7:22A-7.5 Project priority for second-round grants
(a) Any affected municipality which has identified an interconnection/cross-connection abatement under N.J.A.C. 7:22A-4 is also eligible for a second-round grant from the Interconnection/Cross-Connection Abatement Account. Second-round grant amounts will be based on the allowable planning or design costs, not to exceed 90 percent of the
(b) The Department may establish one or more application deadlines for second-round grants. For the first funding cycle, second-round planning grant applications must be submitted to the Department by December 15, 1993 unless an extension is granted by the Department Second-round planning grant offers will not be made by the Department until all second-round planning grant applications or extension requests have been received and prioritized in accordance with (d) below. Any affected municipality which requires an extension of the December 15, 1993 second-round planning grant application deadline must submit a request for such an extension to the Department by December 15, 1993. The request must state the reasons why an extension should be approved, must identify a target date for the submittal of a complete second-round planning grant application, must include an estimated second-round planning grant amount and include sufficient information to prioritize the project in accordance with (d) below. In instances where a highly ranked project is granted an extension by the Department, the Department may reserve the estimated second-round planning grant amount identified in the affected municipality's extension request and award second-round planning grants to lower ranked projects to the extent sufficient funds are available.
(c) For future funding cycles, affected municipalities shall be notified of applicable second-round planning or design grant application deadlines through the Department's proposed Priority System, Intended Use Plan, and Project Priority list or through mailed notice by the Department
(d) Second-round planning or design grant applications shall receive priority for financial assistance awards pursuant to this subchapter based on the following point system:
1. Applications which include one or more stormwater outfall discharges to an ocean beach or ocean beaches in municipalities that had ocean beach closures resulting from elevated bacteria levels (based on data from the Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program administered by the Department) will be given five points for each day in which one or more ocean beaches within the municipality was dosed from January 1, 1988, on. Where the Department has determined that an ocean beach closure occurred for causes other than a stormwater outfall discharge no points will be given for that ocean beach closure occurrence.
2. Applications which include one or more stormwater outfall discharges to an estuarine beach or estuarine beaches in municipalities that had estuarine beach closures resulting from elevated bacteria levels (based on data from the Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program administered by the Department) will be given one point per year for each estuarine beach within the municipality which was closed from January 1, 1988, on. Where the Department has determined that an estuarine beach closure occurred for causes other than a stormwater outfall discharge, no points will be given for that estuarine beach closure occurrence.
3. Applications which include one or more stormwater outfall discharges to the following areas will receive points as follows:
Location of Discharge Points
Ocean Beach(es) 0.9
Estuarine Beach(es) 0.7
Restricted Shellfish Growing Waters 0.5
Seasonal Shellfish Growing Waters 0.3
Approved Shellfish Growing Waters 0.1
4. Applications which include other stormwater outfall discharges and applications with discharges of equal priority will be prioritized based on the average bacteria level of the discharge(s) at the stormwater outfall(s). Applications which address outfalls with higher average bacteria levels will receive priority over those applications with lower average bacteria levels.
(e) Second-round planning or design applications which address stormwater outfall discharges in more than one of the above categories will be assigned the sum total of the points which they are due based on the categories of discharge included in the application.