7 Del. Admin. Code § 7102-14.0

Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 3, September 1, 2024

Section 7102-14.0 - Reopening of the public comment period

14.1 The Department may order the reopening of the public comment period if he or she determines that doing so pursuant to this Section could expedite the decision making process. The public comment period may be reopened at the request of any person, including applicants, who (1) believe that any condition of a draft permit is inappropriate or (2) question the Department's tentative decision to deny an application, terminate a permit, or prepare a draft permit is inappropriate. All persons, including applicants, who request the reopening of the public comment period must submit all reasonably available facts supporting their challenge no less than 30 days from the date of public notice. Thereafter, any person may file a written response to the submission of any other person, by a date set by the Department which shall be at least 20 days after the date of the submission to which response is made.

14.1.1 The Department may direct that the requirements of subsection 14.1 shall apply during the initial comment period where it reasonably appears that issuance of the permit will be contested and that applying the requirements of subsection 14.1 will substantially expedite the decision making process. The notice of the draft permit shall state whenever this has been done.

14.1.2 A longer comment period will often be necessary in complicated proceedings to give commenters a reasonable opportunity to comply with the requirements of this Section. Commenters may request longer comment periods and extensions shall be granted under Section 10.0 to the extent they appear necessary.

14.2 If any data, information, or arguments submitted during the public comment period, including information or arguments required under Section 13.0, appear to raise substantial new questions concerning a permit, the Department may take one or more of the following actions:

14.2.1 Prepare a new draft permit, appropriately modified, under Section 8.0;

14.2.2 Prepare a revised fact sheet under Section 9.0 and reopen the comment period under this Section; or

14.2.3 Reopen or extend the comment period under Section 10.0 to give interested persons an opportunity to comment on the information or arguments submitted.

14.3 Comments filed during the reopened comment period shall be limited to the substantial new questions that caused its reopening pursuant to this Section. The public notice under Section 10.0 shall define the scope of the reopening.

14.4 Public notice of any of the above actions shall be issued under Section 10.0.

7 Del. Admin. Code § 7102-14.0

21 DE Reg. 978 (6/1/2018) (Final)