On January 3, 2006, the Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Program of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection ("NJDEP" or "Department") issued its updated statewide solid waste management plan titled Solid Waste Management & Sludge Management State Plan Update, January 2006 ("State Plan"). As stated in the Executive Summary of the State Plan, "On April 13, 2002 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell signed Administrative Order No. 2002-10, which requires, among other things, that the Department revise, update and readopt the Statewide Solid Waste Management Plan. There has been significant change to the landscape of solid waste management in New Jersey since the last plan update in 1993. Statewide waste flow rules have been invalidated by Federal court action, and annual increases in the state's recycling rates in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s have been replaced by declining rates."

The NJDEP issued a letter dated February 9, 2006 to freeholder directors and chairmen. This letter states that "...New Jersey's twenty-one counties, and the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, have the responsibility for developing solid waste management plans consistent with the State's goals and objectives. As noted in the State Plan, each county or district shall, within one year of the adoption of the State Plan (January 3, 2007), adopt and submit to the Department, an updated district solid waste plan. The plan update must demonstrate consistency with the State Plan. Further, district plans shall reiterate the district plan requirements contained in N.J.S.A. 13:1E-21. Specifically, revised plan updates shall include, but not be limited to, the following components:

1. Designation of the department, unit or committee of the county government (or district in the case of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission) to supervise the implementation of the district plan;
    

2. An inventory of the quantity of solid waste generated within the district for the ten-year period commencing with the adoption of updated district solid waste management plan;
    

3. An inventory of all solid waste and recycling facilities (lot and block and street address) including approved waste types and amounts, hours of operation and approved truck routes;
    

4. An outline of the solid waste disposal strategy to be utilized by the district for a ten-year planning period;
    

5. Where applicable, a procedure for the processing of applications for inclusion of solid waste and recycling facilities within the district solid waste management plans. The procedure shall state the applicant requirements for inclusion into the district plan and the specific county review process/procedures, including time frames for county approvals or rejections and subsequent submittals to the Department. Note- the criteria for inclusion shall not include a requirement that local zoning or planning board approval(s) be obtained as a condition for inclusion within the district solid waste management plan, nor shall such a requirement be made a condition for subsequent construction or operation of any facility;
    

6. Where applicable, utilizing the data supplied in Table B-1 that identifies the additional tonnage of recycled materials in the MSW [Municipal Solid Waste] stream (by material commodity types) required by each county to meet the mandated MSW recycling goal, a strategy for the attainment of the recycling goals as outlined above. The strategy shall include, as necessary:

1. the designation of the currently mandated recyclable materials and additional materials, if any, to be source separated in the residential, commercial and institutional sectors;
    

2. a listing of those entities providing recycling collection, processing and marketing services for each of the designated recyclable materials;
    

3. the communication program to be utilized to inform generators of their source separation and recycling responsibilities (note: statutory responsibility of municipalities);
    

4. a comprehensive enforcement program that identifies the county and/or municipal entity(ies) responsible for enforcement of the recycling mandates, specifies the minimum number of recycling inspections that will be undertaken by these entities on an annual basis and details the penalties to be imposed for non-compliance with the municipal source-separation [sic] ordinance and county solid waste management plan. Additionally, each county or district must submit copies of each municipal source-separation [sic] ordinance to the Department within 6 months of the approval of its updated county or district solid waste plan."

Morris County's responses to these six required components are included in this update to its Solid Waste Management Plan ("Plan Amendment") under the next section titled "Compliance with State Plan Requirements."

With this Plan Amendment, Morris County sets forth its strategy for returning the county to the status of achieving the recycling goals set forth in N.J.S.A. 13:1E-99.13.3.b.(4)(c) and (5) as follows:

13:1E-99.13. District Recycling Plan

"3.b. Each district recycling plan required pursuant to this section shall include, but need not be limited to:

(4) Designation of recovery targets in each municipality to achieve the maximum feasible recovery of recyclable materials from the municipal solid waste stream which shall include, at a minimum, the following schedule:

(c) The recycling of at least 50% of the total municipal solid waste stream, including yard waste and vegetative waste, by December 31, 1995; and

(5) Designation of countywide recovery targets to achieve the maximum feasible recovery of recyclable materials from the total solid waste stream which shall include, at a minimum, the recycling of at least 60% of the total solid waste stream by December 31, 1995."