Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
SYNOPSIS
“Ocean County Stormwater Management System Demonstration Act.”
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning stormwater utility systems and supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Ocean County Stormwater Management System Demonstration Act.”
2. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the public interest and to be the policy of the State to foster and promote by all reasonable means the relief of waters in or bordering the State from pollution and thus to reduce and ultimately abate the menace to the public health resulting from such pollution, and to promote the public health and welfare through appropriate management of stormwater.
The Legislature further finds that the acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of stormwater management systems are essential to the goals of protecting and improving the State's water quality, and are necessary to prevent and abate nonpoint sources of pollution, minimize stormwater runoff, control flooding, and enhance groundwater recharge.
The Legislature further finds that prior to the acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of stormwater management systems on a Statewide basis, it is necessary to demonstrate the feasibility in a pilot project; that such a pilot project should take place in an area bordering the shorefront of this State; and that Ocean County, which incorporates both Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, is especially suited and provides the most conducive laboratory to demonstrate the feasibility of such a project.
The Legislature, therefore, declares it to be in the environmental and public health interests of the State of New Jersey to establish a stormwater management system pilot project in Ocean County.
3. As used in this act:
“Stormwater” means water resulting from precipitation that: (1) runs off of the land’s surface; (2) is transmitted to the subsurface; (3) is captured by separate storm sewers or other sewerage or drainage facilities; or (4) is conveyed by snow removal equipment.
"Stormwater management system" means any equipment, plants, structures, machinery, apparatus, management practices, design practices, planning activities, or land, or any combination thereof, acquired, used, constructed, implemented or operated to convey stormwater, to control or reduce stormwater runoff and associated pollutants or flooding, to induce or control the infiltration of groundwater recharge of stormwater, or to eliminate illicit or illegal nonstormwater discharges into stormwater conveyances.
4. a. (1) The governing body of Ocean County may by resolution establish, provide, and maintain a stormwater utility for the purpose of creating a stormwater management system to manage the stormwater runoff of the county.
(2) The governing body of a municipality within Ocean County, or a municipal utilities authority within Ocean County, may establish, provide, and maintain a stormwater utility for the purpose of creating a stormwater management system to manage the stormwater runoff of the municipality.
b. The provisions of the "municipal and county utilities authorities law," P.L.1957, c.183 (C.40:14B-1 et seq.), or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, to the contrary notwithstanding, a county utilities authority created in Ocean County by resolution, or a municipal utilities authority within Ocean County, may establish, provide and maintain a stormwater utility for the purpose of creating a stormwater management system to manage the stormwater runoff within its jurisdiction.
c. The municipality, municipal utilities authority, county, or county utilities authority that creates and operates a stormwater utility is hereby authorized to charge and collect fees or other charges for direct or indirect use or services of the stormwater management system. The stormwater service charges may be charged to and collected from the owner or occupant, or both, of any real property. The owner of any real property shall be liable for and shall pay these charges to the stormwater utility at the time when and place where such stormwater service charges are due and payable. The fees and charges shall use the defined unit by which runoff contributions may be calculated, as set forth in the stormwater utility guidance manual created by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 5 of this act. Any fee or charge assessed pursuant to this subsection shall be calculated in a manner consistent with the guidelines established in the stormwater utility guidance manual created pursuant to section 5 of this act.
5. a. The Department of Environmental Protection shall create a stormwater utility guidance manual. The stormwater utility guidance manual shall provide guidance to a municipality, county, or authority seeking to establish, provide, and maintain a stormwater management system pursuant to any relevant authorizing law regarding rate structure and stormwater management system implementation. The rate structure guidance provided in the stormwater utility guidance manual shall define the unit by which stormwater runoff contributions may be calculated and shall be directly related to the specific costs of the stormwater management system. The stormwater utility guidance manual, or any revisions thereto, shall be adopted after appropriate notice and opportunity for public comment but shall not be subject to the notice and publication requirements of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
b. Five percent of the annual fees or other charges collected pursuant to subsection c. of section 4 of this act shall be transferred to the department to fund program planning, implementation and coordination activities related to stormwater utilities and stormwater management systems authorized pursuant to section 4 of this act.
c. The Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), any rules and regulations necessary to implement this act.
6. A municipality, municipal utilities authority, county, or county utilities authority managing both a stormwater management system and a sewerage system under authority granted pursuant to this act or the "municipal and county utilities authorities law," P.L.1957, c.183 (C.40:14B-1 et seq.), shall maintain separate budgets, keep separate books and records, and incur separate costs for each such system.
7. Whenever a stormwater management system is constructed by any person in accordance with standards established therefor by a municipality, municipal utilities authority, county, or county utilities authority authorized to manage a stormwater management system pursuant to this act or the "municipal and county utilities authorities law," P.L.1957, c.183 (C.40:14B-1 et seq.), the municipality, municipal utilities authority, county, or county utilities authority may accept the dedication of, and assume maintenance responsibilities for, the stormwater management system in accordance with the same procedures established and used for sewer or water facilities.
8. This act shall take effect on the 180th day after the date of enactment, but the Department of Environmental Protection may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would establish a stormwater management system demonstration project in Ocean County.
This bill would permit Ocean County, or the Ocean County Utilities Authority, to establish, provide and maintain a stormwater utility for the purpose of creating a stormwater management system to manage the stormwater runoff of the county. The bill would authorize Ocean County, or the Ocean County Utilities Authority, to finance the creation, operation, and maintenance of the stormwater utility system through the imposition of user fees and the issuance of bonds.
The bill would also require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to create a stormwater utility guidance manual to provide guidance to counties and authorities seeking to establish stormwater management systems. The rate structure guidance provided in the stormwater utility guidance manual would define the unit by which stormwater runoff contributions are calculated and would be directly related to the specific costs of the stormwater management system. The stormwater utility guidance manual, or any revisions thereto, would be adopted after appropriate notice and opportunity for public comment but would not be subject to the notice and publication requirements of the “Administrative Procedure Act.”
The bill would limit the use of the revenue from the portion of the fees or other charges transferred to the Department of Environmental Protection to fund only those activities related to stormwater utilities and stormwater management systems authorized pursuant to section 4 of the bill.