13:1E-24. Submission to commissioner; approval, modification or rejection; certification; adoption of modification by district; filing

a. Upon receipt by the commissioner of a solid waste management plan adopted in its entirety, and a copy of the transcript of every public hearing held thereon, as required pursuant to section 14 of this amendatory and supplementary act, he shall:

(1) Study and review the solid waste management plan according to the objectives, criteria and standards developed in the Statewide solid waste management plan developed and formulated by the department pursuant to the provisions of section 6 of the act to which this act is amendatory and supplementary;

(2) Submit a copy of said plan for review and recommendations to the Advisory Council on Solid Waste Management in the department, and to the agencies, bureaus and divisions within the department concerned with, or responsible for, environmental quality, including, but not limited to, the Bureau of Solid Waste Management, Bureau of Air Pollution Control, Bureau of Geology, and the Bureau of Water Pollution Control, or their successors; and

(3) Submit a copy of said plan to the Board of Public Utility Commissioners for review and recommendations on the economic aspect of the plan.

b. After completing his study and review of the solid waste management plan, and upon receipt of the recommendations thereon provided for in subsection a. (2) of this section, if any, but in no event later than 150 days after his receipt of said plan, the commissioner shall determine whether to approve, modify, or reject any such solid waste management plan, and shall certify such determination to the board of chosen freeholders or to the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, which submitted such plan.

c. If the commissioner determines to approve any solid waste management plan, or if the commissioner has made no determination within 150 days after his receipt of any such plan, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall proceed, pursuant to the requirements of this amendatory and supplementary act, to implement such solid waste management plan in the relevant solid waste management district.

d. If the commissioner determines to modify or reject any solid waste management plan, or any part thereof, the certification required of him herein shall be accompanied by a detailed statement prepared by the commissioner indicating the reasons for any modification or rejection, and outlining the action to be taken thereon. In outlining such action the commissioner shall direct the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, to make any modification in, or replace any rejected part of, a solid waste management plan, either with or without holding another public hearing in the solid waste management district. Such direction shall be based upon the commissioner's determination, in his discretion, that such modification, or the part rejected, is or is not minor, and that such modification or replacement may or may not be made without substantially modifying or altering other aspects of the solid waste management plan; provided, however, that a public hearing shall be required upon a rejection by the commissioner of any solid waste management plan in its entirety.

e. (1) If the commissioner directs the holding of another public hearing in the solid waste management district, such hearing shall be held within 45 days after such direction and shall be conducted pursuant to the procedures contained in section 14 of this amendatory and supplementary act for the conduct of public hearings held prior to the adoption of solid waste management plans. Following any such public hearing on any modification to, or replacement of, any solid waste management plan, or any part thereof, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, holding same shall formally adopt a modification to, or replacement of, the solid waste management plan, or any part thereof, and shall submit same to the commissioner within the time limit set by the commissioner in the public hearing order.

(2) If the commissioner directs that the modification or replacement may be made without the holding of another public hearing, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall have 45 days after such direction within which to adopt any such modification or replacement, and to submit same to the commissioner.

f. The commissioner shall have 30 days from the date of receipt of any submission under subsection e. herein to approve such modification or replacement or to reject same, and he shall certify such approval or rejection to the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, which submitted same. If the commissioner approves such modification or replacement, or if the commissioner has made no such certification within 30 days after his receipt thereof, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall proceed, pursuant to the requirements of this amendatory and supplementary act, to implement the solid waste management plan in the relevant solid waste management district. Upon a rejection of any modification or replacement submitted to him pursuant to this section, or upon the failure of a board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, to submit any modification or replacement as required herein, the commissioner shall have the power to adopt and promulgate any modification or replacement he deems necessary with respect to the solid waste management plan, and upon the certification of the commissioner, the board of chosen freeholders or the Hackensack Commission, as the case may be, shall proceed, pursuant to the requirements of this amendatory and supplementary act, to implement the solid waste management plan in the relevant solid waste management district with the modifications or replacements adopted by the commissioner.

g. The commissioner shall maintain on file in the department a copy of the Statewide solid waste management plan developed proved pursuant to this amendatory and supplementary act, and a copy of the Statewide solid waste management plan developed and formulated by the department. Such plans are hereby declared to be public records and shall be subject to all the provisions of P.L.1963, c. 73 (C. 47:1A-1 et seq.) concerning such public records.

L.1975, c. 326, s. 15.