N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-29.4

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

Section 7:7-29.4 - Procedures to request and conduct an adjudicatory hearing to contest an administrative order and/or notice of civil administrative penalty assessment

(a) To request an adjudicatory hearing to contest an administrative order and/or a notice of civil administrative penalty assessment issued pursuant to 13:19-1 et seq., 12:5-1 et seq., or 13:9A-1 et seq., the violator shall submit a hearing request in writing within 35 calendar days after receipt by the violator of the administrative order and/or the notice of a civil administrative penalty assessment being contested. If a violator submits the hearing request after this time, the Department shall deny the request.

(b) A violator requesting an adjudicatory hearing shall provide the following information on an adjudicatory hearing request form, available from the Department at the address set forth at 7:7-1.6:

1. The name, address, daytime telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the violator requesting the hearing and the violator's authorized representative;

2. A copy of the Department's administrative order and/or notice of a civil administrative penalty assessment for which a hearing is being requested;

3. The date that the administrative order and/or notice of a civil administrative penalty assessment was received by the violator;

4. A specific admission or denial of each of the facts appearing in the Department's administrative order and/or notice of civil administrative penalty assessment or a statement that the person is without knowledge thereof. If the violator is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of a finding, the violator 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 violator intends in good faith to deny only a part or a qualification of a finding, the violator shall specify so much of it as is true and material and deny only the remainder. The violator may not generally deny all of the findings but shall make all denials as specific denials of designated findings. For each finding the violator denies, the violator shall allege the fact or facts as the violator believes it or them to be;

5. A statement as to whether the violator agrees to allow the Department to delay the transfer of a granted hearing request to the Office of Administrative Law for the purposes of engaging in settlement negotiations as provided by the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules at 1:1-8.1(b);

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

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

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

(c) A person requesting an adjudicatory hearing shall:

1. Submit the original hearing request to:

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, NJ 08625-0420; and

2. Submit a copy of the hearing request to:

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Bureau of Coastal and Land Use Compliance and Enforcement

1510 Hooper Avenue

Toms River, NJ 08753

(d) If the violator fails to include all the information required by (b) above, the Department may deny the hearing request.

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

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-29.4

Adopted by 47 N.J.R. 1392(a), effective 7/6/2015

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