at the request of a permit applicant, the permit coordinator shall schedule a conference with the permit applicant, the Assistant Commissioner of Environmental Regulation or the assistant commissioner's designee, the OPC director, and the appropriate representatives of any State or local agencies with jurisdiction over the project or the permit requirements in question or conflict.

    c. Upon the recommendation of a majority of conference participants, the permit applicant may seek a waiver of a permit requirement from any State or local agency. The chief administrative officer of that agency shall review and either approve or deny the waiver within 60 days of receipt of an application therefor. If the waiver is denied, in whole or in part, the chief administrative officer of that agency shall state in writing to the permit applicant the reasons why the waiver has been denied and present recommendations on alternative courses of action that would allow the conflict to be resolved. If the permit applicant objects to denial of a waiver, in whole or in part, the permit coordinator shall schedule another conference within 30 days for the purpose of reviewing the decision. If the conference participants disagree with the denial of the waiver, they may present an appeal to the chief administrative officer of the agency with jurisdiction over that particular permit requirement, who shall resolve the conflict within 60 days.

    In the event a conflict involves federal law, rule, or regulation, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall notify the Governor, who shall seek a waiver from any appropriate federal agency if recommended by the commissioner.

    4. a. A permit coordinator may reject any permit application or applicant, with cause, in which case the permit applicant may submit the permit application directly to the department.

    b. A permit coordinator may request an expedited review by the department of any permit application, providing good cause in writing for such action. The department shall review and approve or deny the request within 60 days, providing the permit coordinator with a written response justifying any negative decision.

    5. A permit coordinator shall maintain a record of all permit applications and approvals processed through the permit coordinator.

    On January 1 of the year following establishment of a county Office of Permit Coordination pursuant to this act, and on each January 1 thereafter, each permit coordinator shall submit a report to the OPC director of the appropriate county and to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, documenting the nature, content, and time frames for the permit applications processed and approvals obtained through that permit coordinator. This annual report shall also include recommendations for any changes in law or rule or regulation necessary to avoid permit conflicts or delays in the future.

    6. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, including but not limited to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) or any provision of Title 13 of the Revised Statutes, the department shall not have the authority to adopt rules and regulations implementing this act. Implementation shall be based instead upon cooperation between the department and the counties of the State.

    7. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would provide for the designation by each county of an Office of Permit Coordination (OPC) within an existing county agency with staff who have knowledge of, and experience with, permitting functions. One or more permit coordinators, who would be employees of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), would be appointed in each county by the director of the county OPC in consultation with the Assistant DEP Commissioner for Environmental Regulation. A permit coordinator would be required to report to the OPC director at least one, but not more than four, days per week, according to whatever schedule may be recommended by the OPC director with the advice and consent of the Assistant DEP Commissioner of Environmental Regulation.

    The bill would provide that an application for a permit issued by the DEP may be submitted, in lieu of submission to the department, to the OPC for the county in which the project for which the permit is required is located.

    A county permit coordinator would serve as a liaison between the permit applicant and any State (including the DEP) or local agencies involved in reviewing the project and any permits associated therewith. The permit coordinator would identify conflicts between (1) such State or local agencies, (2) permit requirements, or (3) any other factors that may delay the issuance of permit approvals. Upon identification of such a conflict, or at the request of a permit applicant, the permit coordinator would schedule a conference with the permit applicant, the Assistant DEP Commissioner of Environmental Regulation or the assistant commissioner's designee, the OPC director, and appropriate representatives of any State or local agencies with jurisdiction over the project or the permit requirements in question or conflict. Upon the recommendation of a majority of conference participants, the permit applicant may seek a waiver of a permit requirement from any State or local agency. The chief administrative officer of that agency would review and either approve or deny the waiver within 60 days of receipt of an application therefor. If the waiver is denied, in whole or in part, the chief administrative officer of that agency would be required to state in writing to the permit applicant the reasons why the waiver has been denied and present recommendations on alternative courses of action that would allow the conflict to be resolved. If the permit applicant objects to denial of a waiver, in whole or in part, the permit coordinator would schedule another conference within 30 days for the purpose of reviewing the decision. If the conference participants disagree with the denial of the waiver, they may present an appeal to the chief administrative officer of the agency with jurisdiction over that particular permit requirement, who would be required to resolve the conflict within 60 days.

    The bill would provide that a permit coordinator may reject any permit application or applicant, with cause, in which case the permit applicant may submit the permit application directly to the DEP. A permit coordinator may also request an expedited review by the department of any permit application, providing good cause in writing for such action. The department would be required to review and approve or deny the request within 60 days, providing the permit coordinator with a written response justifying any negative decision.

    The bill would require a permit coordinator to maintain a record of all permit applications and approvals processed through that permit coordinator and to submit annual reports to the OPC director of the appropriate county and to the Commissioner of the DEP, documenting the nature, content, and time frames for the permit applications processed and approvals obtained through that permit coordinator. This annual report would also include recommendations for any changes in law or rule or regulation necessary to avoid permit conflicts or delays in the future.

    The bill would prohibit the DEP from adopting rules and regulations implementing the bill. Implementation would be based instead upon cooperation between the DEP and the counties of the State.

    There is a need in the State for better coordination of DEP permits and permit requirements. Many times requirements conflict or overlap. This bill will help address those problems. In addition, because of recent reductions in the size of the DEP, there is concern that this trend may further slow permit approvals and decrease environmental protection. Moving DEP professionals into the counties should help alleviate that concern. Finally, the bill will not increase costs incurred by local government or add to costs incurred by the DEP in the review of permit applications; rather, the opposite should result with the better coordination efforts brought about by the bill.

Authorizes Office of Permit Coordination in each county to help process certain DEP permit applications.