Section 281.19 - Technical Review(a) After an application is determined by the executive director to be administratively complete, the executive director shall commence a technical review as necessary and appropriate. For purposes of these sections, the technical review period is that period of time beginning with the completion of the initial review period and will continue for a period of time not to exceed 75 working days. In the case of applications filed under § 335.43 of this title (relating to Permit Required) or § 331.7 of this title (relating to Permit Required), the technical review period shall commence upon assignment of the application to a staff member and continue for a period of time not to exceed 120 days. For applications filed under Chapter 336 of this title (relating to Radioactive Substance Rules) and subject to the Notice of Deficiency (NOD) process established in this section, the technical review period shall begin the day after the date of determination of administrative completeness and for issuance, renewal, or major amendments, shall continue for a period of time not to exceed 255 days; however, this time frame may be extended to a maximum of 600 days if an application is technically deficient; or, for applications for minor amendments, shall continue for a period of time not to exceed 90 days; however, this time frame may be extended to a maximum of 150 days if an application is technically deficient. In the case of applications filed under Chapter 295 of this title (relating to Water Rights, Procedural) that request a new appropriation of water pursuant to Texas Water Code, § 11.157 for storage in an aquifer storage and recovery project or for aquifer recharge, the technical review shall commence on the date the application is administratively complete and will continue for a period of time not to exceed 180 days.(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the applicant shall be promptly notified of any additional technical material as may be necessary for a complete review. If the applicant provides the information within the period of time prescribed by subsection (a) of this section, the executive director will complete processing of the application within the technical review period extended by the number of days required for the additional data. If the necessary additional information is not received by the executive director prior to expiration of the technical review period and the information is considered essential by the executive director to make recommendations to the commission on a particular matter, the executive director may return the application to the applicant. In no event, however, will the applicant have less than 30 days to provide the technical data before an application is returned. Decisions to return material to the applicant during the technical review stage will be made on a case by case basis. The applicant has the option of having the question of sufficiency of necessary technical data referred to the commission for a decision instead of having the application returned.(c) For applications for radioactive material licenses, the applicant shall be promptly notified of any additional technical information necessary to complete technical review. For new applications, renewal applications, or major amendment applications, the executive director shall complete application processing within the technical review period (600 days) if the applicant provides the information within 75 days of the date of the first NOD and 60 days of the subsequent NODs. For minor amendments, the applicant must provide the information within 20 days from the date of the first NOD and 20 days from the date of the second NOD. If the necessary additional information is not received by the executive director prior to the end of the response period, the executive director may return the application to the applicant. In no instance shall the executive director issue more than four NODs before returning the application. The applicant has the option of having the question of sufficiency of necessary technical information referred to the commission for a decision instead of having the application returned. The applicant may request additional time to respond to a notice of technical deficiency. The request must be in writing, set forth the reasons why the applicant cannot respond within the time provided and specify the amount of additional time requested. Any extension of time must be approved by the executive director in writing. The executive director may extend or delay the schedule for the processing of an application under this subsection to comply with the priority established by law for processing and review of radioactive material licenses.(d) This subsection applies to the technical review of applications for radioactive material licenses submitted to the Texas Department of State Health Services on or before June 18, 2007. For new applications, renewal applications, or major amendment applications, the executive director shall complete application processing within the technical review period (600 days) if the applicant provides the information within 75 days of the date of the first NOD and 60 days of the second NOD. For minor amendments, the applicant must provide the information within 20 days from the date of the first NOD and 20 days from the date of the second NOD. If the necessary additional information is not received by the executive director prior to the end of the response period, the executive director may return the application to the applicant. In no instance shall the executive director issue more than two NODs before returning the application. The applicant has the option of having the question of sufficiency of necessary technical information referred to the commission for a decision instead of having the application returned. The applicant may request additional time to respond to a notice of technical deficiency. The request must be in writing, set forth the reasons why the applicant cannot respond within the time provided and specify the amount of additional time requested. Any extension of time must be approved by the executive director in writing. The executive director may extend or delay the schedule for the processing of an application under this subsection to comply with the priority established by law for processing and review of radioactive material licenses.30 Tex. Admin. Code § 281.19
The provisions of this §281.19 adopted to be effective May 28, 1986, 11 TexReg 2312; amended to be effective June 5, 1997, 22 TexReg 4581; amended to be effective February 28, 2008, 33 TexReg 1566; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 45, Number 21, May 22, 2020, TexReg 3445, eff. 5/28/2020