18 AAC 83.120 - Public notice and comment; hearing on permit; issuance of final permit
(a) The
department will give notice to the public that a draft permit has been prepared
under 18 AAC 83.115, and whether a
hearing is scheduled. A public notice may describe more than one permit or
permit action.
(b) In a public
notice, the department will allow at least 30 days for public comment on the
draft permit, and will give at least 30 days notice before the hearing. Notice
of the draft permit and the hearing may be combined and given at the same
time.
(c) Public notice of the
preparation of a draft permit and any hearing on the draft permit must be given
by the following methods:
(1) by mailing a
copy of the notice to the following persons, unless any person entitled to
receive notice under this paragraph waives that person's right to receive
notice for any classes and categories of permits:
(A) the applicant, unless there is no
applicant for an APDES general permit;
(B) any other agency that the department
knows has issued or is required to issue a permit for the same facility or
activity under the following laws and programs:
(ii) Underground Injection Control Program,
42 U.S.C.
300 f - 300j-26;
(iv) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System Program, 33 U.S.C.
1342;
(v) Sludge Management Program,
33 U.S.C.
1345;
(vi) Dredge and Fill Permit Program,
33 U.S.C.
1344; or
(C) federal and state agencies
with jurisdiction over fish, shellfish, and wildlife resources, the federal
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, state historic preservation
officers, and any affected Indian tribe;
(D) any state agency responsible for plan
development under 33 U.S.C.
1288(b)(2),
33 U.S.C.
1288(b)(4), or
33 U.S.C.
1313(e), and the United
States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,
and the National Marine Fisheries Service;
(E) any user identified in the permit
application of a privately owned treatment works;
(F) persons on a mailing list developed by
(i) recording those who request in writing to
be on the list;
(ii) soliciting
persons for area lists from participants in past permit proceedings in that
area; and
(iii) publishing notice
on the department's website and through periodic publication in the local press
and in regional and state-funded newsletters, environmental bulletins, state
law journals or similar publications, of the opportunity to be on the mailing
list; the department may update the mailing list from time to time by
requesting written indication of continued interest from those listed, and may
delete from the list the name of any person who fails to respond to the
department's request;
(G) any unit of local government having
jurisdiction over the area where the facility is proposed to be located;
and
(H) each state agency having
any authority under state law with respect to the construction or operation of
the facility;
(2) for a
major facility permit and a general permit, by publishing a notice in a daily
or weekly newspaper within the area affected by the facility or
activity;
(3) in a manner
constituting legal notice to the public under state law; and
(4) by any other method reasonably calculated
to give actual notice of the action in question to the persons potentially
affected by it, including press releases or use of any other forum or media to
elicit public participation.
(d) A public notice issued under this section
must contain at least the following information:
(1) name and address of the office processing
the permit action for which notice is being given and where comments may be
submitted;
(2) name and address of
the permittee or permit applicant and, if different, of the facility or
activity regulated by the permit, except in the case of APDES draft general
permits;
(3) a brief description of
the business conducted at the facility or activity described in the permit
application, or for general permits when there is no application, in the draft
permit;
(4) name, address, and
telephone number of a person from whom interested persons may obtain further
information, including copies of the draft permit or draft general permit, fact
sheet, and the application;
(5) a
brief description of the comment and hearing procedures required by (h) and
(l) of this section and the time and place of any hearing that
will be held; if no hearing has already been scheduled, a statement of
procedures to request a hearing and other procedures by which the public may
participate in the final permit decision;
(6) a general description of the location of
each existing or proposed discharge point and the name of the receiving
water;
(7) a description of
requirements applicable to cooling water intake structures under
33 U.S.C.
1326(b) in accordance with
40 C.F.R. Part 125, Subparts I, J, and N, adopt by reference in
18 AAC 83.010;
(8) any additional information considered
necessary or proper.
(e)
In addition to the information required by (d) of this section, the public
notice for a draft permit for a discharge for which a request has been filed
under 33 U.S.C.
1326(a) must include
(1) a statement that the thermal component of
the discharge is subject to effluent limitations under
33 U.S.C.
1311 and
1316, and a brief description,
including a quantitative statement, of the thermal effluent limitations
proposed under 33 U.S.C.
1311 and
33 U.S.C.
1316;
(2) a statement that a request has been filed
under 33 U.S.C.
1326(a), that alternative
less stringent effluent limitations may be imposed on the thermal component of
the discharge under 33
U.S.C. 1326(a), and a brief
description, including a quantitative statement, of the alterative effluent
limitations, if any, included in the request; and
(3) if the applicant has filed an early
screening request under 40
C.F.R. 125.72, adopted by reference in
18 AAC 83.010, for a variance
under 33 U.S.C.
1326(a), a statement that
the applicant has submitted that early screening request.
(f) In addition to the general public notice
described in (d) of this section, the public notice of a hearing under this
section must contain the following information:
(1) reference to the date of previous public
notices relating to the permit;
(2)
date, time, and place of the hearing;
(3) a brief description of the nature and
purpose of the hearing, including the applicable rules and
procedures.
(g) In
addition to the general public notice described in (d) of this section, the
department shall provide a copy of the draft permit and fact sheet and the
permit application, if any, to all persons identified in (c)(1)(A), (B), (C),
and (D) of this section. The department will provide a copy of the draft permit
and fact sheet and the permit application, if any, to EPA at the same time
public notice on the draft permit is published.
(h) During the public comment period, any
interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may
request a public hearing if no hearing has already been scheduled. A request
for a public hearing must be in writing and must state the nature of the issues
proposed to be raised in the hearing. The department will consider all comments
in making the final decision and will answer the comments as provided in (o) of
this section.
(i) If, during the
comment period for an APDES draft permit, the district engineer of the United
States Army Corps of Engineers advises the department in writing that anchorage
and navigation of any of the waters of the United States would be substantially
impaired by the granting of a permit, the department will deny the permit and
notify the applicant of the denial. If the district engineer advises the
department that imposing specified conditions upon the permit is necessary to
avoid any substantial impairment of anchorage or navigation, the department
will include the specified conditions in the permit. Review or appeal of denial
of a permit or of conditions specified by the district engineer must be sought
through the applicable procedures of the United States Army Corps of Engineers
and not through the state procedures set out in
18 AAC 83.175. If a court of
competent jurisdiction stays the conditions or if applicable procedures of the
United States Army Corps of Engineers result in a stay of the conditions, those
conditions must be considered stayed in the APDES permit for the duration of
the stay.
(j) If, during the
comment period for an APDES draft permit, the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, or any other state or federal
agency with jurisdiction over fish, wildlife, or public health advises the
department in writing that the imposition of specified conditions upon the
permit is necessary to avoid substantial impairment of fish, shellfish, or
wildlife resources, the department may include the specified conditions in the
permit to the extent the department determines they are necessary to comply
with the provisions of applicable federal laws.
(k) In appropriate cases, the department may
consult with one or more of the agencies referred to in (i) and (j) of this
section before issuing a draft permit and may set out agency's view in the fact
sheet or the draft permit.
(l) The
department will hold a public hearing whenever the department finds, on the
basis of requests, a significant degree of public interest in a draft permit.
The department may also hold a public hearing if a hearing might clarify one or
more issues involved in the permit decision or for other good reason in the
department's discretion.
(m) Before
issuing a final individual APDES permit, the department will provide a copy of
the proposed final permit and draft response to comments to the permit
applicant for review. The department will concurrently provide a copy of the
proposed final permit and draft response to comments to EPA, unless EPA has
previously waived its right to review the proposed final permit. The department
will give the applicant at least five days, not including the weekend or state
holidays, to review and discuss the proposed final permit with the department.
The applicant may by written notice to the department waive the applicant's
right to review and discuss the proposed final permit with the department or
agree to a shortened period for that review and discussion. At the time the
department provides a copy of the proposed final permit to the applicant under
this subsection, the department will also make the proposed final permit
available to the public.
(n) Before
issuing a final general APDES permit, the department will post a copy of the
general permit on the Alaska Online Public Notice System for at least five
days, not including the weekend or state holidays, for potential permittees to
review and discuss the proposed final permit with the department.
(o) The department will transmit to EPA a
copy of any significant comments presented in writing in response to the public
notice of a draft permit and a summary of any significant comments presented at
any hearing on a draft permit in accordance with
40 C.F.R.
123.43(c). When the
department issues a final permit, the department will issue a response to
comments, which must be available to the public. The response must
(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
(2) briefly
describe and respond to all significant comments on the draft permit raised
during the public comment period, or during any hearing.
(p) When a fact sheet has been prepared under
18 AAC 83.115(b),
the department will issue a revised fact sheet for the final permit, which must
include all of the requirements of
18 AAC 83.115(c),
and be available to the public. The department will notify EPA that the final
permit, revised fact sheet reflecting the final permit, and response to
comments are available on the department's web page.
Notes
Authority:AS 44.46.020
AS 46.03.010
AS 46.03.020
AS 46.03.050
AS 46.03.100
AS 46.03.110
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