Please be aware that the public comment period for the below draft ENDS on January 19th – 2024.
If you would like to comment on the proposed draft – please do so before the end of the comment period; contact the NJDEP Ground Water Permitting unit at dwq_groundwater@dep.nj.gov pertaining to the following:
- Category: GFSD – Discharge to Ground Water – Sanitary Discharges at Farms (GP)
- NJPDES Permit No.: NJ0347833; Program Interest No.: 50577
as per draft – read full version here – Click here for a PDF copy – New NJDEP Septic Permit for Farms
Description of Eligible Facilities:
This New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System – Discharge to Ground Water (NJPDES-DGW) new general permit (NJ0347833) is issued in accordance with the NJPDES Regulations, N.J.A.C. 7:14A-l et seq. and authorizes the discharge to ground water of sanitary sewage from wastewater generating activities at farms that utilize individual subsurface sewage disposal systems. Eligibility for this permit is limited to farms with discharges of sanitary sewage to ground water via septic systems, where the aggregate volume of sanitary sewage on the property is greater than 2,000 gallons per day as calculated in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:9A-7.4. This volume excludes systems serving one single family home on one individual property with a design flows less than 2,000 gallons per day.
The Department recognizes that, in certain instances, the farm activities regulated under this permit may be located on the same property as a single family home. Systems serving one single family home on one individual property with a design flow of less than 2,000 gallons per day are exempt under N.J.A.C. 7:14A-7.4(a)l and N.J.A.C. 7:14A-8.l(b)2ii and N.J.A.C. 7:9A-3.10(a) from NJPDES-DGW and Underground Injection Control requirements and is therefore outside the scope of this permit. Such systems must be designed, constructed, installed, and operated in compliance with N.J.A.C. 7:9A and are typically regulated by local health departments. However, a single family home served by a septic system which also receives discharge from other uses, such as the farm activities regulated under this permit or additional residential uses, is not exempt from NJPDES-DGW and Underground Injection Control requirements unless the aggregate sanitary wastewater design flow of the property is less than 2,000 gallons per day. Such discharges may be regulated under this permit provided all eligibility requirements are satisfied. As such, the design flow of a single family home that is properly excluded from the scope of this permit (i.e., on its own system), will not be added into the aggregate design flow of the property for the purposes of determining eligibility for this permit.
