May 4, 2001
The Honorable Robert C. Shinn, Commissioner
Department of Environmental Protection
401 East State Street
7th Floor, East Wing
P.O. Box 402
Trenton NJ 08625-0402
RE: Implementation of Septic Rule, N.J.A.C. 7:15-8.
Dear Commissioner Shinn:
I would like to thank you for inviting our comments on the implementation of the new Septic Rule. I am pleased that the Department is moving forward with the adoption of Subchapter 6 of the proposed watershed and water quality management rules. The new Septic Rule will be a valuable tool in ensuring the control of non-point source pollution and the protection of ground and surface waters from contamination and overconsumption.
I would like to voice our support in particular for your comprehensive approach to the implementation of the rule. I believe the four major areas of analysis you have identified form an important groundwork for achieving the goals of water quality management planning.
At the April 3, 2001, stakeholder meeting of statewide and regional environmental organizations, DEP staff discussed their efforts to bring municipal regulations into compliance with the analyses required by the rule. An entire municipality would obtain a WQM plan amendment putting it into compliance with the Septic Rule. This would eliminate the necessity of adopting a WQM plan amendment for each individual project. Such a comprehensive approach brings planning back into water quality management and takes account of the cumulative impact of multiple projects within each community.
To that end, I urge that this comprehensive approach to rule implementation
also encompass the State Development and Redevelopment Plan and Watershed
Management Area (WMA) planning. References to the goals of the State Plan
will ensure balance in rule implementation. Reference to WMA planning will
bring WMA stakeholder groups into the process of achieving compliance with
the Septic Rule on a municipal-wide basis. Although the Department should
hold responsibility for
implementing the Septic Rule, it should also take advantage of the expertise
and local knowledge of WMA advisory groups, particularly when a municipality
makes an application for compliance with the rule.
In this letter, I make specific recommendations on the implementation of some of the major areas of analysis to which applications for plan amendments under the Septic Rule will be subjected. I also recommend procedures for WMA involvement in the planning process.
Riparian Corridor analysis.
Your implementation guidelines state that a 150-foot buffer will be required
for FW-1, FW-2, and C1 waters, with 75 feet for all others. This is certainly
better than nothing, but it is my view that municipalities seeking a
WQM plan amendment should implement stream buffer protection ordinances
geared to local conditions rather than based on a blanket policy. For
example, headwaters may need more protection than other stream segments
because of their fragile nature and their crucial role in determining
downstream water quality.
Buffer requirements should be based on modeling and analysis that should be conducted as part of the WMA planning process. Municipalities seeking compliance with the Septic Rule should have stream corridor protection ordinances based on a scientific assessment showing that the required buffers meet performance standards designed to protect downstream resources.
Nonpoint Source Pollutant Loading Analysis / Hydrologic Modification.
As you know, non-point source pollution from stormwater runoff is the biggest
threat to clean streams. New development generates non-point source pollution
not only on-site, from driveways and lawns, but also off-site, as additional
traffic generated by that development uses area roads and parking lots.
To address cumulative effects effectively, a non-point source program must cover a wide area and address a range of activities. Municipalities seeking compliance with the Septic Rule should be required to adopt a stormwater ordinance pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:8. The municipal stormwater ordinance should, in turn, be based on regional stormwater planning conducted as part of the watershed management planning process. Implementation of stormwater plans should include activities that maximize groundwater recharge, ensure base levels of stream flow, and emphasize non-structural solutions to stormwater management.
Consumptive Water Use Analysis.
The criteria at N.J.A.C. 7:19-2.2(f) 1-4 are best applied in the context
of a watershed-based assessment of current water budget and future water
use needs. Needs should include the assurance of ecological integrity
of water-based ecosystems as well as water supply for human uses. The
development of water budgets is currently being addressed through watershed
management planning processes.
The Department should require municipalities seeking compliance with the Septic Rule to base their consumptive surface and ground water use analyses on the water budget and associated technical studies developed by the WMA. Municipalities with streams that feed reservoirs or water supply intakes have a special obligation to protect their resources from overconsumption. In situations where these analyses have not yet been conducted, the Department and the municipality in question can call upon WMA expertise in collecting the data needed to make decisions.
In addition, municipalities should be required to demonstrate that their land-use regulations ensuring groundwater recharge have been adopted based on local geological conditions.
WMA involvement.
The Department should use the knowledge of Watershed Management Area committees
and advisory groups in assisting municipalities with their compliance
with the Septic Rule.
In cases where WMA planning is relatively advanced, the analyses conducted by WMA groups and the recommendations flowing from those analyses should form the basis for municipal ordinances intended to protect water quantity and quality in areas that rely on septic systems. As the Department works with municipalities to translate plan recommendations into implementation measures undertaken by the municipality, it should actively solicit the advice and comment of WMA groups. These measures should include stormwater ordinances, riparian corridor protection ordinances, and other measures - such as water conservation ordinances and changes to zoning regulations - designed to ensure that standards for groundwater recharge, groundwater quality, and surface water quantity and quality are met.
Some municipalities may seek compliance with the Septic Rule before the relevant WMA planning analyses are completed. Even in these cases, the Department should solicit recommendations from WMA groups to municipalities on actions that would likely meet the requirements for compliance with the Rule. By giving WMA groups the opportunity to provide assistance even at an early stage in the WMA planning process, the Department can help to build relationships between the WMA groups and their municipalities, which will assist in watershed management plan implementation later on.
To facilitate involvement by WMA groups in municipal compliance with the Septic Rule, the Department must notify the relevant WMA groups when it receives applications for Septic Rule-related WQM plan amendments. Departmental staff who work with WMA groups should be informed about the septic rule and relevant proposed substantive amendments. In addition, departmental staff who work with municipalities to approve these substantive amendments should actively engage relevant WMA groups in the process.
In addition to offering the above recommendations, I would like to thank and congratulate you and your staff for putting forth a number of innovative rule proposals in recent months, particularly the full Water Quality and Watershed Management Rule proposal. While we have some concerns with certain aspects of these rules, we also feel they have many strengths, and we encourage you to adopt the rules in full by the July 3 deadline.
Finally, I would again like to thank you for soliciting our input on the adoption and implementation of this rule. The Regional Planning Partnership is working with municipalities in the Central Delaware Tributaries Watershed Management Area to make watershed planning a reality, and we are pleased that you and your staff share our commitment to the planning process. Together, we will protect the water resources of the State for future generations.
With best wishes,
Dianne R. Brake
President
The Regional Planning Partnership
Cc: Robert Tudor
Mary Sheil