N.J. Admin. Code § 14:9-6.9

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 11, June 3, 2024

Section 14:9-6.9 - Joint public hearing report

(a) Within 60 days after the joint public hearing record is closed, the designated Department and Board hearing officers or an Administrative Law Judge shall review the record and prepare a joint public hearing report. The joint report shall provide a maximum of three options, and shall detail the following information for each:

1. The estimated costs of each option;

2. The potential impact on the customers of the acquiring entity, and the customers of the small water company and/or small sewer company;

3. The rationale for selection of each option; and

4. A ranking of the options in order of priority.

(b) The joint public hearing report shall be mailed to all those noticed by certified or registered mail of the joint public hearing in accordance with 14:9-6.8(b)3, and shall be made available for public review through posting on the Department's and the Board's websites, http://www.nj.gov/dep and http://www.nj.gov/bpu. The Department staff and Board staff shall undertake reasonable efforts to make copies of the joint report available to all other interested persons.

(c) All persons shall file any comments concerning the report within 30 days of its issuance, by certified or electronic mail to the address supplied in the joint report.

(d) Failure to file any comments concerning the joint report by the small water company or small sewer company, by its owner or operator, by capable proximate public or private water companies, by municipal utilities authorities established pursuant to 40:14B-1, by capable proximate municipalities, by any other capable proximate governmental entities, or by any interested person, shall be deemed a waiver of any right to raise any legal or factual issue which could have been reasonably ascertained from the joint report.

(e) The filing of a timely comment or objection shall not, in itself, confer on the objecting person a right to a contested case hearing, or the right to intervene in any contested case hearing.

(f) If the joint report required by (a) above recommends acquisition as an option, the Department and the Board may forward a copy of the joint report to the Office of Administrative Law to provide notice that the Department and the Board may request the services of an administrative law judge on an expedited scheduling basis to conduct the contested case hearing required by 7:19-5.9.

N.J. Admin. Code § 14:9-6.9

Repeal and New Rule, R.2006 d.367, effective 10/16/2006.
See: 38 N.J.R. 1538(a), 38 N.J.R. 4490(b).
Section was "Contested case". Recodified in part from N.J.A.C. 14:9-6.8(j) and (k) and substantially amended.
Amended by R.2014 d.049, effective 3/17/2014.
See: 45 N.J.R. 2174(a), 46 N.J.R. 550(a).
In (b), updated the website address; and in (f), substituted "the Board" for "BPU" twice.