W. Va. Code R. § 33-8-6

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 33-8-6 - Draft Permits and Public Comment

6.1. Administration.

6.1.a. Once an application is complete, the Secretary shall decide whether to prepare a draft permit or to deny the application.

6.1.b. If the Secretary decides to issue a draft permit, it must contain the information required under section 8 of this rule.

6.1.c. All draft permits shall be provided to permittees and shall be publicly noticed and available for public comment in accordance with subsection 6.2.

6.2. Public notice.

6.2.a. Public notice of the preparation of a draft permit must provide at least thirty (30) days for public comment. The public comment period may be extended by the Secretary, but in no case may the extension exceed an additional thirty (30) days.

6.2.b. Public notice of a public hearing shall be given at least thirty (30) days before the hearing. Public notice of the hearing may be given at the same time as public notice of the draft permit and the two (2) notices may be combined.

6.2.c. Methods. Public notice shall be given by the following methods:

6.2.c.1. By mailing a copy of a notice to the applicant;

6.2.c.2. By publishing the public notice as a Class I legal advertisement in a qualified newspaper with the largest circulation for the county where the generator of sludge or other material and the proposed land application site is located pursuant to W. Va. Code '59-3-1 et seq. The cost of the publication will be born by the applicant who must send a certificate of publication to the Department within twenty (20) days after publication; and

6.2.c.3. Any other method reasonably calculated to give actual notice of the action in question to the persons potentially affected by it, including press releases, mailing lists or any other forum or medium to elicit public participation.

6.2.d. Draft permit public notice contents. -- All public notices issued under this part shall contain the following minimum information:

6.2.d.1. Name and address of the division processing the permit action for which notice is being given;

6.2.d.2. Name and address of the permittee or permit applicant and, if different, of the facility or activity regulated by the permit;

6.2.d.3. A brief description of the activity described in the permit application or in the draft permit, when there is no application;

6.2.d.4. Name, address and telephone number of a person from whom interested persons may obtain further information, including copies of the draft permit, fact sheet, and the application; and

6.2.d.5. A brief description of the comment procedures required by subsections 6.3 and 6.4 and the time and place of any hearing that will be held, including a statement of procedures to request a hearing (unless a hearing has already been scheduled) and other procedures by which the public may participate in the final permit decision.

6.2.e. In addition to the requirements of subdivision 6.2.d. of this rule, public notice of a hearing shall contain the following information:

6.2.e.1. Reference to the date of the public notice relating to the permit;

6.2.e.2. Date, time, and place of the hearing; and

6.2.e.3. A brief description of the nature and purpose of the hearing, including the applicable rules and procedures.

6.3. Public comments and requests for public hearings. -- During the public comment period provided under subsection 6.2, any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may request a public hearing. If a public hearing has already been scheduled additional requests do no require additional hearings. A request for a public hearing shall be in writing and shall state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the hearing. All comments shall be considered in making the final permitting decision and shall be responded to as provided subsection 6.6.

6.4. Public hearings.

6.4.a. The Secretary shall hold a public hearing whenever he or she finds, on the basis of requests, a significant degree of public interest on issues relevant to a draft permit. The Secretary also may hold a public hearing at his or her discretion, when, for instance, a hearing might clarify one (1) or more issues involved in the permit decision.

6.4.b. Any person may submit oral or written statements and data concerning the draft permit. Reasonable limits may be set upon the time allowed for oral statements.

6.4.c. The submission of statements in writing under subdivision 6.3 shall automatically be extended to ten (10) days after the close of any public hearings conducted under this section.

6.4.d. A tape recording or written transcript of the hearing shall be made available to the public, upon request.

6.5. Reopening of the public comment period.

6.5.a. If any information or arguments submitted during the public comment period raise substantial new questions concerning a draft permit, or if as a result of comments submitted by someone other than the permittee, the Secretary decides to revise any condition of the draft permit that had been sent to initial public notice, the Secretary may:

6.5.a.1. Prepare a new draft permit, appropriately modified, under section 7 of this rule; or

6.5.a.2. Reopen or extend the comment period to give interested persons an opportunity to comment on the revision to the draft permit.

6.5.b. Comments filed during the reopened comment period shall be limited to the substantial new questions that caused its reopening. The public notice shall define the scope of the reopening.

6.6. Response to comments.

6.6.a. The Secretary shall issue a response to comments received on the draft permit prior to issuing the final permit. This response shall:

6.6.a.1. Specify which provisions, if any, of the draft permit have been changed in the final permit decision, and the reasons for the change; and

6.6.a.2. Briefly describe and respond to comments on the draft permit raised during the public comment period, or during any hearing.

6.6.b. The response to comments shall be mailed to any person who commented or any person who requests a response.

6.7. Issuance and effective date of permit.

6.7.a. After the close of the public comment period on a draft permit, the Secretary shall issue a final permit decision. The Secretary shall notify the applicant and each person who has submitted written comments or requested notice of the final permit decision. This notice shall advise that anyone aggrieved by the decision may make an appeal to the Environmental Quality Board by filing a Notice of Appeal with the Board within thirty days after the final permit decision is made. For the purposes of this section, a final permit decision means a final decision to issue, deny, modify, revoke and reissue, or terminate a permit.

6.7.b. A final permit decision shall become effective not less than thirty (30) days after the date of notice of the decision under subdivision 6.7.a of this section.

W. Va. Code R. § 33-8-6