N.J. Admin. Code § 7:18-2.17

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 17, September 3, 2024

Section 7:18-2.17 - Procedure for requesting and conducting adjudicatory hearings

(a) A laboratory may request an adjudicatory hearing to contest a decision by the Department to suspend, revoke or deny certification, or assess a civil administrative penalty.

(b) All requests for an adjudicatory hearing must be received by the Department within 20 calendar days after the laboratory requesting the hearing receives notice of the Department's action. If the Department does not receive a hearing request within the allotted time, it shall deny the hearing request.

(c) A laboratory requesting a hearing shall provide the following information in writing to the Department at the address in (f) below:

1. The name, address, and telephone number of the laboratory requesting the hearing, and its authorized representative;

2. A copy of the document in which the Department has stated the decision;

3. A description of any facts or issues which the petitioner believes constitute a defense to the allegations made by the Department;

4. An admission or denial of each of the Department's findings of fact in the administrative order, notice of civil administrative penalty assessment or other document containing the Department decision. If the laboratory requesting the hearing lacks sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of a finding, the laboratory shall so state and this shall have the effect of a denial. A denial shall fairly meet the substance of the findings denied. When the laboratory intends in good faith to deny only a part or a qualification of a finding, the laboratory shall specify so much of it as is true and material and deny only the remainder. The laboratory may not generally deny all of the findings, but shall make all denials as specific denials of designated findings. For each finding the laboratory denies, the laboratory shall allege the fact or facts as the laboratory believes it or them to be;

5. Information supporting the request and specific reference to or copies of other written documents relied upon to support the request;

6. An estimate of the time required for the hearing (in days and/or hours);

7. A request, if necessary, for a barrier-free hearing location for physically disabled persons; and

8. A statement that the laboratory does or does not agree to the Department's holding the hearing request for 90 days before transmitting it to the Office of Administrative Law, to allow time to negotiate a settlement of the dispute as provided by 1:1-8.1(b).

(d) If the laboratory fails to include all of the information required by (c)1 through 6 above, the Department may deny the hearing request.

(e) All adjudicatory hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, 52:14-1 et seq., and the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1.

(f) The laboratory shall send its request for an adjudicatory hearing to the Department at the address listed below (with a copy to the Department's enforcement bureau which issued the decision):

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Office of Administrative Hearings and Dispute Resolution ATTENTION: Adjudicatory Hearing Requests

401 E. State Street

Mail Code 401-07A

PO Box 420

Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0420

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:18-2.17

Amended by R.2001 d.224, effective 7/2/2001.
See: 33 New Jersey Register 1063(a), 33 New Jersey Register 2284(c).

Administrative Change, 55 N.J.R. 528(a), effective 2/23/2023