La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § IX-3113

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section IX-3113 - Public Notice of Permit Actions and Public Comment Period

A. Scope

1. The state administrative authority shall give public notice that the following actions have occurred:

a. a draft permit has been prepared under LAC 33:IX.3107.C; or

b. a hearing has been scheduled under LAC 33:IX.3117.

2. No public notice is required when a request for permit modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination is denied. Written notice of that denial shall be given to the requester and to the permittee.

3. Public notices may describe more than one permit or permit actions.

B. Timing

1. Public notice of the preparation of a draft permit (including a notice of intent to deny a permit application) required under LAC 33:IX.3113.A shall allow at least 30 days for public comment. For EPA-issued permits, if the EPA regional administrator determines under 40 CFR Part 6, Subpart F that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) shall be prepared for an NPDES new source, public notice of the draft permit shall not be given until after a draft EIS is issued.

2. Public notice of a public hearing shall be given at least 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 notices may be combined.)

C. Methods. Public notice of activities described in LAC 33:IX.3113.A.1 shall be given by the following methods:

1. by mailing a copy of a notice to the following persons (any person otherwise entitled to receive notice under this Subsection may waive his or her rights to receive notice for any classes and categories of permits):

a. the applicant (except for LPDES general permits when there is no applicant);

b. any other agency which the state administrative authority knows has issued or is required to issue a RCRA, UIC, PSD (or other permit under the Clean Air Act), NPDES, 404, sludge management permit, or ocean dumping permit under the Marine Research Protection and Sanctuaries Act for the same facility or activity (including EPA when the draft permit is prepared by the state);

c. federal and state agencies with jurisdiction over fish, shellfish, and wildlife resources and over coastal zone management plans, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, State Historic Preservation Officers, including any affected states (Indian tribes);

d. for LPDES permits only, any state agency responsible for plan development under CWA Section 208(b)(2) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service;

e. for LPDES permits only, any user identified in the permit application of a privately owned treatment works;

f. Reserved.

g. Reserved.

h. Reserved.

i. persons on a mailing list developed by:

i. including 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. notifying the public of the opportunity to be put on the mailing list through periodic publication in the public press and in such publications as regional and state funded newsletters, environmental bulletins, or state law journals (The state administrative authority may update the mailing list from time to time by requesting written indication of continued interest from those listed. The state administrative authority may delete from the list the name of any person who fails to respond to such a request.);

j.

i.any unit of local government having jurisdiction over the area where the facility is proposed to be located; and

ii. each state agency having any authority under state law with respect to the construction or operation of such facility;

2. for LPDES individual permits, LPDES general permits, and permits that include sewage sludge land application plans under 40 CFR 501.15(a)(2)(ix), publication of a notice in a daily or weekly newspaper within the area affected by the facility or activity; and for EPA-issued NPDES general permits, in the Federal Register,

NOTE: The state administrative authority is encouraged to provide as much notice as possible of the LPDES draft general permit to the facilities or activities to be covered by the general permit.

a. for LPDES individual permits and LPDES master general permits, in lieu of the requirement for publication of a notice in a daily or weekly newspaper, as described in Paragraph 2 of this Section, the director may publish all notices of activities as described in LAC 33:IX.3113.A.l to the permitting authority's public website. If the director selects this option for the draft permit, as defined in LAC 33:IX.3101, the director must post the draft permit and fact sheet on the website for the duration of the public comment period.

NOTE: The director is encouraged to ensure that all method(s) of public notice effectively informs all interested communities and allows access to the permitting process for those seeking to participate.

3. when the program is being administered by an approved state, in a manner constituting legal notice to the public under state law; and

4. 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 any other forum or medium to elicit public participation.

D. Contents

1. All Public Notices. All public notices issued under LAC 33:IX.Chapters 31-35 shall contain the following minimum information:

a. name and address of the DEQ division processing the permit action for which a notice is being given;

b. 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 LPDES draft general permits under LAC 33:IX.2515;

c. a brief description of the business conducted at the facility or activity described in the permit application or the draft permit, for LPDES general permits when there is no application;

d. 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, as the case may be, statement of basis or fact sheet, and the application; and

e. a brief description of the comment procedures required by LAC 33:IX.3115 and 3117 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;

f. for EPA-issued permits, the location of the administrative record required by 40 CFR 124.9, the times at which the record will be open for public inspection, and a statement that all data submitted by the applicant is available as part of the administrative record;

g. for LPDES permits only (including those for sludge-only facilities), a general description of the location of each existing or proposed discharge point, the name of the receiving water, the sludge use and disposal practice(s), the location of each sludge treatment works treating domestic sewage, and use or disposal sites known at the time of permit application. For EPA-issued NPDES permits only, if the discharge is from a new source, a statement as to whether an environmental impact statement will be or has been prepared;

h. requirements applicable to cooling water intake structures in Section 316(b) of the CWA, in accordance with LAC 33:IX.Chapter 47.Subchapters A, B, and C; and

i. any additional information considered necessary or proper.

2. Public Notices for Hearings. In addition to the general public notice described in LAC 33:IX.3113.D.1, the public notice of a hearing under LAC 33:IX.3117 shall contain the following information:

a. reference to the date of previous public notices relating to the permit;

b. date, time, and place of the hearing; and

c. a brief description of the nature and purpose of the hearing, including the applicable rules and procedures.

E. In addition to the general public notice described in LAC 33:IX.3113.D.1, all persons identified in LAC 33:IX.3113.C.1.a-d shall be mailed a copy of the fact sheet or statement of basis (for EPA-issued permits), the permit application (if any) and the draft permit (if any).

F. Additional public notice requirements are found at LAC 33:IX.6521.A.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § IX-3113

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Water Resources, LR 21:945 (September 1995), amended by the Water Pollution Control Division, LR 23:725 (June 1997), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 26:2554 (November 2000), LR 28:473 (March 2002), LR 28:1767 (August 2002), repromulgated LR 30:231 (February 2004), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, LR 31:426 (February 2005), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 33:2070 (October 2007), Amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs and Criminal Investigations Division, LR 46791 (6/1/2020).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2001 et seq., and in particular Section 2074(B)(3) and (B)(4).