In a win for EELC’s client, Musconetcong Watershed Association the Appellate Division of the NJ Superior Court issued an important published decision on clarifying the interrelated processes environmental advocates and other “third-party” challengers must follow when requesting an adjudicatory hearing of NJDEP permit decisions and appealing those decisions.  In Musconetcong Watershed Ass’n v. NJDEP, Docket No. A-2491-20 (Aug. 3, 2023), the court rejected NJDEP’s position that such challengers must pursue both a request for an adjudicatory hearing and a direct appeal simultaneously.  In so ruling, the court cleared the way for the Association’s appeal of NJDEP’s issuance of a flood hazard area determination which had failed to recognize a tributary of the wild and scenic Musconetcong River on the site of a proposed development project.

Photo courtesy of Musconetcong Watershed Association