N.J. Admin. Code § 7:19-1.3
The following words and terms, when used in N.J.A.C. 7:19-1 through 4 and 7 through 17, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The definitions applicable to N.J.A.C. 7:19-5 and 6 are set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:19-5.2 and 6.2, respectively.
"Act" means the Water Supply Management Act, N.J.S.A. 58:1A-1 et seq.
"Adjustable water use ban" means the prohibition or restriction of adjustable water uses.
"Adjustable water uses" means those water uses which may be reduced during times of drought warning or water supply emergency. Various examples of adjustable water uses are contained in N.J.A.C. 7:19-13.3.
"Adverse impact upon wells" means an impaired pumping rate or a required change in the construction of a well affected by lowered water levels or any impairment of water quality.
"Annual fee" means a fee charged each calendar year during the period of validity of a permit, regardless if water is diverted from sources included in that permit.
"Applicable water purveyors" means all public-community water systems serving those areas in which Phase II of a water emergency has been initiated.
"Applicant" means any person filing or required to file an application to establish a privilege to divert water or for a Water Supply Allocation Permit pursuant to this chapter of the Act.
"Aquifer" means any subsurface water-saturated zone which is significantly permeable so that it may yield sufficient quantities of water from wells or springs in order to serve as a practical source of water supply.
"Aquifer storage and recovery well" or "ASR well" means a well which is utilized to store potable water in an aquifer during periods of low water demand and then recover the water for potable purposes during periods of high water demand.
"Area of critical water supply concern" or "critical area" means a region of the State where excessive water usage or diversion presents undue stress, or wherein conditions pose a significant threat to the long-term integrity of a water supply source, including a diminution of surface water due to excess groundwater diversion.
"Base allocation" means the permittee's portion of the safe or dependable yield for the affected water resource within an area of critical water supply concern.
"Capability to divert 100,000 gallons of water per day" means having the equipment or diversion structure with the hydraulic capacity to pump or divert 100,000 gallons per day of ground or surface water; for pumping equipment, the hydraulic capacity is equivalent to 70 gallons per minute.
"Certified diversion" means a diversion used for agricultural or horticultural purposes for which a water usage certification has been obtained pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:20A.
"Chairman" means the Chairman of the Water Emergency Task Force who shall be designated by the Commissioner.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection or his designated representative.
"Confined aquifer" means an aquifer which contains groundwater under pressure between or below relatively impermeable or significantly less permeable material so that the water surface rises above the top of the aquifer in a well which derives its water from that aquifer.
"Consumptive use" means any use of water diverted from surface or ground waters other than a nonconsumptive use as defined below in this section.
"Contract" means the document setting out the entire agreement between a Water Supply Allocation Permittee and a purchaser for the bulk sale or purchase of water.
"Customer of record" means any person, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, political subdivision of the State, and any state or interstate agency or Federal agency receiving water service from an applicable water purveyor.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
"Decision maker" means the person designated by the Department to make decisions on applications for permits and claims of privileges to divert water.
"Dewatering" means the diversion of ground water on a temporary basis from wells, wellpoints, excavations or sumps in order to facilitate construction.
"Diversion source" means the source from which water is diverted.
"Divert" or "Diversion" means the taking of water from a river, stream, lake, pond, aquifer, well, other underground source, or other waterbody, whether or not the water is returned thereto, consumed, made to flow into another stream or basin, or discharged elsewhere.
"Drought" means a condition of dryness due to lower than normal precipitation, resulting in reduced stream flows, reduced soil moisture and/or a lowering of the potentiometric surface in wells.
"Drought coordinator" means the individual designated by the Commissioner who is responsible for the administration and enforcement of N.J.A.C. 7:19-9 through 17.
"Drought warning" means the status declared by the Department, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:19-9.5, where there exists a relative lack of precipitation or a lower than normal storage of water supplies.
"Emergency response plan" means the document submitted by each water purveyor to the Department outlining the actions it will take to assure water supply during a water emergency.
"Emergency well" means a well which is maintained for an unplanned and/or unexpected use, such as fire protection or failure of another well.
"Excess diversion" means the amount of water diverted from streams and lakes with outlets for the purpose of public water supply in excess of the free allowance.
"Excess diversion fee" means the amount charged each person for its annual excess diversion or for the diversion from subsurface, well or percolating water supplies, where the State's right of eminent domain was used to condemn the water supply.
"Facility" means a structure or infrastructure designed and built for a specific purpose.
"Free allowance" means, for the purpose of calculating the excess diversion fee, the amount of water diverted from streams and lakes with outlets for the purpose of public water supply in an amount equal to 100 gallons daily for each inhabitant of the municipality or municipalities supplied, as shown by the census of 1905, or equal to such greater amount being legally diverted on June 17, 1907. Free allowances have been established in N.J.A.C. 7:19-4.8.
"Inactive well" means a well which is not presently being used but which is being held in abeyance for future use.
"Industrial users" means those non-residential users excluding multiple dwellings and health care facilities.
"Initial fee" means the fee charged by the Department for the review of an application for a new water supply allocation or temporary dewatering permit.
"Lawful entry" means an entry by the Commissioner into any building, place, or premise pursuant to N.J.S.A. 13:1D-1 et seq. and otherwise provided by law, ordinance, regulation, order, permit, or agreement.
"Local use" means the utilization of the privilege to divert water to supply those areas contained within a purveyor's franchise area, or supply area, as approved by the Department in accordance with this chapter.
"Local water emergency" means there exists or impends, within a purveyor's service area, a water supply shortage and/or water quality emergency which significantly impacts the purveyor's ability to meet water demands.
"Modification fee" means the fee charged by the Department for the review of an application for a major modification of a permit.
"Nonconsumptive use" means the use of water diverted from surface or ground waters in such a manner that it is returned to the surface or ground water at or near the point from which it was taken without substantial diminution in quantity or substantial impairment of quality.
"Non-residential users" means all water users other than residential users.
"Normal water rates" means the prevailing retail rates which were charged by the applicable water purveyors and which were in effect immediately preceding the declaration of a water emergency.
"Operating order" means structurally competent and equipped with a functioning pump or surface water intake.
"Passing flow requirement" means the volume of water required to be maintained at a selected point in the stream to promote water quality conditions after consideration of the needs of downstream users.
"Permit" means a water supply allocation permit or temporary dewatering permit.
"Person" means any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, owner or operator of a water supply facility, political subdivision of the State and any state, or interstate agency or Federal agency.
"Phase" means the particular level of water emergency severity.
"Phase I" means the first stage of a water emergency during which available water supply levels are determined to be below normal and bans on adjustable water uses may be instituted.
"Phase II" means the second stage of a water emergency during which a more substantial threat to the public health and welfare exists and a specified reduction in water use may be mandated.
"Potentiometric surface" means an imaginary surface which represents the static head of water, relative to sea level, in a well constructed in an aquifer.
"Public Water Supply" means a water supply providing piped water to the public for human consumption, if such system has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25 individuals.
"Purveyor" or "water purveyor" means any person who owns or operates a public water supply.
"Recall" is the process by which the Department reexamines an existing water supply allocation permit to determine the need for modification or revocation.
"Replacement well" means a new well that is to replace an existing well which will be sealed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:9-9 and where the proposed well will be approximately the same depth as the existing well and diverting from the same aquifer; have the same or lesser pump capacity; and be within 100 feet of the existing well.
"Residential users" means all users of water who reside in a single family home serviced with one meter, or in a multiple unit dwelling with no more than four units serviced with one meter. Where residential and non-residential users are serviced with the same meter, the users shall be classified as non-residential users.
"Safe or dependable yield" or "safe yield" or "dependable yield" means that maintainable yield of water from a surface or ground water source or sources which is available continuously during projected future conditions, including a repetition of the most severe drought of record, without creating undesirable effects, as determined by the Department in accordance with this chapter.
"Saline water" means water containing a chloride concentration in excess of 250 mg/L.
"Salt water" means water containing a chloride concentration in excess of 10,000 mg/L.
"Temporary dewatering permit" means a document issued by the Department to those persons intending to divert, for construction purposes, 100,000 or more gallons of water per day for more than 30 days in a consecutive 365 day period which allows the permittee to temporarily divert water at a rate which may exceed the natural replenishment of the water resource.
"Unconfined or semi-confined aquifer" means an aquifer that is either exposed to atmospheric pressure or bounded by layers of materials which do not serve as an effective barrier to water migration.
"Undiminished return" means, for the purpose of determining fees, the return of diverted surface or ground water to or near the point from which it was taken without substantial diminution in quantity.
"Violator" means any person whom the Department asserts has violated the Act or any rules issued pursuant to the Act.
"Water" or "waters of the State" means all surface water or ground water in the State.
"Water Conservation and Drought Management Plan" means the plan governing actions to be taken by a permittee under a drought warning or in a water emergency, and the permittee's ongoing effort to conserve water.
"Water emergency" means a declaration by the Governor, upon a finding by the Commissioner, that there exists or impends a water supply shortage and/or water quality emergency of a dimension which significantly impacts water supply and, thereby, endangers the public health, safety or welfare in all or part of the State.
"Water emergency fund" means that repository of all sums collected by the applicable water purveyors pursuant to the water emergency surcharge schedule which are in excess of the amounts which would have been collected under normal water rates.
"Water emergency surcharge schedule" means the rate schedule for the retail costs of water supplies which shall be utilized by applicable water purveyors, as provided by rule, in the event of a water emergency.
"Water Emergency Task Force" or "Task Force" means that State body consisting of inter-agency representatives whose purpose is to assist the Commissioner in the formulation of policy and make recommendations to the Commissioner during a water emergency. The Task Force shall be composed of representatives of the following agencies: the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Commerce and Economic Development, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Department of Community Affairs, the Board of Public Utilities, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, the Department of Treasury, and other agencies as designated by the Commissioner.
"Water resource" means any river, stream, lake, pond, aquifer, other underground source, or other water body which may be diverted.
"Water supply allocation permit" means the document issued by the Department to a person granting that person the privilege, so long as the person complies with the conditions of the document, to divert 100,000 or more gallons of water per day for more than 30 days in a consecutive 365 day period, for any purpose other than agricultural or horticultural purposes.
"Water supply critical aquifer" means an aquifer within an area of critical water supply concern where there may be either insufficient water supply, shortage of ground water by overdraft, threat of salt water intrusion or contamination, or where other circumstances exist requiring the Department to impose special water supply management provisions by rule under N.J.A.C. 7:19-8.
"Water supply system" means a physical infrastructure operated and maintained to deliver water on either a retail or wholesale basis to customers.
"Water table aquifer" means a geological formation which carries water at atmospheric pressure at the top of the saturated zone.
"Water usage certification" or "certification" means the document issued by a county agricultural agent pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:20A to a person granting that person the privilege to divert 100,000 gallons or more of water per day from ground and surface water sources for agricultural or horticultural purposes for a five year period.
"Well" means a hole or excavation deeper than it is wide, that is drilled, bored, core driven, jetted, dug or otherwise constructed for the purpose of the removal of, investigation of, or exploration for water.
"Well sealing" means the permanent closure of a well in accordance with the procedures set forth in N.J.A.C. 7:9-9.
"Zone of influence" is the area of ground water which experiences an impact attributable to a pumping well.
N.J. Admin. Code § 7:19-1.3
See: 21 New Jersey Register 3594(a), 22 New Jersey Register 932(a).
Definitions for "Contract", "Inactive well", "Modification", "Recall", "Replacement well", "Water Supply Critical Aquifer", "Water Supply Critical Area" and "Well sealing" added; "Division" deleted.
Amended by R.1995 d.162, effective 3/20/1995.
See: 26 New Jersey Register 4912(a), 27 New Jersey Register 1265(a).